Former president Donald Trump watches as David Pecker answers questions from assistant district attorney Joshua Steinglass in a Manhattan criminal court, April 23, 2024, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
Details about a mutually beneficial agreement between a rookie presidential candidate and his publisher friend were revealed during testimony on Tuesday in a lower Manhattan courtroom.
David Pecker, 72, the former CEO of the National Enquirer's parent company, American Media Inc., took the stand for the second time in the hush-money trial of former president Donald Trump, 77.
Pecker testified that he has had a strong relationship with Mr. Trump over the years, establishing himself as a longtime friend and confidant, who has known the former president since the 1980s. according to a report by Just Security fellow Adam Klasfeld.
After laying the foundation for the witness's intimate knowledge of the defendant, attention turned to when the two friends allegedly discussed the informal arrangement that would help both the nation's preeminent supermarket celebrity gossip rag as well as the fledgling campaign of the nation's most-disliked 2016 presidential candidate. 2016 presidential candidate.
Pecker reportedly testifiedthat it was just an agreement among friends, which may not have helped the prosecution's case.
He also added that the agreement would increase newsstand sales because Trump's campaign and yellow journalism about Trump's opponents was a hot commodity for readers.
The state presented the agreement as mostly benefiting Trump: directly by running positive stories about the game show host turned nativist cable news phenom; indirectly by running negative stories about his political rivals; and one-sidedly through the catch and kill process whereby AMI would pay for exclusive rights to particularly damaging stories and then sit on them. in response to some proddingfrom Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass, ultimately agreed the story-burying aspect of the agreement was for the campaign's benefit.
Pecker, More Law&Crime coverage: 'You're losing all credibility': Gag order hearing in Trump hush-money case goes very poorly for the defense Pecker said the first caught-and-killed story was a false claim leveled by a former Trump Tower doorman against the candidate. This story, which alleged Trump had fathered a child with a maid, was bought for $30,000, an unusually high sum.
the witness testified
He stated that he made the decision to buy the story because of the potential embarrassment it would cause to the campaign and Mr. Trump. according to a report.
by Courthouse News reporter Erik Uebelacker. Earlier on, Pecker reportedly discussed
an alleged meeting between himself, Trump, and Michael Cohen, 57, at Trump Tower. During that meeting, Trump allegedly asked me what can I do and what my magazines can do to help the campaign, Pecker testified.
The witness responded with the three-pronged help AMI would provide — pledging to be the campaign’s “eyes and ears” because he knew that the Trump Organization has a very small staff. However, the conclusion of Pecker’s testimony may be somewhat unclear for
the jury of peers selected from across New York County. “All my conversations were directly with Michael Cohen,” the witness informed the court, when asked about the details of the publishing arrangement, including the catch-and-kill dynamic,
according to a report by New York Daily News reporter Molly Crane-Newman. “He always told me that he was not part of the campaign,” Pecker stated at another point, referring to Cohen. On the other hand, Pecker also described Trump in general terms as “very detail-oriented” and “almost a micromanager,” descriptions the state might seek to emphasize in their likely argument that Cohen was acting as Trump’s agent.
Still, while outlining in broad strokes, Pecker seemed to offer testimony somewhat short of the state’s overarching narrative.
As his time on the stand drew to a close, the witness was questioned about his suggestion to suppress a story being promoted by former Playboy model Karen McDougal that she had a nearly yearlong relationship with Trump. Pecker said he advised Trump himself to buy the rights and bury that story.
Trump reacted strongly to the idea, the witness said.
“I don’t buy any stories,” Trump reportedly told Pecker, rejecting the suggestion. “Anytime you do anything like this, it always gets out.”
“I don’t buy any stories,” Trump reportedly told David Pecker. “Anytime you do anything like this, it always gets out.”
“Mr. Trump says to me, he says, ‘Look … I don’t buy any stories. Anytime you do anything like this, it always gets out.'”
Trump told Pecker he’d think about it and have Cohen ring him back.
— Molly Crane-Newman (@molcranenewman) April 23, 2024
“I don’t buy any stories,” Trump allegedly told Pecker, rebuking the suggestion. “Anytime you do anything like this, it always gets out.”