Trump Claims Hush Money Case "Completely Fallen Apart"
Former President Trump asserts the trial has unraveled after the first witness testimony.
Former President Donald Trump has taken to Truth Social to claim that the hush money case against him has collapsed following the trial's initial witness testimony. Trump's post on Thursday evening celebrated what he described as a significant setback for prosecutors in the case.
The post, referring to the trial overseen by Judge Alvin Bragg, asserted that the case had "completely fallen apart." Trump criticized the judge as "highly conflicted" and claimed that legal scholars and experts had labeled the case a "complete HOAX."
The comments came after David Pecker, the former head of American Media, testified about his involvement in suppressing negative stories about Trump before the 2016 election. Pecker detailed his cooperation with Trump and lawyer Michael Cohen in stopping damaging stories from being published.
The Context
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments arranged for Cohen to pay adult film star Stormy Daniels to conceal an alleged affair with Trump. While Trump has acknowledged reimbursing Cohen, he denies the affair with Daniels.
Prosecutors in the New York court argue that Trump, Pecker, and Cohen worked together to "orchestrate a cover-up" to influence the 2016 election by concealing damaging information about Trump.
What We Know
During Thursday's testimony, Pecker described how he engaged in a "catch and kill" strategy, paying Karen McDougal, a Playboy model, $180,000 for her story about an alleged affair with Trump, which was then not published.
Pecker stated that he collaborated with Trump and Cohen to prevent negative stories from emerging and potentially harming Trump's presidential campaign.
Regarding Daniels' alleged affair, Pecker stated that he refused to quash the story, saying, "I am not going to be involved with a porn star."
Cohen eventually paid Daniels $130,000 shortly before the election to prevent her from speaking about the alleged affair. Prosecutors argue that Trump listing the reimbursement as "legal fees" in his company records was an illegal attempt to influence the election outcome.
Views
Legal experts have noted the prosecution's challenge in identifying a specific law that Trump allegedly violated with the hush money payments. Greg Germain, a law professor at Syracuse University, pointed out the lack of clarity on which law was broken.
Election lawyer Jerry Goldfeder highlighted the significance of Pecker's testimony, suggesting that it demonstrated a scheme to hide Trump's actions because of the election. Goldfeder emphasized the prosecution's assertion that influencing voters was a primary motivation behind suppressing these stories.
Pecker is set to continue his testimony on Friday, April 26. The trial is expected to last approximately six weeks.