mr. pecker. and when he says, for instance, that trump was detail oriented or micromanager, how would he know that? he would know that because they have spent so much time together. he would know that because they have discussed business together. so, you're laying the foundation in many ways, and, by the way, you're not just doing it through mr. pecker. he's, you know, witness number one on days number one and two. they're going to be many more witnesses, and they're going -- the prosecutors are going to ask all the witnesses how do you know the things that you say you know? what is the basis for it. all of that foundational testimony tells the jury in essence, you can trust the government's case. >> so, catherine, the prosecution has been drilling down on alleged conspiracy. hatch, between these three guys that now infamous trump tower meeting, and, vaughn talked about this, as part of that, they allege pecker agreed to be the eyes and ears of the campaign. the eyes and ears. publish flattering

mr. pecker a few days before the inauguration even though mr. pecker earlier told the fbi that trump had not thanked him. so chris, for an effective cross examination, mr. bove doesn't need a perry mason moment where pecker breaks down on the stand. all he has to do is kind of chip away at mr. pecker's testimony, and i think he's done a decent job of that. >> yeah, there are points at which, again, reporting from inside, they talk about the way bove was approaching this, the description of david pecker is that he's a smaller man, fairly slight, that he has a kind of a soft demeanor, which belies, right, the jobs that he actually did, but that's the way he's coming across on the stand, and at one point, bove got pretty pointed and raised his voice a little bit. are you very careful when you're doing a cross examination about how you come across in contrast to however the witness presents? >> right, because there's two things you're trying to do there. one of them is to get the witness to say things that help your case. that's actually what you're

mr. pecker, i assume it will be done through other witnesses, too. but with mr. g i have known this man a long time. he's detail oriented. he cares a lot about his money and the money of hes company, and stuff doesn't happen in the trump organization without mr. trump signing off on it. that's key. and it's relevant. >> and actually trump's attorney said that, part of that, yesterday as well. chuck rosenberg, rehema ellis, charles coleman, kristen gibbons, tristan snell, i can't thank you enough for being with me this hour. it's really flown by because of the information you all are able to put into perspective. i thank you so very much and i thank you for the privilege of your time. we're going to take a short break. when we come back, the impact the trial could have at the ballot box. you're watching jose diaz-balart reports on msnbc. when you put in the effort, but it starts to frizz... you skipped a step. tresemmé silk serum. use before styling for three days of weightlessly smooth hair that frizz can't beat. new tresemmé keratin smooth collection. i was born

mr. pecker, other cases, other people that mr. pecker was killing stories for and the idea it's a celebrity-based idea not one that's politically motivated. >> shannon: want to get your sense of how long pecker stays on the stand? there has been back and forth whether the prosecution has to reveal who the witnesses are that will be coming up so the trump team can prepare. could you think there will be more back and forth on that? >> i think mr. pecker will be on the stand for a while today. he was almost apologetic to mr. trump referring to him as a mentor, it seemed as though he seemed to be intending to be very favorable to mr. trump, as much as he possibly could under the circumstances. i think we'll see the defense try to play that out as much as possible. play out a lot of these comparisons. in terms of what will be the next witnesses, the defense needs to know who is going to come up next. there is a great deal of preparation that goes into each witness. a dynamic trial. if the judge wants to stay on path and wants the defens

mr. pecker actually signed a nonprosecution agreement. so he can be prosecuted.what's probably in his head. >> judge jeanine: he'd be prosecuted and convicted because he agreed to testify a certain way. that's what it is. its immunity. >> harold: it's a nonprosecution agreement. they are different than, nonprosecution agreement. pecker testified today -- third thing is, he did the right thing, everything he had been saying all week long. waking up this morning and seeing him in harlem, a juxtaposition of that picture, it should say to the white house, even more of what you are trying, you've got to do more of. i don't understand why the president, president biden, won't release whatever executive orders he's going to do it on the border, he should be doing that now because i think what the president is doing, former president trump is doing is pretty effective outside of the courtroom before he goes in and even when he is up working with people or shaking hands with people, people yelling for him. finally, mr. pecker's testimony today i thought was interesting, i

mr. pecker. there is going to be a belief from a legal standpoint -- i agree, legally -- the things they are talking about that mr. trump did, whether it is hush money or these relationships, none of that is illegal. what they are getting at and what i will be interested in seeing if they can make the case, they are not saying that was legal. what they are saying is there was a criminal conspiracy to influence the election through perhaps in-kind donation at other things. mr. pecker suggested -- no one is in the courtroom reporting what we are getting -- that they were affirmatively planting stories against some of the other opponents that mr. trump faced in 2016, mr. rubio and mr. cruz and others. the question will be legally does not constitute -- >> jesse: you are saying democrat campaigns don't coordinate with the media to plant stories? >> harold: if you listen, i am saying that. just listen to me once i can. mr. pecker is openly saying, he is laying out a narrative saying they were together,

