前《国家询问报》出版人大卫·佩克结束了对前总统唐纳德·特朗普的直接审查刑事封口费审判在揭开他的出版物与特朗普的“抓捕并杀死”交易的面纱后——这位前总统的律师开始盘问，将同样的安排框定为小报世界中的“标准操作程序”。
这一天是关于时任特朗普律师迈克尔·科恩向斯托米·丹尼尔斯付款的第一份证词——这笔交易是地区检察官案件的核心——并生动展现了佩克尔在特朗普当选总统后与他的互动。
派克周五上午回到证人席继续盘问，而法官胡安·默克姆也计划在下周三举行听证会，讨论特朗普涉嫌违反限制言论自由令的其他几项指控。
以下是试验第七天的五大收获。
派克描述了凯伦·麦克道戈的安排
佩克作证说，在他得知《花花公子》模特凯伦·麦克道戈试图出售一篇关于她与特朗普长达一年的恋情的报道后，迈克尔·科恩指示佩克购买她的报道，并建议特朗普赔偿该公司的费用。
派克说，他以15万美元的价格购买了麦克杜格尔故事的独家版权，这样就不会“让特朗普先生难堪，也不会让竞选活动难堪或受到伤害。”
“你是否知道公司与候选人或竞选活动合作或应其要求为影响选举而支出的费用是非法的?”检察官乔什·斯坦格拉斯问佩克。
派克表示，他知道并证实《问询报》的母公司AMI从未向联邦选举委员会报告这笔款项。
特朗普在选举后一直在监控封口费
皮克描述了特朗普在获得总统职位后如何监视皮克和科恩收买的女性，以换取她们的沉默。
派克描述了过渡时期的两次特朗普大厦会议、一次对椭圆形办公室的访问以及特朗普至少两次愤怒的电话，他详细描述了特朗普对保持沉默的担忧。
“他(特朗普)问我凯伦(麦克杜格尔)怎么样了——‘我们的女孩’怎么样了。我说，她在写她的文章，她很安静，一切都很好，”派克作证说。
当麦克杜格尔和丹尼尔斯在2018年上电视时，皮克说他接了特朗普的两个电话，称他对这些女人如何能够逃避他们促成的合同“非常愤怒”。
派克帮助促成了斯托米·丹尼尔斯的交易
派克解释了他在迈克尔·科恩向斯托米·丹尼尔斯支付臭名昭著的13万美元的交易中所扮演的角色。这笔交易是特朗普目前面临的34项重罪指控的基础。
派克回忆说，2016年他和妻子外出吃饭时接到了一个疯狂的电话——是他在《国家询问报》的编辑打来的，他提议购买丹尼尔斯的故事。
佩克解释说，他不愿意代表川普参与另一场“抓捕并杀害”的交易，但他指示他的编辑给迈克尔·科恩一个机会，让他把这篇报道“从市场上撤下”，科恩也这么做了——自掏腰包。
科恩后来向佩克抱怨说，他担心自己不会被特朗普报销或获得奖金，并要求佩克要求特朗普帮助他获得这两项。
辩方称之为“标准操作程序”
特朗普的律师埃米尔·博韦(Emil Bove)在盘问佩克时，试图将“抓捕并杀死”的安排框定为小报行业的“标准操作程序”。
佩克说，他的公司只出版了他们购买的大约一半的故事，并且在特朗普发起总统竞选前近20年，佩克就开始给特朗普关于负面故事的提示。
“17年来为特朗普总统提供了关于潜在负面宣传的警告?”Bove问他。
“没错，”佩克说。
佩克谈到了其他的“捕捉并杀死”交易
在反诘问下，佩克讨论了他多年来的其他抓捕和杀害安排，包括以2万美元购买和压制众议员拉姆·伊曼纽尔的一篇报道。
他说，在阿诺德·施瓦辛格竞选加州州长之前，他与他达成了一项协议，其中施瓦辛格同意担任AMI一些健身杂志的自由编辑，以换取帮助撤销有关施瓦辛格过去与女性交往的负面报道。
当被问及与施瓦辛格的协议时，派克承认AMI花了自己的钱来扼杀关于这位前加州州长的报道——“几十万美元，”派克说。
派克还作证说，有人试图通过购买一个关于老虎伍兹的负面故事作为筹码，迫使老虎伍兹接受AMI健身杂志的采访。
5 big takeaways from Day 7 of Trump's hush money trial
Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker concluded his direct examination in former President Donald Trump'scriminal hush money trialafter lifting the veil on his publication's "catch-and-kill" deal with Trump -- after which an attorney for the former president began cross-examination by framing that same arrangement as nothing more than "standard operating procedure" in the world of tabloids.
