George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley on Friday said the prosecution’s case against former President Donald Trump is failing as a key witness is benefiting the defense.
Trump is on trial facing 34 felony counts of allegedly falsifying business records in relation to a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. The prosecution’s first witness, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, was helpful to Trump as the prosecution made mistakes that the defense capitalized on during cross-examination, Turley asserted on Fox News’ “Outnumbered.” (RELATED: Turley Says SCOTUS Could Throw ‘Wrench’ Into Jack Smith’s Case Against Trump)
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“It’s a breakdown in the courtroom. They have a witness that is disassembling in front of them,” Turley said. “The prosecution never revealed to the jury in the direct that Pecker had actually killed stories for other celebrities, that he had been working on stories two decades before the election with Trump that he was suppressing. And now it’s only getting worse. Yesterday was really bad In terms of the cross-examination for the prosecution. Today is much worse. I mean, here Pecker is saying that Trump didn’t want to purchase the story. Yesterday when he asked him about reimbursing Cohen, he said he didn’t know anything about that.”
Pecker has testified about former Trump attorney Michael Cohen and the former president allegedly purchasing former playboy model Karen McDougal’s story of an alleged affair from the outlet, one of three instances the prosecution argues reveal an unlawful “conspiracy” to influence the 2016 election. (RELATED: Trump Defense Attorney Says Bragg’s Charges Are Really Just 34 ‘Pieces Of Paper’)
“I think the defense is doing a very good job, but I have to say that this is collapsing on its own weight,” he added. “You just have to stand back and let it fall. Just asking simple questions that the jury would want to know has left serious damage for the prosecution. These are not strange tangential questions, these are questions you would’ve expected the prosecution to ask as just the completion of their line of questioning. Like was Donald Trump the only one you did this for, when did you start to do this?”
Former U.S. President Donald Trump walks at Manhattan criminal court in New York, U.S., on Friday, April 26, 2024. Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of an alleged scheme to silence claims of extramarital sexual encounters during his 2016 presidential campaign. Michael M. Santiago/Pool via REUTERS
Despite Pecker’s testimony not damaging Trump, former federal prosecutor Andy McCarthy on Friday suggested Judge Juan Merchan’s friendliness toward Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg could lead to jury bias against the former president. (RELATED: ‘De Facto Immune’: MSNBC Legal Analyst Says Supreme Court Has ‘Given A Win For Trump’)
“It’s one thing to be watching the trial through the media, if you are watching it on our channel, you hear me. You hear Kerry Kupec, you hear Jonathan Turley talk about the weaknesses of the case,” McCarthy said. “The jury is not getting that filter. The jury is getting the district attorney’s version of events and taking its cues from a judge who has been very friendly to the district attorney. So if you’re watching this with legal commentary, you know they’re not really proving a conspiracy in there and don’t really have federal campaign finance in there. But I don’t know that the jury knows that.”
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