mr pecker is openly saying and laying out a narrative saying that they talked about these things and rump was -- none of that was illegal but he was popular with women and these stories they were paying for journalism and all that kind of stuff. the question becomes if you were out peddling stories that you know are not true about other candidates, can that be perceived... this is just a fact, you can disagree with the analysis. >> who said that today? >> the prosecutor. this is there part of the indictment that was not talked about. this is the push. they are going to be good days and bad days per ton not saying that this can be the test but now i understand the case. but what -- what many upset over the last several days they've said that the federal prosecutors... that seems right. the question is does this other stuff, does this constitute a crime. this is the issue. we will see what happens. >> i think it's unfair to have a gag order on him. >> you know as well as anyone else that you can't possibly pick a jury or make an opening statement if you don't know what the crime is. if

mr. pecker for at least another couple days.ow after the gag order contempt hearing and possibly into thursday as well. as the prosecution told us at the beginning of their opening statement, this whole case is about a conspiracy between three people, the unholy trinity of donald trump, his fixer michael cohen and one david pecker, who is going to loom much larger in this case than i think many of us expected from the outside. >> susanne, i want to pick up on something lisa said in the beginning, tight, scripted opening by the prosecution. one of the things i've heard a lot about is how this is a story that might favor the prosecution, at least in opening for this reason. it is very hard to keep anybody's attention, anyone who has ever spoken publicly will tell you it's hard to keep people's attention span for 45 minutes, but this is a story that has sex, it has payoffs, it has coverups and has the former president of the united states. was it a story as well as a legal argument as you heard it? >> i think it was, and i think ev

mr. pecker's relationship with mr. trump but how the newspaper, maybe that's not an accurate term, the periodical they publish would engage in catch and kill and would help mr. trump by killing certain stories and help mr. trump by running others that were unfavorable to his opponents, laying out that relationship in detail is important. it helps explain not just the context to the jury but why the jury should trust mr. pecker and others who will later corroborate this relationship when they get on the stand. the devil is in the details, andrea, and it seems to me smart to start off the trial this way. >> but andrew, that's not illegal. that's unethical. that's bad campaign. well, not bad campaign practice i guess if it works but certainly not journalistically ethical. that said, how do you get to the felony here? >> so it is important to know that this is the crime charged is false business records, but in order for this to be a felony, it's false business records that were part of a cover-up that was furthering and c

mr. trump's republican opponents, including ted cruz. pecker admitting today the enquirer made up a story about cruz's father and the man who assassinated jfk. also testifying his company paid a doorman $30,000 for a completely untrue story about mr. trump fathering a child with his housekeeper so the doorman couldn't take the story elsewhere, trying to save mr. trump and the campaign the potential embarrassment. the day began with the judge taking the defense team to task over mr. trump's posts on social media targeting cohen and stormy daniels. the state seeking to hold mr. trump in criminal contempt for violating the judge's gag order that bars him from attacking trial witnesses. >> so they can talk about me. they can say whatever they want. they can lie. but i'm not allowed to say anything. i would love to say everything that's on my mind. >> reporter: in court, the defense arguing mr. trump should be permitted to respond to political attacks, and the gag order should not cover reposts of someone else. the judge didn't rule today, but seeme

mr. pecker described that process. pecker, michael cohen would call me and say we would like you to run a negative article on let's say for argument sake, on ted cruz. that was the nature of our story and we'd embellish it from there. prosecutor steinglass, you would michael cohen would call you and say we would like you to run a negativewe story is that correc? >> pecker, yes. >> steinglass, who did you understand we to be referring to? pecker, michaelfe cohen told mee was not part of the campaign so i always assumed mr. trump. when he said we i always assumed he and mr. trump. david pecker and the national enquirer were by his own admission publishing the 2016 at the behest of donald trump at the direction of his lawyer. and then there was what mr. pecker was doinghe behinds the scenes to help trump's campaign. today they asked mr.picker about two negative stories about trump, stories the national enquirer purchased the exclusive rights to and then sat on so that the accusations against trump would not come out before

mr. pecker that your purpose in locking up the mcdougal story to influence the election was the 2016 election. yes. was that the reason you gave to your general counsel? david pecker responded, no. the other issue is the fec agreement. when you look at this, it was acknowledged by david pecker that in this conciliation agreement it was acknowledged by american media incorporated that an election violation was made. this is where the prosecution is in front of the jury heavily emphasizing that, yes, there could be all of these questions around the 2018 back and forth between david pecker, american media and federal prosecutors. ultimately, through that agreement with federal investigators and in this fec agreement, that both the foremost reason that the karen mcdougal agreement was made over the election and that an fec affiliation agreement, there's an acknowledge an illegal in-kind contribution was made. this is a chance for the prosecution to drive this home before the jury and try to make david pecker that ultimate crucial witness that they need him to be. >> do it before the lunch break s

