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 Curtis Means/ReutersDonald Trump's criminal trial in Manhattan will be on hiatus Wednesday as Judge Juan Merchan takes the day to work on other cases—which is probably just as well, as it gives the public a chance to digest some of the most explosive claims made so far in the first trial ever of a former U.S. president.
After just two days of testimony, prosecutors have already asked the judge to hold Trump in contempt for violating a gag order with a series of social media posts. While the judge has held off on ruling so far, he tore into Trump's lead lawyer Tuesday in a scene that may spell trouble for the former president's defense, telling attorney Todd Blanche: "Mr Blanche, you're losing all credibility, I have to tell you right now."
When the trial resumes Thursday, we'll be getting more from David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer. Pecker, the CEO of American Media Inc. during the 2016 presidential election, was grilled for around two-and-a-half hours on Tuesday about how he offered to act as Trump's "eyes and ears" during the Republican's campaign, using his tabloids to buy the exclusive rights to potentially damaging stories about Trump in an effort to make sure they never saw the light of day—a practice known as "catch and kill."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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 Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/ReutersAs Donald Trump's hush money trial resumed on Tuesday, David Pecker arrived without the improbable smile he had when he first took the witness stand the day before.
On Monday, the 72-year-old accountant-turned-supermarket sleaze had seemed delighted to appear on center stage, even if it was to testify against a man he had once called a friend. He appeared to be energized by the drama of a courtroom packed with reporters, uniformed court officers and Secret Service agents, and initially seemed completely comfortable to assume the high profile perch of a subpoenaed stool pigeon.
But he must have been more anxious than he at first appeared, for he erupted into a sudden, surprisingly loud laugh when he momentarily had trouble remembering his phone number and the New York address of American Media, Inc. (AMI), where he had been CEO. AMI owns the National Enquirer.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Donald Trump's New York hush money criminal trial continues Tuesday. Follow here for the latest live news updates, analysis and more.
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