pecker defiant at one point saying, i've been truthful to the best of my recollection. the tabloid mogul also undermining the idea mr. trump wanted to bury those stories about women to protect his family, a common refrain from the defense. instead, pecker said he believed it was all to protect his campaign. >> i do have to begin by wishing melania happy birthday. she's in florida. >> reporter: melania trump notably absent at trial. >> laura, does it appear prosecutors got what they needed from david pecker this week? >> lester, pecker is a useful witness for prosecutors to the extent he can testify about conversations about mr. trump that touch on his alleged scheme to influence the election, but what he can't offer, lester, is any evidence on the actual crime that the former president has been indicted for, which isn't a campaign finance violation. it's the way his payments to cohen were documented on his internal records. now, we'll see if other witnesses can speak more directly to that, lester. >> okay, laura, thank you. >>> president biden was also in new york today