with those respects to mr.- pecker i would say unfortunate for the defense it looks like one time thatsn't willing to make up stories to protect donald trump is when he is testifying under penalty of perjury, and that's what happened today is he basically put the knife into trump, he's saying look, trump and i have this deal, and it starts even before that 2015, and it describes not just what he talked about yesterday, and not just catch and kill, but basically the national inquirer had become an appendage of the trump campaign, and they were making up stories about ted cruz, morphing images, and our campaign finance laws are written to ensure transparency. if you're getting some sort of gift, whether dollars or a donation, that it is disclosed to voters, so they can make up their mind. and what this scheme was, start to finish, was away for donald trump to get a bunch of benefits from a journalistic organization without disclosing that to the american people. that is a crime every day of the week. >> adam, was there a way to read the jury tonight, and how david-pecker's testimony was

mr. trump, meanwhile, back in a new york courtroom. david pecker, the former "national enquirer" publisher back on the stand, testifying about the alleged catch and kill scheme to help mr. trump's 2016 campaign. the tense conversation pecker says he had over paying off stormy daniels. >>> also tonight, usc canceling its main commencement after the arrest of dozens of pro-palestinian protesters. the new clashes as campus unrest spreads. police in atlanta's emory university tasing a protester in handcuffs. restraining others with zip ties. >>> harvey weinstein's rape conviction in new york overturned. the egregious errors the judge is accused of making. will it lead to a new trial? >>> tracking severe storms across several states tonight. >>> the school principal police say was framed using fake ai. >>> arrested at the airport with a gun. >>> and after the first video of their son in 200 days, the parents of an american-israeli hostage speaking out. their message of hope. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >> good evening and

pecker said today he believed mr. trump or his company had paid daniels until cohen told him in december of 2016 that he was the one who paid her. prosecutors are seeking to prove mr. trump doctored internal business records to cover up that payment. pecker also testified trump was aghast when he saw stormy daniels on "60 minutes." >> was it hush money to stay silent? >> yes. >> reporter: pecker says trump called him. he says we have an agreement with stormy daniels that she cannot mention my name. trump later denied knowledge of the arrangement. on cross-examination, mr. trump's lawyers challenging pecker's credibility and business practices. at a campaign event earlier in the day, mr. trump addressed the testimony of his long-time friend. >> david has been very nice. a nice guy. >> did you give the payment to stormy daniels before the 2020 election? >> reporter: pecker also testifying today about a payment his company did make to former "playboy" model karen mcdougal to keep her alleged affair

mr. pecker asaid he agreed to serve as the eyes and ears for rumors that could hurt plump. atsdsing, what i would do is publish positive stories about mr. trump and publish negative stories about his opponents. ection exposing a series of headlines about then candidate trump and derogatory comments making baseless claims about his opponents including ted cruz. pecker admitted today and also testifying his company paid a doorman $30,000 for a completely untrue story about mr. trump fathering a child with his housekeeper so the doorman couldn't take the story else where, trying to save mr. trump and the campaign the potential embarrassment. >> that was nbc's laura jarrett with that report. and joining us now is former assistant district attorney in manhattan catherine christian, and also an nbc legal analyst. thank you for joining us. let's just get your reaction to the david pecker testimony on the witness stand yesterday. how does it help the prosecution? >> it's very helpful, and it's not over yet. we haven't really even gotten to karen mcdougal, the playboy model who ami,

pecker responding "yes, it was." >> vaughn, what did mr. trump's lawyers focus on during david pecker's cross examination? >> reporter: lester, for one, that donald trump was not the only celebrity he helped squash negative stories for, in exchange for good ones. but instead, that this was a mutually beneficialy here in new relationship dating back to the '90s, when donald trump was a celebrity here in new york city. cross-examination will continue tomorrow. lester? >> vaughn hillyard, thank you. >>> new protests flaring up across the country today as pro-palestinian demonstrations escalated, and more people were arrested. and with graduation season practically here, liz kreutz reports schools are making tough choices. >> we will not go! >> reporter: in an unprecedented move, the university of southern california tonight canceling this year's main commencement ceremony, attended by roughly 65,000 people, citing new safety measures put in place amid protests on campus. this stunning decision coming a day after nearly 100 protesters were arres

