Joshua Steinglass says Trump and David Pecker's 'catch and kill' plot was 'game changer' of 2016 election
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass persisted in focusing on the significance of the purported "catch and kill" plots involving former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker and Donald Trump, as well as their potential impact on the 2016 election, per CNN.
"The value of this corrupt bargain," Steinglass said, "cannot be overstated."
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass on what possibly got Donald Trump elected
"It turned out to be one of the most valuable contributions anyone ever made to the Trump campaign," Steinglass said, adding that "this scheme cooked up by these men at this time could very well be what got President Trump elected."
Earlier, Steinglass also noted that the defendant "has pointed out again and again NDAs (nondisclosure agreements) aren’t illegal. That’s true but that’s beside the point. Contracts aren’t illegal in and of themselves but a contract to kill your wife is illegal."
Donald Trump's 'catch-and-kill component' of meeting with David Pecker and Michael Cohen
Steinglass told the jury while referring to Trump's meeting with Pecker and Michael Cohen in 2015, "The real game changer of this meeting was the catch-and-kill component. And that’s the illegal part. Because once money starts changing hands on behalf of a campaign, that’s federal election campaign finance violations."
The prosecution pointed out that Todd Blanche, Trump's lawyer, informed the jury that catch-and-kill was not discussed at the 2015 meeting. "That’s not true. They discussed catch and kill plenty. They didn’t use the term catch and kill. But that’s exactly what it was," Steinglass said.
Joshua Steinglass says Donald Trump's attempt to influence media is 'subversion of democracy'
"Blanche said there is nothing wrong with trying to influence an election it’s called democracy. In reality, this agreement at Trump Tower was the exact opposite. it was the subversion of democracy," the prosecutor said. Steinglass accused Trump and AMI, the owner of the National Enquirer, of trying to "pull the wool over" voters' eyes "in a coordinated fashion."
"Pecker and AMI stopped engaging in legitimate press activities the moment they agreed to be a covert arm of the defendant’s campaign," Steinglass said.
Joshua Steinglass on Trump Tower doorman Dino Sajudin's hush money
Prosecutor Steinglass, while going through the Dino Sajudin incident, showed the source agreement documents with the former Trump Tower doorman and noted that publisher Pecker agreed to pay more than normal for the story.
The prosecutor cited Pecker's statement that the Sajudin story, if accurate, would have garnered greater attention than Elvis Presley's death. However, Steinglass pointed out that Pecker stated that he had an agreement with Trump and Cohen to hold off on publishing the story until after the election.
"They were willing to wait because that would help the defendant’s campaign. And that was the only reason," Steinglass said. "That is catch and kill."
