Pecker Testifies to Buying Stories About Woods, Emanuel in Damaging Cross-Examination

Former tabloid publisher David Pecker, a key witness for the prosecution in the New York v. Trump trial, admitted to purchasing negative stories about Tiger Woods and Rahm Emanuel in addition to President Donald Trump. This revelation emerged during cross-examination by Trump's defense attorneys, casting a shadow over the prosecution's allegations.

In a dramatic turn of events in the New York v. Trump trial, former tabloid publisher David Pecker testified that he had purchased damaging stories about high-profile individuals, including professional golfer Tiger Woods and former Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, in addition to former President Donald Trump. This admission came during extensive cross-examination by Trump's defense attorneys, who sought to undermine the prosecution's case that Pecker had engaged in a "catch and kill" scheme to bury negative information about Trump ahead of the 2016 election.

Pecker, a former CEO of American Media Inc., the parent company of publications such as the National Enquirer, has been a key witness for the prosecution. He had previously testified that he purchased negative stories about Trump and did not publish them, allegedly at the request of the Trump campaign. However, under cross-examination, Pecker acknowledged that he had also purchased stories about other high-profile individuals.

Regarding the story about Woods, Pecker stated that he had purchased it so that it would not be published. The alleged affair that the story detailed had not been publicly disclosed at the time. Pecker also testified that he had purchased a story about Emanuel in 2009, after he had left the Obama White House. The story allegedly concerned an affair that Emanuel had had.

Pecker's cross-examination is ongoing, and his testimony is expected to continue on Friday morning. It remains to be seen how his revelations about purchasing stories about other individuals will impact the prosecution's case against Trump.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts of falsifying business records, and his defense team has maintained his innocence, claiming that he was simply paying legal fees to his former attorney Michael Cohen, who orchestrated hush money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal.

The prosecution is attempting to prove that Trump was aware of those payments and allegedly falsified records of payments to Cohen as "legal expenses" rather than repayments for the hush money.

Pecker's testimony about purchasing stories about Woods and Emanuel could provide a defense for Trump, suggesting that the alleged "catch and kill" scheme was not unique to Trump but a standard practice in the tabloid industry.

However, the prosecution could argue that Pecker's actions in relation to Trump were motivated by the Trump campaign's desire to suppress negative information about Trump, rather than by any industry standard.

The trial is expected to continue for several weeks, and it remains to be seen how Pecker's testimony will ultimately impact the outcome of the case against Trump.