mr. trump pecker testified about a second catch and kill deal, this time involving 1998 playmate of the year, karen mcdougal and the ten month romance. she alleges she had with mr. trump packer testified today that when donald trump heard that her story might come out, trump told packer, quote anytime you do anything like this it always gets out. okay? >> who knows what donald trump was thinking when mr. pecker testified all of this in court today, when the national enquirer endorse trump back in 2016, trump, after all, returned the favor i've always said, why didn't the national enquirer get the pulitzer prize for edwards and o j simpson and all of these things i think maybe we got an idea today why the national enquirer hasn't been awarded any policy prizes. >> cnn's kara scannell was in court for all this. kara, how attentive? >> word jurors, as all of this sleeves was displayed before them jake, it was a very short court session today. >> david pecker was on the and for just over two hours. and during his testimony, the jurors appear to be paying close attention. you could see when pecke

do you know there was a mr. pecker giving evidence in a mr. pecker?ot realise there was a mr. pecker. some of these names you couldn't actually, make up if you tried, could you, anyway , if you tried, could you, anyway, we are dewbs& co tonight, and as i said, we're with you till seven. it is about you guys at home as well. what's on your mind tonight? you can get in touch with me all the usual ways. you can tweet me, you can email me. you can get yourself over to the website and go on gb news .com/ your say wherever you are tonight you're very welcome indeed, but lots of you by the way, have been getting in touch with me today, showing me your flags. i love a good flag, i do. let's have a look at this one, this is tom's. oh, that's look at that. he's wearing it. he's got it on his head. he's got it on, wrapped around his shoulders. very patriotic. would you like that one? who's this up next? barry, let's have a look at barry's glorious little set up there. very nice. who's next? dave? oh, double flagging it there. like it ? who's next? there. like it

pecker's credibility. at a campaign event earlier in the day, mr. e pretend. >> dave has been very nice, a nice guy. >> did you know about the payment to stormy daniels before the 2020 election? >> reporter: pecker also testifying about a payment his company did make to former "playboy" model karen mcdougal to keep her alleged affair with mr. trump quiet. he was concerned paying mcdougal could violate campaign finance law so they worked up an agreement to campaign for her contributions by american media adding, he believes trump was aware of the payment. the prosecution asking pecker, was your principle purpose to suppress her story as to not influence the election? pecker responding, yes, it was. >> vaughn hillyard reporting there. you were inside the courtroom yesterday. i want to get to some of the substance of david pecker's testimony, but first, if you could just paint a picture of what the energy was like in the room and donald trump who appeared to be more agitated than he's been in the week and a half yesterday, what was it like in the room?

mr. pecker crossed the line of loyalty. but, mr. pecker, frankly, did not cross the line of loyalty.s conceived, people had to know that in the event light was shined on that plan, everybody was going to have an obligation to protect themselves. so, my understanding is that mr. trump said the testimony was breathtaking and there were some mocking references to the testimony. but, i have had lunch with david before. i have respect for david, as a businessperson. i think david is a very wise person. he is a seasoned. i think you did the right thing in the court, by explaining to the people what actually happened. you could say, well, did he do the right thing by getting involved with mr. trump in the first place? i mean, listen, obviously, he probably wishes he didn't and regrets that he did that, but honestly, he is an honest person and gave very direct, very honest testimony. so, we will have to see what happens here. but, i know mr. trump well, well enough to know that he is upset and "mad," asked david pecker for giving that testimony. but, she really didn't have a choice but to gi

mr. pecker and mr. trump at which they planned some of this out and that it was not only stormy daniels who we've heard so much about, but also this former playboy model, karen mcdougal, and that that's what mr. pecker was doing, is that he was helping in getting bad stories out of the public eye. >> so now this all comes to the payments that were mislabeled, according to the prosecutors by trump, prosecutors allege trump reimbursed michael cohen, who paid off stormy daniels and was involved in negotiations between him and i think david pecker as well, what got michael? michael cohen was paid $420,000, daniels was paid $130,000 for her story. the defense is arguing, that trump paid him $420,000 to michael cohen in legal fees, so you can't. so involved in that legal fees would be the 130 that was paid for the payment that was made for stormy daniels and trump's lawyers are saying, look, these were just standard legal fees. that's why you can't classify this as him trying to cover up anything. what can yo

mr. pecker. they will have other people who will be able to say okay, maybe michael cohen, i can find him credible on this even though he's a lair. >> prosecution's going to have to find a way to defend that. >> they're also trump's own comments. he so often goes to the public and says things that are contrary to his legal interests. so it's not just michael cohen's testimony. i think there are things that he has said before that make this a less plausible defense than it might otherwise be. >> thank you very much. catherine, you're sticking around. after the break, what will judge merchan rule on the gag order? did donald trump violate it and if so, what is the punishment? and knowing full well what kind of client donald trump is, what are his lawyers actually, realistically advising him? >>> plus, what's happening on the campaign trial in florida as a six-week abortion ban is about to go into effect. we're back in 90 seconds. t. we're back in 90 seconds - so this is pickleball? - pickle! ah, th

