The Notorious “catch and kill" campaign: Turning the National Enquirer into an arm of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign

[Billiejeens]

Who knows why you think it's my job to educate you. Stay ignorant. It will be that much more of a shock to you should he get convicted.

And yet it's your cult that is continually shocked by real world stuff.

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

What I Saw Working at The National Enquirer During Donald Trump’s Rise - By Lachlan Cartwright

Inside the notorious “catch and kill” campaign that now stands at the heart of the former president’s legal trial.

I pulled up the indictment and the statement of facts on my iPhone. At the center of the case is the accusation that Trump took part in a scheme to turn The National Enquirer and its sister publications into an arm of his 2016 presidential campaign. The documents detailed three “hush money” payments made to a series of individuals to guarantee their silence about potentially damaging stories in the months before the election. Because this was done with the goal of helping his election chances, the case implied, these payments amounted to a form of illegal, undisclosed campaign spending. And, Bragg argued, because Trump created paperwork to make the payments seem like regular legal expenses, that amounted to a criminal effort at a coverup. Trump has denied the charges against him.

What I Saw Working at The National Enquirer During Donald Trump’s Rise

Inside the notorious “catch and kill” campaign that now stands at the heart of the former president’s legal trial.

www.nytimes.com

The documents rattled off a number of seedy stories that would have been right at home in a venerable supermarket tabloid, had they actually been published. The subjects were anonymized but recognizable to anyone who had followed the story of Trump’s entanglement with The Enquirer. His affair with the porn star Stormy Daniels, of course, was the heart of it. There was also Karen McDougal, the Playboy Playmate of the Year in 1998, whose affair with Trump was similarly made to disappear, the payments for the rights to her story made to look like fees for writing a fitness column and appearing on magazine covers. (Trump has denied involvement with both women.) There were others that were lesser known, too, like Dino Sajudin, a former Trump World Tower doorman who claimed that Trump had a love child with one of the building’s employees; the story was never published, and Sajudin was paid $30,000 to keep quiet about it.

What I Saw Working at The National Enquirer During Donald Trump’s Rise

Inside the notorious “catch and kill” campaign that now stands at the heart of the former president’s legal trial.

web.archive.org

To me this is unbelievable. Before Mr. Trump's official entry into presidential politics - he becoming a politician - this kind of story that surfaced years ago, would've killed the career of an aspiring politician. But with Mr. Trump's troll-like campaign (proof/not opinion is his personal/family insults and attacks on a debate stage, breaking of norms, rules...unheard of before 2015), the bizarre became acceptable to small but then growing a segment of the population.

View attachment 928170

This is a story that needs telling.

Michael Cohen is now laying out the first catch-and-kill story that he worked on with The National Enquirer. We heard about this in previous testimony. It was about an allegation by a doorman at a Trump building that Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock. Cohen is describing telling Trump about it.


May 13, 2024, 10:40 a.m. ET4 hours ago
4 hours ago
Jonah Bromwich
Reporting from inside the courthouse

With very little wind-up, about an hour in, we are already hearing Michael Cohen describe the first of the three hush-money deals that jurors have heard about. The last of them is Cohen’s own $130,000 hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels.


May 13, 2024, 10:41 a.m. ET4 hours ago
4 hours ago
Kate Christobek
Reporting from inside the courthouse

This story has previously gotten a rise out of Trump when discussed at the trial, but today, he opens his eyes briefly and looks in Cohen’s direction before closing them again with a slight smirk.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/05/13/nyregion/trump-trial-michael-cohen

 

[Billiejeens]

Michael Cohen is now laying out the first catch-and-kill story that he worked on with The National Enquirer. We heard about this in previous testimony. It was about an allegation by a doorman at a Trump building that Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock. Cohen is describing telling Trump about it.


May 13, 2024, 10:40 a.m. ET4 hours ago
4 hours ago
Jonah Bromwich
Reporting from inside the courthouse

With very little wind-up, about an hour in, we are already hearing Michael Cohen describe the first of the three hush-money deals that jurors have heard about. The last of them is Cohen’s own $130,000 hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels.


