Trump hush money trial Day 8: 6 key takeaways including former assistant Rhona Graff’s testimony
Trump's hush money trial: 6 insights from Day 8 including former assistant Rhona Graff's testimony
Day 8 of the hush money trial against former President Donald Trump ended on Friday, April 26, leaving the 12-panel jury with a three-day weekend to ponder over the witness testimonies. Three witnesses, including former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, Trump's former assistant Rhona Graff and a banker for Michael Cohen, testified in the historic trial. Trump faces 34 counts for falsifying business records to hide a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election to cover up their alleged sexual encounter. Here are the six major takeaways from the ongoing trial.
1. Trump's ex-assistant Rhona Graff testifies
The former president's long-standing executive assistant, Rhona Graff, took the witness stand for less than an hour. During her 30-year service as Trump's assistant at the Trump Tower, she managed his contacts and calendar. Graff said she put down Daniels and Karen McDougal's contacts in the Trump Organization system. The assistant also testified that she once saw Daniels at Trump Tower, who likely came to discuss the show 'Celebrity Apprentice'.
2. Jury saw documents for shell company and bank account created to buy Karen McDougal's story
The 12-panel jury saw the paper trail Micahel Cohen made in Delaware for a shell company and corresponding bank account to pay American Media Inc for buying the story rights from Karen McDougal as part of a "catch-and-kill" scheme. Gary Ferro, a banker from First Republic Bank, testified that the bank account had never received any funds. Instead, Cohen opened another account in October 2016 for the company named Essential Consultants, which was used to pay the hush money to Daniels. Farro would likely continue his testimony when the court convenes on April 30 to show the jury the paperwork on how Cohen used his personal property for the advance payment to the adult film actress.
3. Trump's attorney tried to find inconsistencies in David Pecker's testimony
On Pecker's last day on the witness stand, the defense attempted to undercut his testimony of burying negative stories about Trump using the catch-and-kill scheme and AMI's violation of campaign finance laws. Defense attorney Emil Bove came up with alleged inconsistencies about the former AMI chief's testimony in the hush money trial and his previous interviews. The Trump lawyer multiple times asked Pecker whether his testimony was a "mistake." Bove tried to show the jury the inconsistencies with the witness's testimony last week and what he previously told investigators about the $150,000 payment to McDougal to buy her story about an alleged affair with the ex-president. At one point, Bove referenced FBI notes from a 2018 interview where Pecker stated that Trump did not express gratitude to him during a meeting at Trump Tower on January 6, 2017. Earlier this week, the former AMI CEO testified that Trump thanked him for dealing with the McDougal and doorman stories during the 2016 campaign.
4. Prosecution restores David Pecker's credibility showing he was consistent
After the defense tried to prove Pecker's inconsistency, the prosecution attempted to re-establish the witness's credibility and AMI's admittance to violations of campaign finance laws. Assistant district attorney Joshua Steinglass from the prosecution dismissed Bove's claim that the witness had different testimonies of Trump thanking him at Trump Tower. The prosecution cited another FBI interview from 2018 where Pecker testified the ex-president thanked him during the 2017 meeting. Steinglass also made Pecker confirm that AMI admitted that the McDougal payment broke the federal campaign election law.
5. Trump breaks into a smile after Rhona Graff's testimony
Following Graff's less than an hour testimony, Trump had a smile on his face, contradicting his usual restrained behavior inside the courtroom, according to CNN. "I never had the same day twice in all that time," the ex-assistant said about her work. "It was a very stimulating, exciting, fascinating place to be." Trump also tried to shake hands with Graff after she left the witness stand, according to Newsweek's Katherine Fung, who was present inside the courtroom.
6. Defense tries to portray positive picture of Trump
In light of certain remarks from Pecker and Graff, the defense tried to portray Trump as a good family man. For instance, the former AMI chief said that Trump was a "mentor" and that they had no ill feelings for each other. When Bove asked whether he thought Trump cared about his family, Pecker said, "Of course I do." Similarly, Graff also had a positive opinion about working under Trump. She admitted the ex-president respected her intelligence, stating, "I don't think I would have been there 34 years if he didn't."
