Donald Trump's defense team attacked the credibility of prosecutors' first witness in his hush money case on Friday, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.On the witness stand for a fourth day, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker was grilled about his memory and past statements as the defense tried to poke holes in potentially crucial testimony in the first criminal trial of a former American president.Two other witnesses followed Pecker as prosecutors built the foundation of their case involving a hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels, who claimed she had a sexual encounter with Trump. Trump's longtime executive assistant told jurors she recalled seeing Daniels in a reception area of Trump Tower, though the date of the visit wasn맥스카지노�t clear.Pecker맥스카지노�s testimony provided jurors with a stunning inside look at the supermarket tabloid맥스카지노�s 맥스카지노�catch-and-kill맥스카지노� practice of purchasing the rights to stories so they never see the light of day. He's believed to be a key witness to bolster prosecutors' theory that Trump sought to illegally influence the 2016 race by suppressing negative stories about his personal life.Trump, who denies any wrongdoing, slammed the prosecution as he left the courthouse Friday after spending most of the week in his role as criminal defendant instead of political candidate. Trump seized on President Joe Biden's remarks Friday that he's willing to debate Trump. Trump told reporters he's up for it anytime, anywhere.Under cross-examination, Trump맥스카지노�s lawyers appeared to be laying the groundwork to make the argument that any dealings Trump had with Pecker were intended to protect Trump, his reputation and his family 맥스카지노� not his campaign. The defense also sought to show that the National Enquirer was publishing negative stories about Trump맥스카지노�s 2016 rival, Hillary Clinton, long before an August 2015 meeting that is central to the case.During that meeting, Pecker said he told Trump and then-Trump attorney Michael Cohen he would be the 맥스카지노�eyes and ears맥스카지노� of the campaign, and would notify Cohen if he heard negative stories about Trump so they could be killed.Under questioning by Trump lawyer Emil Bove, Pecker acknowledged there was no mention at that meeting of the term 맥스카지노�catch-and-kill." Nor was there discussion at the meeting of any 맥스카지노�financial dimension,맥스카지노� such as the National Enquirer paying people on Trump맥스카지노�s behalf for the rights to their stories, Pecker said.Bove also confronted Pecker with statements he made to federal prosecutors in 2018 that the defense lawyer said were 맥스카지노�inconsistent맥스카지노� with the former publisher맥스카지노�s testimony.Pecker told jurors that Trump thanked him during a White House visit in 2017 for his help burying two stories. But according to notes Bove read in court, Pecker told federal authorities that Trump did not express any gratitude to him during the meeting.맥스카지노�Was that another mistake?맥스카지노� Bove asked Pecker.Pecker stuck to the account that he gave in court, adding, 맥스카지노�I know what the truth is."Prosecutors challenged the defense맥스카지노�s contention that Trump's arrangement with the National Enquirer wasn't unique. Under questioning from a prosecutor, Pecker acknowledged he had not previously sought out stories and worked the company맥스카지노�s sources on behalf of a presidential candidate or allowed political fixers close access to internal decision-making.맥스카지노�It맥스카지노�s the only one,맥스카지노� Pecker said.The second witness called to the stand was Rhona Graff, Trump맥스카지노�s longtime executive assistant. Graff, who started working for Trump in 1987 and left the Trump Organization in April 2021, has been described as his gatekeeper and right hand.Graff testified that she believed she was the one who added contact information for Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal to the Trump Organization맥스카지노�s computer system. The women맥스카지노�s listings were shown in court, with Daniels named in the system simply as 맥스카지노�Stormy.맥스카지노� Graff later noted that Trump never used computers.Trump spoke briefly to Graff as she left the witness stand. He appeared to reach out to her with his hand as an officer guided her away from the witness stand past the defense table. Trump맥스카지노�s lawyers were at the bench, talking with Judge Juan Merchan, when Trump stood up and engaged with Graff.The case will resume Tuesday with the third prosecution witness, Gary Farro, a banker. Farro testified Friday about helping Cohen form a bank account for the limited liability company he used to facilitate the Daniels payment. Farro said Cohen led him to believe the firm, Essential Consultants LLC, would be involved in real estate consulting.Friday맥스카지노�s testimony caps a consequential week in the criminal cases the former president faces as he vies to reclaim the White House in November.At the same time jurors listened to testimony in Manhattan, the Supreme Court on Thursday signaled it was likely to reject Trump's sweeping claims that he is immune from prosecution in his 2020 election interference case in Washington. But the conservative-majority high court seemed inclined to limit when former presidents could be prosecuted 맥스카지노� a ruling that could benefit Trump by delaying that trial, potentially until after the November election.In New York 맥스카지노� the first of Trump's four criminal cases to go to trial 맥스카지노� the presumptive Republican presidential nominee faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with the hush money payments.The charges center on $130,000 that Trump맥스카지노�s company paid to Cohen on Trump맥스카지노�s behalf to keep Daniels from going public with her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier. Trump has denied the encounter ever happened.Over several days on the witness stand, Pecker described how the tabloid parlayed rumor-mongering into splashy stories that smeared Trump맥스카지노�s opponents and, just as crucially, leveraged his connections to suppress seamy stories about Trump.Trump's attorney zeroed in on a nonprosecution agreement in 2018 between the federal government and American Media Inc., the parent company of the National Enquirer.The company admitted to engaging in the 맥스카지노�catch-and-kill맥스카지노� practice to help Trump's campaign, and prosecutors agreed to not prosecute the company for paying $150,000 to McDougal for the rights to her story about an alleged affair with Trump. Trump denies the affair.Trump's attorney repeatedly suggested that Pecker may have felt pressured to accept an agreement in order to finalize a deal to sell his company to the newsstand operator Hudson News Group for a proposed $100 million.맥스카지노�To consummate that deal, you knew you had to clear up the investigations,맥스카지노� Bove said.After pausing for several seconds, Pecker replied in the affirmative. But Pecker also said he felt 맥스카지노�no pressure맥스카지노� to finalize the nonprosecution agreement to complete the transaction.In the end, the deal didn't go through.___Richer reported from Washington.