On Monday, prosecutors working for the Manhattan District Attorney's office called David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, to give more evidence to the grand jury weighing an indictment against former President Donald Trump for bookkeeping fraud.
And that could prove decisive, former Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Dan Horowitz argued on MSNBC — not just for the expected financial indictment, but in bumping it up to a felony and possibly adding more charges.
"So there's no question that in a case like this, witnesses sometimes get called back," Horwitz told anchor Lawrence O'Donnell. "It's not unusual in a complex case to have a witness who, by media reports, testified at the beginning of this grand jury, to come back at some point to add additional details as the case has evolved in the grand jury."
"And there isn't any question, as you said in your lead-in, that David Pecker is a critical witness," continued Horwitz. "He's a critical witness because he could corroborate back up Michael Cohen. He's a critical witness because he sets up if the district attorney is looking for a falsifying business records charge, he sets up the second crime that is, you have to falsify a business record with intent to commit another crime. And in this case, that could very well be a violation of your state's election law."
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Above all, Horwitz said, "there isn't any question that Pecker, according to what's already been written and, and what, what the prosecutors in the federal case charged — there's no question that Bakar is a critical figure in setting up protecting then-candidate Trump from bad stories initially and then specifically with respect to Stormy Daniels.
"So it's very possible that also, as you alluded to in your lead-in, that perhaps there are some additional documents they want to ask Mr. Pecker questions about," added Horwitz. "But in my mind, there isn't any question that he's there to amplify the hook to New York State election law and backing up Michael Cohen."
Watch the segment below or at this link.
Dan Horwitz on why David Pecker is a "critical witness" in Trump case www.youtube.com