mr. pecker has testified to.n to keep negative information about the campaign from the public to unduly influence the election. >> they are looking, the jurors, at a screen showing these text messages between keith davidson and david howard. one of them is davidson's first text to howard about mcdougal. he says, i have a blockbuster trump story which referred to karen mcdougal's story. howard said, talk first thing. i will get you more than anyone for it. you know why. you know why. why would he say, you know why? >> hard to say without his context. i would imagine, it may have to do with what he believe ez could have secured financially for the story. >> here's is more from the court, from our reporters. both of the above text mention sajs are dated 6/7 sln 16. davidson says he understood at that time that ami had implicitly endorsed donald trump and that pecker and trump had both a friendship and a former business relationship. >> yeah. understanding number one the timing of it. you are talking about the summer

mr. pecker and then put some of these witnesses around, again, for upholstery. you don't want the jurors, the last thing they hear, to be a bloody cross-examination of cohen, which is coming. >> i understand this case a lot better thanks to the interpretation you both have provided. we always appreciate having you on. thank you for kicking us off tonight. >>> coming up, it's hard to overstate how bizarre and unprecedented yesterday's supreme court oral arguments were. our next guest says the very idea of the supreme court considering donald trump's claim of presidential immunity is, in and of itself, a bad thing for our democracy. that's next. migraine with or without aura and the preventive treatment of episodic migraine in adults. it's the only migraine medication that helps treat & prevent, all in one. don't take if allergic to nurtec odt. allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. people depend on me. without a migraine, i can be there for them. talk to your doctor about nurtec od

mr. pecker reiterate that th was done to help donald trump's campaign.he morning session, the defense did not do enough to damage the prosecution's narrative. but ware only on the first witness so far. >> let's talk to former prosecutor joe miranda. good to have your insight. there was a lot of noise, we have heard a lot from donald trump outside of court, we've heard a lot from the prosecution laying out their case. are we clear about whichay this case could head? >> i would not put much stock in what donald trump says. he tends to use a lot of hyperbole and hope the reality follows. as far as we know about the case itself, the prosecution made a real point of going back to david packer and said these actions to protect donald trump or not done in a vacuum. they were done leading up to the 2016 election with the purpose of helping him get elected. that is a critical bridge the prosecution has to connect. they have to say these were not just routine books and records entries designed to cover up some kind of sleazy hush money payment, which looks bad but

mr pecker said he agreed to publish negative stories about mr trump's opponents, and crucially, to killtors case as they try to establish there was a criminal conspiracy on donald trump's part to influence the election. donald trump's lawyers have said this is how newspapers work and nothing about this was illegal. donald trump has been sitting silently in court, but he has been fuming on social media. he has been fuming on social media. he has accused thejudge has been fuming on social media. he has accused the judge of trying to take away his free speech and came after that fiery hearing on the gagging order where, really, after that fiery hearing on the gagging orderwhere, really, donald trump's lawyers frustrated the judge to the point where he said they were losing credibility with the court. they try to argue that donald trump's posts were in a political response to his opponents. thejudge said they had not offered any evidence of that.— it is the most distant man—made object in the universe — nasa's voyager one probe, which is currently more than 15 billion miles from earth. the

mr. pecker. he is going to take the stand. how is he going to rule on a gag order?> i will probably fine trump. is he not going to send him to the hughes cow. as far as bragg's case it's his theory crime for a defendant to suppress damaging information. are you kidding me? going on for more than two centuries. no such crime exists in the law instead he charges this caulk cockamamie. claims it was done in violation of another state law that prohibits conspiring to unlawfully promote a person's candidacy. well, first of all, trump is not charged with conspiracy, second the state law doesn't apply because it was a federal election. by the way the statute of limitations has run on that misdemeanor as well. finally, it's not unlawful to suppress a story. gee, joe biden did it in the 2020 election, suppressing the loont story. by the way, paying money to somebody in exchange for silence, that's perfectly legal. so, i think a fair judge would have dismissed this case long ago but juan merchan is either ignorant of the law or i think is he horribly biased, probably both. >>

