March 27 (Reuters) – A former Nationwide Enquirer writer testified on Monday earlier than a Manhattan grand jury listening to proof about former President Donald Trump’s function in a hush-money cost to a porn star, mentioned an individual conversant in the matter.
David Pecker, who testified in January, got here again for about 45 minutes on Monday, the individual mentioned. Pecker couldn’t instantly be reached for remark.
The grand jury’s proceedings are shrouded in secrecy and the timing of a grand jury vote is unclear. If indicted, Trump would turn out to be the primary U.S. president to face a legal cost in court docket.
Pecker had provided to assist Trump within the run-up to the November 2016 presidential election by shopping for rights to unflattering tales and by no means publishing them, a observe often called “catch and kill.”
The grand jury may indict Trump over a $130,000 cost to Stormy Daniels, the porn star, which she mentioned was to purchase her silence about their sexual encounter in 2006 whereas he was married to his present spouse Melania. Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen has mentioned he made that cost at Trump’s route.
[1/8]An officer from the New York Metropolis Police Division (NYPD) Canine Unit checks outdoors the Manhattan Prison Courtroom in New York Metropolis, U.S., March 27, 2023. Manhattan District Legal professional Alvin Bragg’s workplace is investigating $130,000 paid within the remaining weeks of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s… Purchase Licensing Rights Learn extra
Trump has denied an affair passed off, and lawyer Robert Costello, who met with Cohen in 2018, has mentioned Cohen advised him he acted alone.
Costello testified earlier than the grand jury final week. Cohen, who testified the earlier week, pleaded responsible in 2018 to federal fees stemming from the payoff and went to jail for marketing campaign finance violations, amongst different crimes.
In 2018, American Media Inc (AMI), then writer of the Nationwide Enquirer, acknowledged paying $150,000 to a former Playboy journal mannequin to stop her from going public forward of the 2016 election.
Federal prosecutors mentioned, as a part of a deal to cooperate and keep away from fees, AMI admitted the cost to Karen McDougal was made “in live performance” with Trump’s presidential marketing campaign. Cohen pleaded responsible for his function in that transaction, too.
Trump falsely claimed on March 18 that he can be arrested final Tuesday within the New York case. Since then Trump has warned of potential “loss of life and destruction” if he faces legal fees, repeatedly attacked Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district legal professional, and posted a web-based image of himself holding a baseball bat subsequent to a photograph of the New York prosecutor.
Trump faces a number of different legal investigations, together with one tied to the Jan. sixth assault on the U.S. Capitol. He’s mounting a comeback bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Reporting by Karen Freifeld; extra reporting by Luc Cohen; Enhancing by Howard Golle
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