‘That Was News To Me!’ Maggie Haberman Shocked Indictment Revealed Trump Hosted Pecker At White House

New York Times correspondent, best-selling author, and CNN analyst Maggie Haberman said “people” have told her ex-President Donald Trump is attacking Judge Juan Merchan and his family in order to force him off the case.

On Wednesday morning’s edition of CNN This Morning, Haberman joined co-anchors Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow, and Kaitlan Collins to discuss Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s indictment of Trump and the 34 felony counts involving hush money payments to adult entertainment entrepreneur Stormy Daniels and others.

Both Haberman and Collins — each considered experts on Trump with deep experience with the subject — agreed that a key revelation about National Enquirer publisher David Pecker was surprising and could loom large in the court case:

KAITLAN COLLINS: We did learn some new information, though, in this indictment and statement of facts about David Pecker, who was, ran the company that publishes The National Enquirer, being invited to the White House to be thanked for his help to Trump during the campaign.

MAGGIE HABERMAN: That was news to me! And that and everything that I read. You know, there were a couple of things as you’re reading the statement of fact that goes along with this indictment. And Paul is absolutely right in making the point that it’s not clear exactly what the other, the underlying crime that this relates to is.

But when you read that statement of fact, there were so many things that happened that we had forgotten about. I had forgotten that AMI, the National Enquirer paid a doorman who had made what turned out to be a false allegation against Trump.

But buried in there is this fact that David Pecker went to the White House and Trump thanked him for his help during the campaign.

It was a reminder that this case, you know, there’s been a lot of focus on Michael Cohen, who is clearly the key witness and brought the bulk of, I suspect, documents, texts, you know, testimony.

But there are other pieces that support what Michael Cohen is saying. And I think that David Pecker’s testimony, remember, he was the first witness this grand jury heard from. He was one of the last witnesses they heard from. They brought him back. I think he will be really key as well.

Watch above via CNN This Morning.