Trump trial: 1st week of testimony ends with testimony from Michael Cohen's former banker
Banker Gary Farro testified in Donald Trump's hush money trial in New York.
Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York City, where he is facing felony charges related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been tried on criminal charges.
Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records to hide the reimbursement of a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
Top headlines:
- Banker says he set up LLC, which Cohen used to pay Daniels
- 'Thank you for handling' McDougal, Pecker says Trump told him
- 'This story is true,' Pecker recounts being told of Stormy Daniels
- Pecker describes $150,000 negotiations for McDougal's story
- Secret Service has plans if Trump is confined for contempt: Sources
What to know about the hush money case
READ MORE: Here's what you need to know about the historic case.
Prospective jurors questioned about their jobs, hobbies
A portrait of New York is emerging as prospective jurors explain their job, their hobbies, and, most importantly, whether they harbor an opinion of the former president that might render them unable to evaluate the facts of the case impartially.
After about 50 jurors were excused after claiming they could not be fair or impartial, and nine more prospective jurors were excused after saying they could not serve for other reasons, about 34 of the initial group of 96 jurors remain under consideration.
One prospective juror was overheard in the hallway after leaving the courtroom, saying "I just couldn't do it."
The remaining 34 are now answering a 42-question form out loud, one by one.
A venture capitalist from Midtown East, a creative ad director from Midtown, and a city employee from the Upper West Side have shared details of their lives and remain in the running to be seated on the jury -- for now.
They listed New York Times, CNN, TikTok and al Jazeera as their news outlets of choice. Each has a degree of higher education: an MBA, a BFA, and an unspecified Masters' degree.
At times, Trump appears to be reading along with them as they answer the questions -- including if they follow him on social media or have read any of his books.
At least 50 of 96 jurors excused over impartiality
At least 50 of the 96 potential jurors in the first group have been excused from service after they identified that they can't be fair or impartial regarding the case.
Judge Merchan is now beginning the process of questioning the remaining jurors.
Trump family, administration officials could be called as witnesses
During his lengthy remarks to potential jurors regarding the case, Judge Merchan listed several individuals who could potentially be called as witnesses at trial -- but emphasized that not all would be summoned to the stand.
Among those Merchan listed as potential witnesses were Trump, Stormy Daniels, and former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, as well as David Pecker, the former American Media Inc. executive who prosecutors say played an integral role in a plan to "catch and kill" negative stories about Trump in 2016.
Several Trump family members were also named, including Melania Trump, Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.
Other potential witnesses listed were former members of Trump's administration, including Steven Bannon, Kellyanne Conway, Reince Priebus, Hope Hicks and John McEntee.
Merchan also listed a number of former employees of the Trump Organization, including Allen Weisselberg, Jeffrey McConney, Dan Scavino, Rhonna Graff and Alan Garten. Additional names mentioned included Robert Costello, Keith Davidson, and Rudy Guliani.
Trump faces prospective jurors
As Judge Merchan reviewed the details of the case for the first group of 96 prospective jurors, former President Trump turned and faced the group -- eliciting visible responses from the gallery.
One woman let out an audible giggle, covered her mouth, and looked to her neighbor with eyebrows raised. Others craned their necks from the rear of the courtroom to catch a glimpse of the defendant.
Trump earlier had his eyes locked on Merchan as the judge went through his instructions to the group.
The former president subsequently appeared to close his eyes and fold his arms, sporadically adjusting in his seat.
Pecker reiterates that he didn't want Stormy Daniels' story
Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified on cross-examination that the publication's limited involvement in Stormy Daniels' hush money payment was unrelated to the August 2015 Trump Tower meeting where Pecker vowed to serve as the "eyes and ears" of Trump's presidential campaign.
Pecker's testimony on cross-examination about the Daniels story appeared consistent with his testimony yesterday about his strong desire not to be involved in the Stormy Daniels payment.
Pecker said yesterday that he did not want to be involved in the story due to concerns about reputational harm to the National Enquirer and a lack of reimbursement for the other payments he had made to suppress previous Trump stories.
"I said, we already paid $30,000 to the doorman, we paid $150,000 to Karen McDougal, and I am not a bank. I am not paying out any further disbursements among us," Pecker testified yesterday. Pecker said he instructed National Enquirer Chief Content Officer Dylan Howard to flag the Stormy Daniels story to Michael Cohen, who made the payment to Daniels himself.
Asked about Daniels' payment on cross-examination, Pecker said that the National Enquirer's limited involvement was unrelated to their vow to Trump.
"You did not consider the Stormy Daniels story to be part of any agreement you had in August 2015?" defense attorney Emil Bove asked.
"That is correct," Pecker said.
"You wanted nothing to do with it?" Bove said.
"That's correct," Pecker said.
Pecker added that he did not "authorize" Howard to continue communicating with Stormy Daniels' lawyer Keith Davidson about the payment.
When Howard raised concerns to Pecker that Davidson had not yet been paid by Michael Cohen, Pecker said he was angry that Howard continued to communicate with Davidson about the story. In addition to the nature of the story -- which Pecker said could endanger the National Enquirer's relationship with its distributors -- Pecker said Cohen's delay in paying Daniels' lawyer could result in reputational harm to the National Enquirer.
"Frankly, you were not happy to be hearing that?" Bove asked about Cohen's delayed payment.
"Yes," Pecker said.
"The main concern was Howard's reputation?" Bove asked.
"Yes," Pecker said.