PoliticsDonald Trump Looks 'Very Unhappy' During First Witness Testimony in Hush Money Trial, Maggie Haberman Claims
Donald Trump appeared to be "very unhappy" in court on Monday, April 22, as former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker gave his testimony as the first witness in the highly-publicized New York hush money trial.
Pecker and Trump — who reportedly had a "great relationship," according to a news outlet — were said to be working together with Michael Cohen in order to "catch and kill" certain negative stories about the controversial politician around the time of the 2016 election.
Donald Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business documents.
CNN commentator Maggie Haberman revealed to Anderson Cooper that Trump didn't look pleased at all when he left court for a break.
"It was tense in the room when David Pecker was on the stand. It was tense in the room when Colangelo, the prosecutor, was going through the narrative of the case and talking about Stormy Daniels and Access Hollywood and Karen McDougal. And all of these things that Trump does not want to hear about."
Maggie Haberman said Donald Trump looked 'very unhappy' in court on April 22.
Cooper noted that he wondered what was going through the embattled ex-president's head as he watched "his former friend-ish, who knows a lot of secrets about him" take the stand.
"It’s fundamentally different than what we have seen with Trump over many years now, which is a lot of former aides or allies or advisors going on television, or writing books," Haberman replied. "This is a courtroom, and this is under oath. And this is David Pecker opening his testimony and we only heard a little bit of testimony. He’s coming back tomorrow."
Former 'National Enquirer' publisher David Pecker took the stand on Monday and Tuesday.
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Haberman pointed out that Pecker — who made a non-prosecution agreement in exchange for his testimony — said the National Enquirer practiced "checkbook journalism" and paid for "tips" on high-profile individuals, adding that Trump "knows what kind of information that meant that David Pecker had."
She also stated the former tabloid boss "was very poised" in court. She believes he will have a "pretty compelling" story for the jury in future testimonies.
Donald Trump was indicted in March 2023.
As OK! previously reported, a grand jury voted to indict Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business documents in late March 2023.
The charges were in connection with hush money payments made to Daniels just prior to the 2016 election, in order to keep her from publicly speaking out about an alleged sexual encounter she claimed she had with the businessman in 2006.
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Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges.
His trial proceedings began on Monday, April 15, and are expected to continue later this week.
CNN reported Pecker's remarks "checkbook journalism."
ABC News reported Pecker had a "great relationship" with Trump.
