CBS News
Trump trial to resume with contempt hearing before first witness returns to stand
![](https://assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/04/22/967db8fd-dac3-42cd-8a6d-7ced2f470c81/thumbnail/1200x630g2/0c4139259fb9d82abe7a5bf88e071af5/gettyimages-2148014229.jpg?v=57e8fa9efcf044a821348136ff26ed69)
The first witness in former President Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial is expected to retake the stand Tuesday morning, but only after a hearing in which the judge in the case will examine a batch of Trump’s recent social media posts.
Prosecutors say the 11 posts violated a gag order in the case, which forbids Trump from commenting on witnesses, jurors and others involved in the proceedings.
Many of the posts, all from the last few weeks, include derogatory statements about adult film star Stormy Daniels and former attorney Michael Cohen, key witnesses in the case. One post from April 17 included a reference to potential jurors who were under consideration for the case at the time.
Prosecutors have asked for a fine of $1,000 per post, the maximum amount under New York law, and for Judge Juan Merchan to hold Trump in contempt for violating the order. It is unclear if Merchan will immediately rule on the request Tuesday.
Jurors were told to be ready to return to the courtroom by 11 a.m., in order to resume testimony by the trial’s first witness, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker.
Pecker was on the stand for about half an hour after attorneys for both sides presented their opening statements. He broadly described the operations of the National Enquirer’s parent company American Media Inc., or AMI, which he left in 2020.
Under questioning by prosecutor Joshua Steinglass, Pecker said he had final say over what Steinglass described as particularly “juicy” stories.
“We used checkbook journalism,” Pecker said, describing how editors were empowered to spend up to $10,000 on sourcing for stories, but that larger expenses “would have to be vetted and brought up to me for approval.”
He is expected to testify at length about an alleged “catch and kill” scheme, in which his company purchased the rights to unflattering stories about Trump, but never published them. A prosecutor said in court Monday that Pecker will also describe an effort to find and publish stories that would be damaging to Trump’s opponents in the 2016 election.
CBS News
RNC committee approves Trump-influenced 2024 GOP platform with softened abortion language
![](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/07/08/f2ad2587-0e47-41c2-a76f-66e273751db4/thumbnail/1200x630/1f00a2939ee04c7c6fe8c252e7f6e44f/ap24181029019252.jpg?v=2287029998c5246c93d6dd038eb30603)
The Republican National Committee’s 2024 platform, approved by its platform committee and released Monday, is influenced heavily by presumptive presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump, and in a change from prior years, it backs the rights of states to make their own abortion laws.
The 2016 RNC platform mentioned the word “abortion” 35 times and backed a constitutional amendment to ban abortion: “[W]e assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed,” the RNC’s 2016 platform said. “We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to children before birth.”
The Republican Party did not release a platform in 2020. And the 2024 platform only mentions the word once.
“We proudly stand for families and life,” the 2024 platform says. “We believe that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees that no person can be denied life or liberty without due process,” but it goes on to say, “the states are, therefore, free to pass laws protecting those rights.”
The platform has been initially approved by the RNC committee, but is expected to go to a full vote Tuesday and be officially approved the first day of the Republican National Convention next week.
It also goes on to express opposition to late-term abortion and support for “policies that advance prenatal care, access to birth control, and IVF (fertility treatments).”
Ralph Reed, founder and chairman of the Faith and Freedom coalition, previously expressed concerns about removing abortion language, but he appeared to fall in line and back the GOP platform as released.
“The Republican Party platform makes clear the unborn child has a right to life that is protected by the Constitution under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment,” Reed said in a statement. “That language has been in the GOP platform for 40 years and reflects the view of Ronald Reagan. While aspirational, it applies to both the states and the federal government. The proposed ban on late-term abortion also implies federal as well as state action. It is an unapologetically pro-life position, and we are grateful to President Trump and the Republican Party for standing for life.”
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley and Co-chair Lara Trump focused on the economy and the border in their statement on the platform.
“Only President Trump can restore our economy, restore our southern border, and restore America’s standing in the world,” the two RNC leaders said in a joint statement. “His 2024 Republican Party Platform is a bold roadmap that will undo the devastating damage that Joe Biden’s far-left policies have done to this country, power President Trump to a historic victory in November, and Make America Great Again.”
The platform is titled, “2024 GOP Platform: Make America Great Again!” It bears clear signs of the former president’s influence, emphasizing enforcing border security and stopping the “migrant crime epidemic.” The platform includes a goal to carry out “the largest deportation operation in American history.”
The platform also proposes building a “great iron dome missile defense shield over our entire country.”
Trump and his campaign have also adopted a new proposal in recent months — eliminating taxes on tips. Trump mentions it frequently at rallies, and it appears in the RNC 2024 platform, along with a promise to end inflation, which has been easing.
The GOP also states in the platform that there will be no cuts to Social Security or Medicare and no changes to the retirement age. It also says that the push for electric vehicles should be canceled and regulations should be cut. And it calls for “same day voting, voter identification, paper ballots, and proof of citizenship” as means to “secure our elections.”
CBS News
How Biden is fighting calls to step aside
![](https://assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/07/08/9248b21a-fb4b-47ad-811b-01a4cf3a71d4/thumbnail/1200x630/f296b860f70955f481bb98e221acbf05/cbsn-fusion-how-biden-is-fighting-calls-to-step-aside-thumbnail.jpg?v=2287029998c5246c93d6dd038eb30603)
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
CBS News
Houston mayor provides Beryl flooding update, says 2 million without power
![](https://assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/07/08/dc3f5c17-af31-4e5d-8563-ef1803a0ce66/thumbnail/1200x630/362265b8840d6aa4635169ca74f74ff1/cbsn-fusion-houston-mayor-provides-beryl-flooding-update-says-2-million-without-power-thumbnail.jpg?v=2287029998c5246c93d6dd038eb30603)
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.