mr. pecker and the national enquirer had helped mr. trump in silencing cases of stories before, and that immediately after access hollywood, all of a sudden, stormy daniels gets paid. so the idea is that pecker is putting trump in the room. it isn't just michael cohen and david pecker on their own. it's trump working with pecker and cohen to have a plan to silence these stories before the election, so that they would not affect the election, so that the government wants to say it's all about election interference and it's all it goes right to trump and the defense wants to say it's not election interference. and trump knew nothing. >> all right. i mean, there are different cases, but one can certainly say there's a narrative emerging there. professor david levine, thank you so much. appreciate it okay. >> anytime. thanks for having me. >> coming up next with olympic gold medalist and bay area native kristi yamaguchi. she's going to be joining us to talk about her latest honor. it's about this big she's a best selling author, children's

mr. pecker testified their celebrities are doing this. we do that for the politicians. we do this for people trump's certainly not the originator of this idea. to do this catch and kill practice and so you're watching now through the cross-examination, some chiseling away of the foundation that the prosecution has been trying to build over these last few days. so that'll continue today. >> i would urge that a trial though is a little bit like a small roller coaster. >> there are a lot of ups and downs and you don't get to the big hill until the end. so we're going to be watching the back-and-forth match between the defense team and the prosecution team for the next few weeks have been good days for vote and as you get older, motion sickness does come into play on some of these roller coasters. >> ready? you said this is all old news in something everyone has said. so i'm going to ask you this question somewhat facetiously here. but the jury, they're not supposed to read any coverage of this this is a jury that's supposed to be completely oblivious to the world around th

i starting by asking him about mr pecker�*s testimony.of the prosecution's basic case here, that this money that was paid to stormy daniels, the pawn to stormy daniels, the porn star, was paid to her for reasons of keeping the story quiet because of the election. now, that's why they say the payments were dressed up as something else, because they would they could look like illegal campaign contributions. now, what they're trying to do is to establish the background here and say that david pecker, the publisher, the then publisher of the national enquirer, was involved really in a sort of plan with donald trump and his lawyer, notjust to stop those negative stories about donald trump, but to promote positive stories before the election — and indeed to promote smears about some of his opponents, hillary clinton, the republican opponents like ted cruz. so, what they're trying to say is that this was part of a pattern that led to the situation with stormy daniels, which, of course, is the subject of this particular case. i also want to ask y

mr. pecker& the prosecutor, to build up this notion that michael cohen was the conduit. he was acting on behalf of donald trump and corroborating cohen's testimony. so when college i'm testifies to exactly what pecker did, we can't say. he's a liar, liar, liar. that's not true. pecker already said it was because that laundry list you noted about that that makes michael cohen a public figure, also raises a heck of a lot of questions about his credibility that we know the defense is going to talk about joey jackson. thank you very much for being with us this morning. i really appreciate it. >> nothing going on, casey. >> nothing at all. all right. >> now, to this house speaker mike johnson calling on columbia university's president to resign during his tense visit to the new york city campus yesterday johnson visited with jewish students and delivered remarks works with other republican lawmakers as he was booed the entire time. >> it is manifest my message to the students inside the encampment is good. go back to class and stop the nonsense. stop wasting your parents mone

key exchange from today prosecutors asked pecker this and i'm quoting now, prior to the august 2015 meeting, had you ever purchased a story to not print it about mr. trump? pecker responded on no. so how does that help bolster the case that this was potentially criminal interference in the presidential election. >> yeah. was that the timing of that? particular meeting helps do it because there'll be right around the time we would expect that trump would be contemplating his run gearing up for the run, worried about potential negative press and i completely agree with kaitlan here. this is the start of a story that it's really going to be extending throughout this trial. it's not actually the crux of the criminal case. the crux of the criminal case concerns how and why stormy daniels was paid through michael cohen. that's gonna be the main event for the jurors. with this is all crucial context with the jury's to understand all of everything that leads as three microbreweries with us as well. a former us attorney, michael, let's talk a little bit about pecker's testimony. he said trump was quote, frugal in his approach to money. frugal, a direct qu

pecker told the jury today he bought the story because of the potential embarrassment it would have to the campaign and mrump. >> david pecker is a very strong witness for the prosecution. he seems very solid on the stand. he certainly seems like he doesn't have any ax to grind with donald trump and seems almost apologetic for having to tell this story. >> reporter: on the stand, pecker said trump called him about another story he wanted kept quiet. that a former "playboy" model karen mcdougal, who claimed to have had a ten month long affair with trump in 2006, which he denies. >> after we had been intimate, he tried to pin me, and i actually didn't know how to take that. >> reporter: four days before the 2016 election, "the wall street journal" reported that american media, which owned the "enquirer" at the time that had paid mcdougal $150,000 for the rights to her story, which was never published. in the gag order here, the prosecution argued trump should be held in contempt for all of his scathing commentary about this case. trump lawyer todd blanche said his client has been careful with his words. to

