The former editor of the American tabloid The National EnquirerDavid Peckerconfirmed this Thursday in a New York court his link with former President Donald Trump in 2016 to hide “embarrassing stories” that could involve the Republican politician and harm his electoral campaign.
“I wanted to protect my company, myself and also Donald Trump,” said the former executive of the media conglomerate America Media Inc., who is attending court as a witness.
With the help of Pecker and his former lawyer Michael Cohen, Trump is accused of falsifying accounting records to finance a “criminal plot” – according to the Prosecutor’s Office – that would have bought the silence of porn actress Stormy Danielsin addition to that of the model Karen McDougal, preventing her alleged love affairs with him from coming to light.
The deal (a practice known as ‘catch and kill’) consisted of acquiring the rights to these stories supposedly to be published in said tabloid, but with the real aim of leaving them ‘forgotten’ in a drawer. Something that Pecker admitted to having done in the McDougal case, with the payment of $150,000 which then had to be reimbursed by the Trump Organization, but not in the case of Daniels.
“The boss (Trump, according to Pecker) is going to be very nervous, Cohen told me (…) I assumed that this concern was due to his impact on the campaign,” recalled the media mogul, who said he had refused to buy the exclusive from the porn actress because he did not want it to affect the “reputation” of the tabloid.
Dozens of invoices, checks, letters or emails They were brought up by the Prosecutor’s Office while Trump remained impassive from the dock.
His gesture only soured on a couple of occasions. One of them, when Pecker recalled what the negotiation was like with McDougal who, according to his version, feared that the agreement would be leaked.
“Really, she didn’t want to become the new Monica Lewinsky“he added.
FRIENDS
Pecker mentioned different calls with Trump during 2016 in which his mood varied as media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal either New York Post They found out about the agreement that the former president had with The National Enquirer.
“He called me very upset asking how it could have happened and saying that he thought he had everything under control. That call ended without him saying goodbye,” explained the then editor.
However, Pecker declared that, although they have not been in contact since 2019, he still considers Trump “someone close.”
“I still consider him a friend”the witness specified.
Before we get to court this morning, Trump was at a campaign event with approximately thirty followers from a new construction site in Manhattan and described Pecker as “good people.”
This opinion was considered by the Prosecutor’s Office as a new violation of the gag order that weighs on the former president and that prevents him from publicly referring to, among others, witnesses, jurors and court workers.