May 13, 2024, 10:41 a.m. ET4 hours ago
4 hours ago
Kate Christobek
Reporting from inside the courthouse

This story has previously gotten a rise out of Trump when discussed at the trial, but today, he opens his eyes briefly and looks in Cohen’s direction before closing them again with a slight smirk.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/05/13/nyregion/trump-trial-michael-cohen

At some point are they going to tell us what the actual crimes supposedly are and provide evidence to prove that, or no?

In your opinion.

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

At some point are they going to tell us what the actual crimes supposedly are and provide evidence to prove that, or no?

In your opinion.

Ignore it all you want. The jury has heard it.

That's all that counts.

next

 

[Billiejeens]

Ignore it all you want. The jury has heard it.

That's all that counts.

next

So, no.

I knew that.

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

So, no.

I knew that.

Interesting fact you keep ignoring: The court has Cohen's tapes too:


Michael Cohen has now begun speaking about having recorded Trump directing him to pay David Pecker back in cash. As a reminder, the jury has heard this recording. It fits in nicely with Cohen’s narrative that he was often updating Trump on the progress of the Karen McDougal hush-money deal — on the recording, Cohen only has to mention Pecker’s name and it seems as if Trump knows that he’s referring to that deal.

Cohen claims that this was the only conversation with Trump that he ever taped, and that he did it so that Pecker could hear that Trump planned to pay him back, thus retaining Pecker’s loyalty.

Now, Cohen addresses the payment to Pecker, referring to the publisher as “our friend David.” We again hear Trump ask about financing and then advising Cohen to “pay in cash.”

We are going to get an annotated version of the recording, as Susan Hoffinger, the prosecutor, slows it down and asks Cohen specific questions about it. This would appear to be difficult evidence for the defense to contend with, slotting as it does so neatly into Cohen’s story. I don’t know how they’ll explain it.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/05/13/nyregion/trump-trial-michael-cohen

Maybe a Stable Genius like you can help Trump's defense team explain it, eh???
Michael Cohen has almost finished describing the recording, beat by beat. He says that when he insisted that David Pecker be paid, he made reference to Pecker's dossier on Trump. And he says that while he said “financing,” he meant “funding,” meaning he was asking how Pecker would be repaid for silencing Karen McDougal's story. Cohen says that Trump suggested cash, as we’ve seen, but that Cohen rejected that suggestion.

 

[Billiejeens]

Interesting fact you keep ignoring: The court has Cohen's tapes too:


Michael Cohen has now begun speaking about having recorded Trump directing him to pay David Pecker back in cash. As a reminder, the jury has heard this recording. It fits in nicely with Cohen’s narrative that he was often updating Trump on the progress of the Karen McDougal hush-money deal — on the recording, Cohen only has to mention Pecker’s name and it seems as if Trump knows that he’s referring to that deal.

Cohen claims that this was the only conversation with Trump that he ever taped, and that he did it so that Pecker could hear that Trump planned to pay him back, thus retaining Pecker’s loyalty.

Now, Cohen addresses the payment to Pecker, referring to the publisher as “our friend David.” We again hear Trump ask about financing and then advising Cohen to “pay in cash.”

We are going to get an annotated version of the recording, as Susan Hoffinger, the prosecutor, slows it down and asks Cohen specific questions about it. This would appear to be difficult evidence for the defense to contend with, slotting as it does so neatly into Cohen’s story. I don’t know how they’ll explain it.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/05/13/nyregion/trump-trial-michael-cohen

Maybe a Stable Genius like you can help Trump's defense team explain it, eh???
Michael Cohen has almost finished describing the recording, beat by beat. He says that when he insisted that David Pecker be paid, he made reference to Pecker's dossier on Trump. And he says that while he said “financing,” he meant “funding,” meaning he was asking how Pecker would be repaid for silencing Karen McDougal's story. Cohen says that Trump suggested cash, as we’ve seen, but that Cohen rejected that suggestion.

Same original question.

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

Same original question.

Pay attention to the trial:


Michael Cohen’s description of Trump expressing fear that the Stormy Daniels story could poison him with female voters is a potentially important piece of testimony that echoes something similar we heard from Hope Hicks. (An earlier version of this update said it was the first time we heard testimony that Trump himself was concerned about the story upending his campaign.)

