A new witness testified in front of the Manhattan grand jury that is investigating former President Donald Trump on Monday.
The witness is the former publisher of the National Enquirer, David Pecker, according to the New York Post. Pecker was a part of the Enquirer when the parent company of the outlet bought the publishing rights to report on a former Playboy model named Karen McDougal’s accusations that she had an affair with Trump.
The Enquirer’s parent company, American Media Inc, appeared to be a part of a “catch-and-kill” plan where a company buys the publishing rights of a story but not publishing it, to ensure it does not spread.
MSNBC reported that the grand jury may want to question Pecker about Robert Costello’s witness testimony made last week. Costello told the jury last week that Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, without Trump’s direction or knowledge.
Costello said Cohen made the Daniels payments “on his own, that’s what he told us.” In Feb. 2019, Cohen’s lawyer told the FEC in a letter that, “neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford, and neither reimbursed Mr. Cohen for the payment directly or indirectly.”
On Sunday, the former Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo that Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg could be disbarred if he uses Michael Cohen’s testimony to indict former President Donald Trump.
Dershowitz warned against Bragg using Cohen’s testimony because Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, is “a perjuring liar,” Mediate reported.
Dershowitz is not confident an “indictment can actually come forward now after the comments made by [Robert] Costello.”
“He has proved that the main witness is going to be a perjuring liar on the witness stand, and that puts the district attorney in a terrible position,” Dershowitz continued, referencing a 2018 incident where Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress.
If D.A. Bragg “uses Cohen as a witness, he could actually lose his bar license. It’s unethical to put a witness on the stand who you know is lying, and he has to know that Cohen will be lying.”
“Or he tries the case without Cohen, which would be very difficult, or he does the right thing: he drops the case,” Dershowitz added.
WATCH:
Dershowitz: If Alvin Bragg "uses Cohen as a witness, he could actually lose his bar license."
"It’s unethical to put a witness on the stand who you know is lying, and he has to know that Cohen will be lying." pic.twitter.com/hnxuSJC3cD
— Paul Aubert (@_paulaubert) March 26, 2023