Trump trial live: Pecker testifies ex-president was ‘concerned’ Melania would hear of affairs before election

Donald Trump made a surprise campaign stop at a construction site in New York early on Thursday morning en route to day seven of his hush money trial, where the jury is hearing further testimony from a former tabloid mogul who detailed the “catch-and-kill” scheme central to the case.

FormerNational Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified on Tuesday about his agreement with Mr Trump and former attorney Michael Cohen to “kill” stories about the defendant’s alleged affairs.

New York Justice Juan Merchan may also rule today on whether Mr Trump should be held in contempt and fined $10,000 for allegedly violating a trial gag order by posting about witnesses and jurors on Truth Social.

Elsewhere, 11 local Republicans and several key Trump allies have been indicted in Arizona for allegedly joining a failed “fake elector” plot during the aftermath of the 2020 election to falsely certify Mr Trump’s victory in the state.

And, in Washington DC, attorneys for the former president will today deliver oral arguments in front of the US Supreme Court in support of his“presidential immunity” defence against prosecution in what promises to be a landmark hearing.

Alex Woodward is providing live updates from the courthouse in Manhattan.

Pecker had lunch with Karen McDougal, Keith Davidson and Dylan Howard at Il Pastino where she talked “about the articles she was preparing with ghostwriters” and that she was upset that “articles were taking a while, she hasn’t been trained for media training because she wanted to be that anchor on the red carpet for Radar”.

“For my standpoint, the purpose of the meeting was to make sure she’s compliant with the agreement,” Pecker said. “I wanted her to remain within our [long pause] family.”

Trump invited