Cohen now says that Trump was “trying to push it past the election, which was upcoming.” Others have testified that they suspected this was the reason the payment was delayed. Cohen is trying to convince the jury that the delay came directly from Trump.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/05/13/nyregion/trump-trial-michael-cohen

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

Same original question.

Pay attention: Current testimony echoes Hope Hicks's remarks that she didn’t think Cohen would have done this on his own.

"As we switch gears to the paperwork, it feels as if we are heading into the part of Cohen’s testimony that is focused on the alleged falsification of business records."

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

Cohen says that he laid out the Daniels deal for Trump because “everything required Mr. Trump’s sign-off.” Several times last week, prosecutors painted Trump as a micromanager. They used custodial witnesses to read passages of his books that depicted him as a boss who distrusted his employees for a fear they will “rob you blind.” They are continuing that theme here.

 

[Billiejeens]

Pay attention to the trial:


Michael Cohen’s description of Trump expressing fear that the Stormy Daniels story could poison him with female voters is a potentially important piece of testimony that echoes something similar we heard from Hope Hicks. (An earlier version of this update said it was the first time we heard testimony that Trump himself was concerned about the story upending his campaign.)

Cohen now says that Trump was “trying to push it past the election, which was upcoming.” Others have testified that they suspected this was the reason the payment was delayed. Cohen is trying to convince the jury that the delay came directly from Trump.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/05/13/nyregion/trump-trial-michael-cohen

Use the keyboard -

The letters will magically become words.

State the actual crimes and the evidence.

Go!

 

[Billiejeens]

Cohen says that he laid out the Daniels deal for Trump because “everything required Mr. Trump’s sign-off.” Several times last week, prosecutors painted Trump as a micromanager. They used custodial witnesses to read passages of his books that depicted him as a boss who distrusted his employees for a fear they will “rob you blind.” They are continuing that theme here.

That is the crime - Micromanaging?

Oh, you don't want to come to my house.

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

That is the crime - Micromanaging?

Oh, you don't want to come to my house.

Nope.

go away

 

[Billiejeens]

Nope.

go away

Poor baby

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

Use the keyboard -

The letters will magically become words.

State the actual crimes and the evidence.

Go!

Rational people are following the trial.

You keep playing your delusional games.

 

[Billiejeens]

Rational people are following the trial.

You keep playing your delusional games.

Rational people understand that it is a hoax.

Even Democrats who don't like President Trump, would never vote for him and hope that he loses 60 million to 0 are saying
- this is not the way to do it.

Your Cult, not so much.

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

Rational people understand that it is a hoax.

Even Democrats who don't like President Trump, would never vote for him and hope that he loses 60 million to 0 are saying
- this is not the way to do it.

Your Cult, not so much.

The only cult around here is the cult-of-personality surrounding Mr. Trump.

get real

be honest

try it some time

 

[Billiejeens]

The only cult around here is the cult-of-personality surrounding Mr. Trump.

get real

be honest

try it some time

Here is real -

You are a complete and total propagandist hack.
Even you know that the nonsense that you post is not legitimate.
But you have a role to play, so you soldier on.
Nothing too outrageous for you to type, because you are on a mission, a failed mission.

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

Here is real -

You are a complete and total propagandist hack.
Even you know that the nonsense that you post is not legitimate.
But you have a role to play, so you soldier on.
Nothing too outrageous for you to type, because you are on a mission, a failed mission.

Quite a confession.

People like you lack self awareness. What you accuse others of is such a sad and pathetic inside look into yourself, by others.

People who lack self-awareness use the same approach repeatedly without tailoring it to different individuals or modifying it based on the results. They're surprised by people's reactions. Low self-awareness individuals are more focused on their intent than the impact of their behavior on others.

How to Deal with Someone Who is Not Self-aware

Self-awareness is rare. Here are the signs you're dealing with low self-awareness person and some strategies for how to deal with it.

lianedavey.com

 

[Billiejeens]

Quite a confession.

People like you lack self awareness. What you accuse others of is such a sad and pathetic inside look into yourself, by others.

How to Deal with Someone Who is Not Self-aware

Self-awareness is rare. Here are the signs you're dealing with low self-awareness person and some strategies for how to deal with it.

lianedavey.com

Keep soldiering-