mr. pecker and mr. trump and mr. cohen who decided to take and buy the stories to make sure other people couldn't publicize them. mr. trump doesn't deny that meeting happened. he can't. but he is going to deny there was anything illegal about it, craig. >> laura jarrett for us there at the courthouse. laura, thank you. let's bring in senior washington correspondent hallie jackson and nbc news legal analyst danny cevallos. we will hear from danny pecker but the aforementioned michael cohen, the president's former fixer, a man who wrote a book called "revenge" about his former boss. he is also a convicted felon. >> much has been made of his lack of credibility and he has that problem, but prosecutors routinely use cooperating witnesses with much worse character issues than michael cohen. you will have trials and i have had these where the cooperating witness comes in in shackles and prison gear. the point is prosecutors often go to other bad guys to get testimony against the defendant bad guy that they want to convict.

mr pecker will be back on the stand on thursday, the court breaks tomorrow. in another criminal case he is facing, about the 6th of january. every which way this former president turns, reeta, he faces legal problems.— president turns, reeta, he faces legal problems. gary o'donoghue, many thanks- _ a man in iraq has started a landmark legal action against the uk oil company bp over the death of his 21—year—old son. hussein julood alleges that the burning—off of gas at a bp—run oilfield in iraq — a practice known as flaring — caused his son ali's leukaemia. a bbc investigation in 2022 found that ali's village, which lies within the field of rumaila in southern iraq, had high levels of cancer—causing pollutants known to come from flaring. bp says it understands the concerns and that it is continuing to support the operator to reduce flaring at the oil field. esme stallard has the story. ali julood was a happy child who loved playing football with his friends. at 15, he was diagnosed with leukaemia, and last year, after six years of treatment for cancer, he died

prosecution came back on redirect and had mr pepper reiterate that this was all done on redirect and had mr peckerthis was all done to help donald trump's campaign. and so looking at the morning session, the defence didn't do really enough, i think, to damage the prosecution's narrative. but of course, we are only on the first witness so far. i'm joined by laurie levenson, former federal prosecutor and professor of law at loyola marymount university in los angeles. you've been watching donald trump this trial in new york. what do you make of it so far? i this trial in new york. what do you make of it so far?— make of it so far? i think it's an uncomfortable _ make of it so far? i think it's an uncomfortable place _ make of it so far? i think it's an uncomfortable place for- make of it so far? i think it's an - uncomfortable place for donald trump to be because he is not in charge. even though he would interact with his lawyers, he cannot help himself from having a skull on his face. the donald trump you see there on the campaign trail is not the donald trump in a courtroom as the witnesses point t

mr packer. they needed to set the stage and explain why this scheme was a legal —— mister pecker.been in cahoots with mr trump for many years, frankly, for the system of catching these stories, stopping news stories, paying for news stories and doing all of that in furtherance of getting donald trump elected president. getting donald trump elected resident. �* , , ., president. because it is not the hush — president. because it is not the hush money _ president. because it is not the hush money payment i president. because it is not i the hush money payment itself, so called hush money, that is illegal, it was allegedly covered up and linked into a broader scheme, which the president said was meant to affect the election, is that right? affect the election, is that riuht? ., �* , right? that's right, the payment _ right? that's right, the payment itself - right? that's right, the payment itself is i right? that's right, the payment itself is not . right? that's right, the i payment itself is not illegal, so what the da is alleging here is that trump and his team falsified business

pecker defiant at one point saying, i've been truthful to the best of my recollection. the tabloid mogul also undermining the idea mr. trump wanted to bury those stories about women to protect his family, a common refrain from the defense. instead, pecker said he believed it was all to protect his campaign. >> i do have to begin by wishing melania happy birthday. she's in florida. >> reporter: melania trump notably absent at trial. >> laura, does it appear prosecutors got what they needed from david pecker this week? >> lester, pecker is a useful witness for prosecutors to the extent he can testify about conversations about mr. trump that touch on his alleged scheme to influence the election, but what he can't offer, lester, is any evidence on the actual crime that the former president has been indicted for, which isn't a campaign finance violation. it's the way his payments to cohen were documented on his internal records. now, we'll see if other witnesses can speak more directly to that, lester. >> okay, laura, thank you. >>> president biden was also in new york today giving a rare interview to radio host howard s