The day featured the first testimony about then-Trump attorney Michael Cohen's payment to Stormy Daniels -- the transaction at the heart of the district attorney's case -- and brought to life Pecker's interactions with Trump after he secured the presidency.
Pecker returns to the stand Friday morning to continue cross-examination, while Judge Juan Merchan has also scheduled a hearing for next Wednesday on several additional alleged violations of the limited gag order Trump is under.
Here are five big takeaways from Day 7 of the trial.
Pecker described the Karen McDougal arrangement
Pecker testified that after he learned Playboy model Karen McDougal was trying to sell a story about an alleged year-long relationship she had with Trump, Michael Cohen instructed Pecker to purchase her story and suggested that Trump would compensate the company for the cost.
Pecker said that he purchased the exclusive rights to McDougal's story for $150,000 so it wouldn't "embarrass Mr. Trump or embarrass or hurt the campaign."
"Were you aware that expenditures by corporations made for the purpose of influencing an election made in coordination with or at the request of a candidate or campaign were unlawful?" prosecutor Josh Steinglass asked Pecker.
Pecker said he was aware and confirmed that the Enquirer's parent company, AMI, never reported the payment to the Federal Election Commission.
Trump kept tabs on hush payments after the election
Pecker described how Trump, after securing the presidency, kept tabs on the women Pecker and Cohen had paid off in exchange for their silence.
Describing two Trump Tower meetings during the transition period, a visit to the Oval Office, and at least two angry phone calls from Trump, Pecker detailed Trump's concern with keeping them quiet.
"He (Trump) asked me how Karen [McDougal] was doing -- how's 'our girl' doing. I said, she's writing her articles, she's quiet, things are going fine," Pecker testified.
When McDougal and Daniels went on television in 2018, Pecker said he fielded two calls from Trump, describing him as "very aggravated" about how the women were able to skirt the contracts they'd brokered.
Pecker helped broker the Stormy Daniels deal
Pecker explained his role in brokering Michael Cohen's infamous $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels -- the transaction underpinning the 34 felony charges Trump now faces.
Pecker recalled receiving a frantic phone call while out to dinner with his wife in 2016 -- it was his editor at the National Enquirer calling with an offer to purchase Daniels' story.
Pecker explained his reluctance to engage in another "catch-and-kill" deal on Trump's behalf, but he instructed his editor to give Michael Cohen the chance to take the story "off the market," which Cohen did -- out of his own pocket.
Cohen later complained to Pecker that he was worried he wouldn't be reimbursed by Trump or get a bonus, and asked Pecker to ask Trump to help him secure both.
The defense called it 'standard operating procedure'
Trump attorney Emil Bove, cross-examining Pecker, sought to frame the "catch-and-kill" arrangement as nothing more than "standard operating procedure" in the tabloid industry.
Pecker said that his company only published about half the stories they purchased, and that Pecker began giving Trump a heads-up about negative stories nearly two decades before Trump launched his presidential bid.
"Seventeen years of providing President Trump with a heads up about potentially negative publicity?" Bove asked him.
"That's correct," Pecker said.
Pecker addressed other catch-and-kill deals
Under cross-examination, Pecker discussed other catch-and-kill arrangements that he had over the years, including buying and suppressing a story for Rep. Rahm Emanuel for $20,000.
He said that he made an agreement with Arnold Schwarzenegger ahead of the actor's run for California governor in which Schwarzenegger agreed to serve as an editor-at-large for some of AMI's fitness magazines in exchange for help quashing negative stories about Schwarzenegger's past interactions with women.
Pressed on cross-examination about the arrangement with Schwarzenegger, Pecker acknowledged that AMI spent its own money to kill stories about the former California governor -- "hundreds of thousands of dollars," Pecker said.
Pecker also testified about an effort to compel Tiger Woods to do an interview with AMI's fitness magazines by purchasing a negative story about him as leverage.
