Aussie journalist Dylan Howard named as ‘co-conspirator’ in Donald Trump fraud trial

Former National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard texted a relative about ‘favours’ he had done for Donald Trump, saying he hoped he’d be pardoned for ‘electoral fraud’.

Dylan Howard has been named as co-conspirator in the Trump trial. Picture: Instagram

An Australian journalist has been named as a co-conspirator in ­Donald Trump’s criminal fraud trial, as text messages read in court reveal how the former editor of the National Enquirer discussed his hopes of being “pardoned for electoral fraud”.

Dylan Howard’s name has come up repeatedly in the former president’s hush money trial, as his boss, Enquirer publisher David Pecker described how he worked with the former president’s personal lawyer to kill a Playboy model’s story about a sexual relationship with the Republican.

Prosecutors accuse Mr Trump of falsifying business records to pay off adult film actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for her ­silence over a 2006 sexual encounter that could have derailed his 2016 White House campaign.

Mr Pecker told the court that Howard had alerted him to a story Ms Daniels was trying to sell about her affair with Mr Trump and suggested they pay her $US120,000 for her silence.

“I can lock it on publication now to shut down the media chatter and we can assess next steps thereafter. OK?” he wrote in emails shown to the court.

Judge Juan Merchan ruled that texts from Howard to a relative could not be submitted as evidence as they constituted hearsay and not business records.

However, while the jurors were out of the room, the Manhattan Criminal Court heard how Howard sent a text to the relative in June 2016, reading: “In the event he’s elected it doesn’t hurt the favours I’ve done provided it’s kept secret.” He wrote that “nothing is on email, burner phones” and that “the information is powerful and I’ve collected a lot”.

Another message read: “At least if he wins I’ll be pardoned for electoral fraud.” Mr Trump is the first former US head of state to face criminal charges.

In Australia Howard worked as a football reporter for Channel Seven in Melbourne. He left the network shortly after he filed a ­report on drug use by AFL players in 2007. The story was based on stolen medical records that Seven paid for, and the AFL Players ­Association threatened to boycott the network after it aired. Howard later moved to the US and worked for a range of American outlets before becoming the National ­Enquirer’s editor-in-chief

The high-stakes trial demands Mr Trump report to the Manhattan courtroom multiple times a week, less than seven months before his ­likely election rematch with President Joe Biden. He has appeared increasingly disgruntled as the trial proceeds and he’s forced to sit silently under the glaring fluorescent lights of the courtroom, listening to both prosecutors and Mr Pecker deliver ­accounts of his alleged misdeeds.

He has also witnessed Judge Merchan admonishing the former president’s lead lawyer, Todd Blanche, who this week blustered through his defence of the Republican as prosecutors asked to hold Mr Trump in contempt of court. They say Mr Trump has ­repeatedly violated a partial gag order barring him from publicly attacking witnesses, jurors and court staff. Judge Merchan heard arguments over the accusation on Tuesday but did not issue an immediate ruling.

Ms Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, and Mr Cohen are expected to appear as prosecution witnesses. Mr Trump has repeatedly attacked them on social media, calling them “sleaze bags who have, with their lies and misrepresentations, cost our country dearly”.

AFP