Severe thunderstorms, 15 cm of snow: Canadian weather forecast highlights
Well into spring, some parts of Canada could experience a wintry comeback, while other areas are bracing for severe thunderstorms, according to local forecasts.
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Returning to the witness stand for a fourth day, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker was grilled about his memory and past statements as the defence tried to poke holes in potentially crucial testimony for prosecutors 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 alleged 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 wasn't clear.
Pecker's testimony provided jurors with a stunning inside look at the supermarket tabloid's "catch-and-kill" 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 has denied 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, Trump'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 -- not his campaign. The defence also sought to show that the National Enquirer was publishing negative stories about Trump'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 "eyes and ears" 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 "catch-and-kill." Nor was there discussion at the meeting of any "financial dimension," such as the National Enquirer paying people on Trump'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 defence lawyer said were "inconsistent" with the former publisher's testimony.
Judge Juan Merchan, left, listens as David Pecker testifies on the witness stand in Manhattan criminal court, April 26, 2024, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
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.
"Was that another mistake?" Bove asked Pecker.
Pecker stuck to the account that he gave in court, adding: "I know what the truth is."
Prosecutors challenged the defence's contention that Trump's arrangement with the National Enquirer wasn't unusual. Under questioning from a prosecutor, Pecker acknowledged he had not previously sought out stories and worked the company's sources on behalf of a presidential candidate or allowed political fixers close access to internal decision-making.
"It's the only one," Pecker said.
The second witness called to the stand was Rhona Graff, Trump'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 Karen McDougal to the Trump Organization's computer system. The women's listings were shown in court, with Daniels named in the system simply as "Stormy." 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 defence table. Trump's lawyers were at the bench, talking with Judge Juan Merchan, when Trump stood up and engaged with Graff.
Former U.S. president Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, April 26, 2024. (Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP)
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.
Friday'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 signalled 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 -- a ruling that could benefit Trump by delaying that trial, potentially until after the November election.
In New York -- the first of Trump's four criminal cases to go to trial -- the presumptive Republican presidential nominee faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with the hush money payments.
The charges centre on US$130,000 that Trump's company paid to Cohen on Trump'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 rumour-mongering into splashy stories that smeared Trump's opponents and, just as crucially, leveraged his connections to suppress seamy stories about Trump.
Trump's attorney zeroed in on a non-prosecution 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 "catch-and-kill" practice to help Trump's campaign, and prosecutors agreed to not prosecute the company for paying US$150,000 to McDougal for the rights to her story about an alleged affair with Trump.
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 US$100 million.
"To consummate that deal, you knew you had to clear up the investigations," Bove said.
After pausing for several seconds, Pecker replied in the affirmative. But Pecker also said he felt "no pressure" to finalize the nonprosecution agreement to complete the transaction.
In the end, the deal didn't go through.
------
Richer reported from Washington.
Well into spring, some parts of Canada could experience a wintry comeback, while other areas are bracing for severe thunderstorms, according to local forecasts.
Pope Francis apologized Tuesday after he was quoted using a vulgar term about gay men to reaffirm the Catholic Church's ban on gay priests.
Peak tick season is only just beginning but reports of bites – and tick-borne illnesses – are already higher than normal in Ontario.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service and Public Safety Canada lacked a system for tracking who received and read specific intelligence on foreign interference, creating 'unacceptable gaps in accountability,' the national spy watchdog has found.
Emergency services in the town of Rigaud, Que. are investigating after a tornado touched down shortly after 5:30 p.m.
A man who assaulted U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband in 2022 will have another day in court on Tuesday after the federal judge overseeing the case failed to allow him to speak during his sentencing hearing earlier this month.
The 13-year-old sister of a young man killed in the attack on her family’s Mississauga restaurant in 2021 took the stand in a Brampton courthouse on Monday to describe the terrifying moments of coming under fire.
An airline pilot got quite a show on May 11 while flying from San Francisco to Lisbon when a solar storm caused stunning auroras.
The actor Richard Dreyfuss showed up in a dress at a 'Jaws'-themed event in Massachusetts, where the blockbuster 1975 movie he starred in was shot, and then proceeded to make demeaning remarks about women, LGBTQ2S+ people and diversity.
A man's daring rescue of a newborn wild foal that was trapped after falling down a steep embankment was caught on video over the weekend.
A Winnipeg pinball wizard is heading to the granddaddy of them all – the IFPA World Pinball Championship.
It’s the chance of a lifetime for a group of Ottawa athletes who are getting ready to represent Team Canada at the World Junior Ultimate championships in the United Kingdom.
Parishioners at Holy Trinity Anglican Church are praying for a monetary miracle, as their historic place of worship could collapse at any moment.
A Saskatchewan man made it to the summit of Mount Everest earlier this month.
IAMGOLD’s Cote Gold open pit mine, located off Highway 144 between Timmins and Sudbury, had its official ribbon-cutting ceremony this week as production ramps up.
When one is extended an invitation to the Royal Garden Party in London, England, there's undoubtedly no shortage of pomp and circumstance. Barrie, Ont. natives Megan Kirk Chang and her husband Brandon experienced just that as they entered the prestigious event hosted at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.
An unlikely celebrity emerged from social media to cheer on the Edmonton Oilers as they face the Dallas Stars tonight in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
The proprietors of Regina's sole discount theatre are aware they're carrying on a significant legacy.