Apr.27

electoral-vote.com

Dem 51

   

GOP 49

Trump Legal News, Part II: The Trial (Day 7)

There isn't quite as much news out of Manhattan, as the Trump criminal fraud trial settles into the normal rhythms of a court proceeding. Here are the big storylines from Day 7:

• Pecker in Bragg's Pocket: The ever-earthy Lyndon B. Johnson was fond of noting that "I never trust a man unless I've got his pecker in my pocket." While this isn't quite what he was talking about, the fact is that former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker is giving Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg and his team exactly what they need. Yesterday, he spoke extensively about Stormy Daniels and his efforts to keep that story out of the news, so as to protect the Trump campaign. He also revealed that he continued to do this sort of work, with Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Hope Hicks acting as liaisons, after Trump took over the White House. One cannot seriously doubt, at this point, that the whole point of this scheming was political, with an eye toward protecting Trump's electoral fortunes, as opposed to personal, with an eye toward protecting Trump's marriage. Undoubtedly, when Hicks takes the stand, she will confirm Pecker's version of events.
  
  
• How the Sausage Is Made: This has relatively little to do with the trial, but in the process of explaining how "catch and kill" is just a part of the gossip business, Pecker gave details about other celebrities who had deals of various sorts with his tabloid, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tiger Woods and Mark Wahlberg.
  
  
• Double Gag: The DA's office thinks that, since court was dismissed on Tuesday, Trump has violated his gag order four more times. Merchan hasn't ruled on the original 10 violations yet; he said he will listen to arguments on the four new violations on Wednesday of next week. Whether he will rule on the first set, or wait until he's considered the second set, is not clear. At some point, he's gotta pull the trigger, one way or the other. By the time we get to next Wednesday, Trump will undoubtedly have at least a half-dozen more violations. Maybe more, at the rate he's going, since he clearly wants to go to jail and play martyr for his followers.

Reportedly, Pecker will return to the stand today and will bring a conclusion to his testimony. It is not clear if a second witness will be called to begin their testimony; the Court and the DA's office are keeping that sort of information close to the vest, so as to avoid threats to witnesses from Trump. (Z)