After today's testimony it seems Trump was a lot more involved in the Stone-Pecker slime machine, than just hiring them as operatives.

@catfish1957

Raheem.
@RaheemKassam

This ⬇️

Pecker effectively testified today that he and Cohen drummed up this scheme, without Trump's instruction.

Not a good day for Alvin Bragg and Joe Biden!!!

Quote

Travis Media Group
@TMGPolitics

JUST IN:  David Pecker just testified that he’s the one who told Trump women might come to him with stories, because Trump was such a popular bachelor who dated the most beautiful women. 

Apparently Trump was just planning a campaign run, but Pecker and Cohen were the ones worried about women coming forward. 

Does the prosecution realize they just made themselves look ridiculous?  Their key witness just said Trump didn’t even come up with any of this.

12:18 PM · Apr 23, 2024

2:05 PM · Apr 23, 2024

19 minutes ago
DA wants judge to fine Trump $10,000 but not jail him — though he's 'angling for that'
By Ben Kochman and Kyle Schnitzer

The Manhattan DA's Office is urging Justice Juan Merchan to fine Donald Trump $10,000 for the 10 alleged gag order breaches.

Prosecutor Chris Conroy argued that the court should also force Trump to remove eight posts from Truth Social and two from his campaign website that take aim at the jury and at expected trial witnesses Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels.

Trump should simply say that he gave his Truth Social password over to Don Jr. or Barron, and that the posts came from them.

5 minutes ago
Some negative stories about Ben Carson, Ted Cruz shown to jurors
By Kyle Schnitzer

Jurors are now being shown some of the National Enquirer's attacks on Ben Carson and Ted Cruz during the 2016 presidential campaign.

One negative story attacked Carson on Oct. 7, 2015, with the headline, "Bungling Surgeon Ben Carson Left sponge in patient’s brain!"

Two critical Cruz headlines were, "Ted Cruz Shame By Porn Star," published on Feb. 12, 2016, and "Boozin' Ted Cruz Fixin' to Lose," published on Feb. 19, 2016.

David Pecker said he would speak to Michael Cohen, then Trump's attorney, who would comment on them and adjust the stories if they needed tinkering.

"We would send him PDFs of the story before it was published to show him the direction the story was going," Pecker said about his correspondence with Cohen at the time.

He added that Cohen "would comment on them."

"We would add content... based on the information Michael Cohen shared," Pecker said.

How is any of this relevant to the charges pending in this case?

Atrial fibrillation becoming more common in middle-aged people

https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2024/04/22/atrial-fibrillation-middle-age/5051713792902/

The dangerous heart rhythm disorder called atrial fibrillation is becoming more common in middle-aged people, a new study warns.

More than a quarter of patients at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) seeking care for A-Fib during the last decade were younger than 65, researchers found.
...
The study also found that younger patients with A-Fib were more likely to die or to be hospitalized for heart failure, stroke or heart attack.

Atrial fibrillation is a quivering or irregular heartbeat in the upper chambers of the heart. The condition increases a person's risk of heart failure and stroke.

A-fib can go undetected until something serious happens. My 80-something Dad's was diagnosed after he crashed into someone's garage door while driving home, not remembering how he even came to be in that street. He got a pacemaker and also quit driving. My A-fib was discovered after having an otherwise unexplained stroke.