Trump hush money trial highlights: David Pecker returns to testify about Playboy playmate payouts

In brief remarks to reporters, Trump called the testimony "amazing" and today's proceedings "breathtaking." He reiterated his belief that this trial should not continue.

Trump also condemned Biden's messaging on pro-Palestinian campus protests.

Toward the end of this remarks, the former president addressed today's Supreme Court arguments on presidential immunity, saying that he hopes it was made clear that the president "has to have immunity."

The trial has concluded for the day. The cross-examination of Pecker will resume tomorrow.

The jury has been sent home, allowing for the day to conclude with arguments over what is admissible by the defense on cross-examination.

Bove seems to be trying to give the impression that Pecker doesn't remember things well by bringing up the exact dates of certain events and interviews.

Bove, for example, said that Pecker had a meeting with prosecutors on Aug. 2, 2018, but Pecker said he doesn't remember the exact date.

Bove is highlighting imprecisions in Pecker's testimony regarding the timing of his August 2015 meeting at Trump Tower with Trump and his then-lawyer Cohen.

Pecker told the grand jury that the meeting took place the first week of August but has changed his testimony during this trial.

“What I recollect is that it was in the first half of August,” Pecker said.

When asked if it was "hard to remember exactly what happened almost 10 years ago" Pecker responded, “Yes.” 

Bove appears to be using a tactic to persuade the jury to distrust Pecker’s memory “because it was a long time ago.”

As Bove continues to cross-examine Pecker, he says that Cohen "wanted something for himself." Bove listed a number of things including "a paparazzi shoot for him and his daughter's rock climb."

"So you had an independent relationship with Michael Cohen?" Bove asked.

"Yes," Pecker answered.

Trump lawyer Emil Bove is now establishing that prosecutors refreshed David Pecker's recollection through a series of prep meetings, suggesting that they not only helped him understand what to expect at trial but also showed him documents to reconstruct his memory.

“You understood that you couldn’t say anything differently than what you said under oath previously?” Bove asked.

“What I said under oath was the truth,” Pecker said.

Under questioning from Bove, Pecker admitted that Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel wanted Pecker’s help suppressing a story about Rahm Emanuel having an affair in 2009, and received that help. Rahm Emanuel was President Barack Obama’s White House chief of staff from 2009 to 2010 before being elected Chicago’s mayor in 2011. He now serves as President Joe Biden's ambassador to Japan.

Pecker did it, Bove insinuated, because he was negotiating a deal with the private advisory firm Rahm Emanuel was working with.

Bove seems to want to showcase that Pecker had suppressed stories on behalf of two political candidates (Schwarzenegger and Emanuel) — and was not investigated by the FEC. 

However, it’s important to note that those two candidates, unlike Trump, were candidates for state or municipal offices; the FEC would not have had jurisdiction, and federal campaign finance laws would have been inapplicable.

During cross-examination, Bove asks Pecker about other stories he was involved in suppressing, including one about Tiger Woods and another about Mark Wahlberg.

"Mark Wahlberg, he had an argument with his wife and the story was going to come out," Pecker said, adding, "We acquired the rights, I advised Wahlberg’s team we would acquire the rights and not publish it."

Bove asked, "You also purchased story related to Tiger Woods? Photographs?" 

"It was a source agreement, so we did purchase it, yes," Pecker answered.