Second day of testimony wraps in Trump hush money trial

David Pecker testified that he asked former National Enquirer editor in chief Dylan Howard “to negotiate a number, a price to buy the story and take it off the market," in regard to the doorman selling a story that Donald Trump allegedly fathered a child.

Pecker said Howard negotiated to pay $30,000 to buy the story. He called Michael Cohen to tell him, and Cohen asked who would pay for it.

Pecker says that when he agreed to buy the story, Cohen told him, "The boss will be very pleased."

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked him to specify who the boss was. “The boss would be Donald Trump,” Pecker replied.

Witness David Pecker started to say on the stand that they discussed having Dino Sajudin, a former Trump Tower doorman, take a polygraph test — but prosecutor Joshua Steinglass quickly cut him off.

"What you were about to say, don’t say that," Steinglass said.

The judge previously ruled polygraph information could not come into evidence.

Steinglass again told Pecker not to discuss any results of the polygraph test Sajudin took. 

After David Pecker alerted Michael Cohen that a doorman was selling a story about Donald Trump allegedly fathering a child, Cohen called Pecker back, Pecker testified.

Cohen told Pecker he verified that the two names were on the payroll and asked Pecker to check out the story, Pecker testified.

Pecker explained that he called Cohen because of their August 2015 meeting where he agreed that with anything he "heard in the marketplace that was going to be negative" to Trump, his family or the campaign, that he'd notify Michael Cohen.

Donald Trump shook his head and leaned back at the defense table as David Pecker recalled a doorman who was selling a story that Trump had allegedly fathered a child.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is now moving onto asking David Pecker about the story of Dino Sajudin, the doorman who was selling a story that Donald Trump had allegedly fathered a child. This is the first catch and kill deal that has come up.

"I immediately called Michael Cohen and I described to him exactly what I was told by Dylan (Howard)," Pecker said, referencing the National Enquirer editor.

According to Pecker on the stand, Cohen responded, “Absolutely not true, but I’ll check it out”."

Following the sidebar, documents are accepted into evidence over the Trump team's objection.

"Objection noted and overruled," Judge Juan Merchan says, noting that any embedded hearsay issues will be dealt with as they move through the documents.

Trump attorney Emil Bove objected after prosecutor Joshua Steinglass started to walk witness David Pecker through how AMI kept records and information, like text messages.

The judge asked the lawyers to come to the bench.

Judge Juan Merchan said he doesn't want the parties to speak about objections in front of the jury.

Donald Trump again thumbed through the papers in front of him as prosecutors tee up records to submit them into evidence.

David Pecker, meanwhile, sipped water from a glass while on the witness stand.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is continuing to walk David Pecker through record-keeping and information, like text messages, on the servers of AMI, which is the National Enquirer's parent company.

He is teeing up text message records to submit them into evidence.