The New York criminal hush money trial against former President Donald Trump resumed Friday with the cross-examination of David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, as defense attorney Emil Bove attempted to dismantle the prosecution’s case.
Under questioning from Bove on Friday, Pecker acknowledged his tabloid had already been running negative articles about Hillary Clinton, who would become the Democratic nominee for president against Trump in 2016, before he agreed to help Trump suppress stories. Prosecutors want the 12-member jury to view Pecker’s conduct in running negative stories on Trump’s political opponents, while silencing negative press about the then-presidential candidate, as a unique pattern that proves Trump sought his services to influence the presidential election.
But Pecker admitted Friday that running negative stories about Trump’s political foes was a practice he engaged in well before a 2015 meeting
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