First week of Trump trial ends with final testimony of David Pecker, two additional witnesses

Friday’s trial in the case of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s falsified business records case against Trump saw the conclusion of the cross-examination of former publisher of the National Enquirer David Pecker, as well as subpoenaed witness Rhona Graff, a former Trump executive assistant, and Gary Farro, a former senior managing director at First Republic Bank. 

Trump defense attorney Emil Bove asked Pecker about stories about Bill and Hillary Clinton in the National Enquirer, and whether American Media Inc., the company that Pecker was the chairman of, had run negative stories before the August 2015 meeting with Trump. Pecker said yes, according to CNN. 

In the 2015 meeting, Pecker said he would be the "eyes and ears" for the Trump campaign and bring any negative stories to former Trump attorney Michael Cohen. 

Pecker was also asked if it was "standard operating procedure" for the National Enquirer to recycle content from other outlets, with Bove showing the jury five headlines about then-primary opponent Ben Carson. 

"There was already negative information in the public domain about Ben Carson, and so you ran it in the National Enquirer, right?" Bove asked. "Yes," Pecker replied. 

Pecker said he would have done it without a conversation with Trump. 

Pecker was also questioned on inconsistencies in his testimony. Pecker said on Thursday that Trump had thanked him for his help in suppressing a false story about him having a child with a Trump Tower maid. In notes cited by Bove in court, Pecker told federal authorities that Trump did not express any gratitude toward Pecker or American Media Inc. during a meeting. 

“I know what the truth is,” Pecker said. 

Bove also introduced to the court a Wall Street Journal article published in 2016 before the election, showing that the National Enquirer had endorsed Trump. 

"Since last year, the Enquirer has supported Mr. Trump’s presidential bid, endorsing him and publishing negative articles about some of his opponents," the Wall Street Journal reported in 2016, with the outlet noting that Trump and Pecker were "longtime friends."  

As Fox News reports, "Newspapers routinely endorse presidential candidates and cover their opponents with a negative slant. The defense's point was to show the Enquirer acted like any other publication." 

In response to questioning from Assistant District Attorney Susan Hoffinger, Graff said she worked for the Trump Organization for 34 years and was largely in charge of maintaining Trump’s contacts, according to CNN. 

She said she recalled seeing Stormy Daniels in the reception area at Trump Tower before Trump ran for president. 

During cross-examination delivered by Trump attorney Susan Necheles, Graff was asked to describe her time at the Trump Organization. 

"I never had the same day twice in all that time," Graff said. "It was a very stimulating, exciting, fascinating place to be." 

When asked if Trump was a good boss, Graff said, "I think that he was fair, and, what’s the word I’m looking for, respectful boss to me." 

"Sometimes he would peek his head in and say, 'Go home to your family,' which I thought was very thoughtful of him," Graff testified. 

Necheles brought up Graff saying that she saw Daniels at Trump Tower, to which Graff testified, "I vaguely recall hearing him say that she was one of the people that may be an interesting contestant on the show."  

She said she assumed that Daniels was there to discuss being cast for The Apprentice. 

Graff spent the shortest time on the witness stand Friday, spending around 30 minutes there. 

The prosecution then called Farro, who testified that he was assigned Michael Cohen "after a colleague left in 2015." Farro worked with Cohen through 2018 or 2019, he said. 

He said he was given Cohen based on his "ability to handle individuals that may be a little challenging." 

"Frankly, I didn't find him that difficult," Farro said of Cohen, adding that he was "very excited to be working for him." 

Farro said Cohen opened bank accounts while working with Farro, but Farro "didn’t open any accounts for the Trump Organization." 

He testified on setting up an account for Cohen for Resolution Consultants LLC, saying that Cohen checked "no" on a form that asked if the entity is "associated with political fundraising/Political Action Committee (PAC)." 

Farro testified that he believed Cohen was opening the account for "real estate." 

He said that the bank "did all of our work to establish" Cohen’s account, but "a deposit was never made in the account, so the account never went live." 

13 days later, on October 26, 2016, Farro said he received another letter from his assistant to return Cohen’s call, with Farro testifying, "He stated he was changing course and no longer wanted to open Resolution Consultants and wanted to open a new account." 

Farro said that the new LLC was Essential Consultants LLC, the account that Cohen allegedly used to pay Stormy Daniels. 

The trial broke out for the weekend and will return on Tuesday at 9:30 am.