mr. pecker, was that your purpose in locking up the karen mcdougal story, to influence the election? pecker, yes. and the fact that pecker agreed to not publish a story about a playboy model's year-long alleged affair with a presidential candidate is only further proof this is not just about doing good business because pecker admitted such a story would have been, quote, "national enquirer" gold. the prosecution asked, at the time you entered into the agreement, you had zero intention of publication even if it would have helped the bottom line. you killed it because it would have hurt president trump. to which pecker answered, correct. and before the court wrapped for the week, the jury heard from two other witnesses, first was trump's longtime assistant and gate keeper, rhona graff, for a brief line of questioning authenticating both karen mcdougal and stormy daniels' contact information were in trump's computer. during cross-examination, she did admit to hearing conversations about daniels potentially being thought of as a contestant for celebrity apprentice. the other witness is mu

but look, in every kind of instance, the prosecution came back on redirect and had mr pecker reiteraten. and so looking at the morning session, the defence didn't do really enough, i think, to damage the prosecution's narrative. but of course, we're only on the first witness so far. i'm joined by formalfederal prosecutor, joe moreno. jo, jo, good to have your analysis on the programme tonight. give us a sense of what we learned this week because there was a lot of noise, we heard a lot from donald trump outside of court, a lot from the prosecution laying out their case. how we any clearer on it which way this could head?— how we any clearer on it which way this could head? well, ben, i would not ut this could head? well, ben, i would not put too — this could head? well, ben, i would not put too much _ this could head? well, ben, i would not put too much stock _ this could head? well, ben, i would not put too much stock in _ this could head? well, ben, i would not put too much stock in what - not put too much stock in what donald trump says, i think he tends to use a lot of hyperbole an

>> reporter: pecker describing a meeting at trump tower in 2015 with mr. trump and his former fixer michael cohen, where pecker says he agreed to serve as the eyes and ears for rumors that could hurt mr. trump, adding, "what i would do is publish positive stories about trump and publish negative stories about his opponents." the prosecution then showing the jury a series of glowing headlines about then candidate trump and derogatory ones making baseless claims about mr. trump's republican opponents, including ted cruz. pecker admitting today "the enquirer" made up a story linking cruz's father to the man who assassinated jfk. pecker also testifying his company paid a doorman $30,000 for a completely untrue story about mr. trump fathering a child with his housekeeper so the doorman couldn't take the story elsewhere, trying to save mr. trump and the campaign the potential embarrassment. the day began with the judge taking the defense team to task over mr. trump's posts on social media targeting cohen and stormy daniels. the state seeking to hold mr. trump in

mr. pecker stumbled into some type of meeting in the white house. were director comey and secretary pompeii or were there and the prosecution seems to be saying, well, you're in the meeting with two big officials. i mean, that doesn't make him a coconspirator that makes some forrest gump i mean, the guy stumbling around and walks into a meeting that's proof of nothing. so i don't know that pecker's testimony was that damaging so far, i suspect they'll fill in the gaps or attempt to fill them in with cohen. and i suspect that we'll see a much more aggressive line of cross-examination with them so jurors are being shown emails right now between cohen and pharaoh setting up a bank account for resolution consultants, llc everyone stick with me. we're close to wrapping for the week in the manhattan hush money cover up for i'll keep it here as we watch prosecutors try to finish out as the court adjourns for the weekend, three-day weekend for the jury. we're back in a moment the white house correspondents dinner live tomorrow at seven eastern on cnn today.

finally mr pecker's testimony i thought was interesting.'t seen anything to convince me that mr trump is guilty but i do for a little bit. i think he's laying out the story. the prosecution thinks that if they can show that there was an agreement amongst a few people including president trump or at least in between the teams around payments for certain things to either kill stories or plant stories, all in an effort to benefit the campaign i think you said well judge, he assumed that all of this was for the campaign and not to protect his family. which is where the legal... begins to come in. i understand what the team is trying to do and we will see if they get there. mr trump has got to be pleased with how he's entering the courtroom because the pictures, the objects of him campaigning are about as powerful as good as he can do not being on the campaign trail. >> and endorsement of donald trump from harold ford junior. >> i'm saying he's done a good job campaigning. >> coming up... is treating the indictments like the bible. ♪ ♪ >> judge

mr. pecker, that one point, mr. trump said in addition to the campaign millennials need to hear about this. it's only need is for that m&ms. yes, he was concerned about melannie. he was concerned about baron because it's gotta be that the expenditure is 100% for him to become president of the united states. i'm sorry, that's wrong. that's just not the law. it does not have to be 100%. i see jeffries agreeing with me. it does not have to be 100% campaign related. those campaigns should be both. >> i wanted to predict the campaign, but also i was worried about my wife. yes. >> the campaign has to be a substantial factor, does not but three, 100% and nobody would ever be able to prove that my view of david pecker today as he was a rock solid start for the prosecutors. you're not going to win your case that the first witness, it's a mistake to try to do that. i agree that if the case ended right now, we'd have no crime made out. >> so he's sort of setting the table exactly what i think he did. >> that was really the int