Fox News correspondent Nate Foy has more on the payment dispute over the alleged Karen McDougal affair on 'Special Report.'
"Cross-examination is the greatest legal engine ever invented for the discovery of truth."
Those words by legendary lawyer John Henry Wigmore in 1923 are derived from the Sixth Amendment. A defendant has the right to confront his accusers; to shine light on false statements by witnesses and dark distortions by overzealous prosecutors who hide the truth. It’s an effective method to test the veracity of evidence.
It was tested on Friday, and Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg failed. But that won’t stop him in his dogged pursuit of former President Donald Trump in a legally perverse case.
TRUMP NY TRIAL DAY 8: AMI CEO DAVID PECKER'S TESTIMONY CONCLUDES, TRUMP REQUESTS LIFT OF GAG ORDER
Defense attorney Emil Bove vigorously cross-examined the prosecution’s first witness, David Pecker, the ex-publisher of the National Enquirer. Prosecutors sat uncomfortably, as important truths met sunlight.
Under questioning, Pecker confessed that his tabloid routinely suppressed negative stories and promoted positive ones involving candidates for political office because it was financially profitable. The witness agreed that other, more mainstream news organizations did the exact same thing. Paying for stories and sometimes killing them was commonplace at the Enquirer, he admitted, especially when celebrities were involved. It was not unique to Trump.
It may seem tawdry, but it’s not unlawful to quash stories. Nor is it illegal to pay someone for their silence.
This was something that Bragg and his team of prosecutors spent the better part of a week concealing from the jury on direct examination. The irony —and hypocrisy— is obvious.........