I don't know why we would learn more at that point about Pecker's testimony. But all we can do at this point is speculate, so that's what people are doing.NBC News reported that Manhattan prosecutors called another witness Monday to testify before the hush money grand jury: David Pecker, the former CEO of a company that published the National Enquirer.
[...]
Recall that, back in 2016, Pecker, then a longtime friend of Donald Trump’s, was involved in the scheme to silence Stormy Daniels ahead of the presidential election. The porn star was ready to go public about an affair she alleges to have had with Trump, which Trump has denied. Pecker helped Trump’s fixer, Michael Cohen, facilitate the hush payment to Daniels.
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[T]o the extent that the grand jurors are assessing [last week's Trump witness Robert] Costello’s credibility generally, they might want to hear from Pecker about whether he has additional testimony that directly contradicts Costello’s.
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Pecker reportedly testified previously in the matter.
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One would imagine that Pecker’s direct knowledge of Trump’s role would have been brought before the grand jury the first time he testified. But it’s possible that Costello’s testimony raised specific questions that required recalling Pecker.
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[I]t’s also possible that Pecker’s appearance wasn’t directly related to Costello but rather was prompted by a question about how prosecutors seek to prove a certain charge, whether it’s a charge of falsifying business records or something else that required additional testimony from Pecker to understand.
Hopefully we learn more when the grand jury convenes next, which could be Wednesday.
MSNBC
What I want to know is why did Pecker buy exclusive rights to Karen McDougal's story about a Trump affair so it could be "killed" (not published) for $150,000, working in tandem with the Trump campaign, but didn't buy out Stormy Daniels the same way. Maybe she wasn't selling. Or maybe Pecker didn't want to spend any more of the company's money on Trump's affairs. [T]he FEC did not pursue Trump for the McDougal scheme, but Pecker's company had to pay a fine for its part. And Michael Cohen did prison time for his part.
...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.
...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.
UPDATE 03/28/2023: Bragg tying it all down.
Six former A.M.I. employees told me that Pecker routinely makes catch-and-kill arrangements like the one reached with [Playmate Karen] McDougal. [...] Jerry George, a former A.M.I. senior editor who worked at the company for more than twenty-five years, told me [...] that Pecker protected Trump. “Pecker really considered him a friend,” George told me. “We never printed a word about Trump without his approval.”
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“In theory, you would think that Trump has all the power in that relationship, but in fact Pecker has the power—he has the power to run these stories. He knows where the bodies are buried.” [according to Maxine Page, who worked at A.M.I.]
New Yorker
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