Ex-Tabloid Publisher Says He Ran Cover for Trump, Attacked 2016 Opponents in Hush-Money Trial Testimony

Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker resumed his testimony on Tuesday as the first witness in former president Donald Trump’s “hush-money” criminal trial.

Pecker took the stand to answer questions from prosecutors about his longtime relationship with Trump and the discussions he had with Trump and his former lawyer Michael Cohen during the 2016 campaign, according to multiple reports.

Addressing the court after opening statements on Monday, Pecker spoke briefly before the trial wrapped up for the day. Prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office have given Pecker immunity and signed a non-prosecution agreement with American Media Inc., the National Enquirer’s parent company.

The relationship between Trump and Pecker started in the 1980s, when Trump began giving Pecker friendly advice on the celebrity social scene in New York, Pecker recalled. They spoke about The Apprentice numerous times and Trump fed Pecker information about the show that the National Enquirer published to mutual benefit, Pecker recollected.

When negative stories about Trump circulated, Pecker would notify Cohen after he joined Trump’s team in 2007, Pecker noted. His conversations with Cohen increased once Trump announced his presidential campaign, and Cohen invited Pecker to meet at Trump tower in August 2015.

“What I would do is I would run or publish positive stories about Mr. Trump and I would publish negative stories about his opponents and I said that I would also … be eyes and ears. I said I would be your eyes and ears,” Pecker said in relation to what he proposed at the meeting.

“Anything that I hear in the marketplace — if I hear anything negative about yourself or if I hear anything about women selling stories, I would notify Michael Cohen as I did over the last several years,” he continued.

“In a presidential campaign, I was the person that thought that there would be a lot of women would come out to try to sell their stories, because Mr. Trump was well known as the most eligible bachelor, and dated the most beautiful women.”

Pecker answered affirmatively to questions from the prosecution over whether he offered to publish positive stories on Trump and negative ones on his opponents.

“I think it was a mutual benefit. It would help his campaign, and it would also help me,” Pecker said.

The agreement with Trump was not in writing and “very confidential” because of the possibility of leaks, Pecker said. The prosecution presented National Enquirer headlines to the jury as evidence of the tabloid’s positive Trump coverage. Trump leaned in and squinted to get a better look at the positive headlines.

Pecker said Cohen had an informal role on the Trump campaign and circulated negative information on 2016 Republican primary opponents such as Senator Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and Senator Marco Rubio (R., Fla.). Rubio is reportedly in consideration to be Trump’s 2024 vice presidential selection after undergoing a significant ideological evolution following his 2016 presidential run.

“Michael was physically in every aspect of whatever the campaign was working on, at least at Trump Organization at Trump Tower, at least when he was physically there,” Pecker testified. The prosecution also showed the jury negative headlines about Trump’s opponents. Before the National Enquirer ran articles, he would send them to Cohen for him to review.

In October 2016, Trump introduced Pecker to top adviser Steve Bannon and Trump suggested the pair could “work very well together,” Pecker said. Trump’s defense attorneys objected to the prosecution’s line of questioning surrounding Bannon and noted Trump is not being charged with conspiracy.

Judge Juan Merchan did not rule on whether Trump has violated the gag order he previously imposed barring the former president from publicly attacking prosecutors and jurors, saying Tuesday morning that he would issue a ruling later in the day.

Merchan did, however, scold Trump’s attorney for insisting that his client is “trying to comply” with the order.

“Mr. Blanche, you are losing all credibility with the court,” Merchan said. Trump took to Truth Social on Tuesday and accused Merchan of violating his free speech rights by imposing a gag order.

Following a quick break, Pecker’s testimony resumed and the prosecution introduced AMI business records into evidence.

The prosecution kicked off its questioning on the “catch and kill” deals Pecker allegedly discussed with Trump and Cohen over stories circulating about Trump’s alleged extramarital affairs.

Trump is facing 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with a $130,000 payment Cohen made to porn actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Daniels alleged she and Trump had an extramarital affair in 2006, a claim Trump has denied.

The prosecution is raising the other “catch and kill” stories to portray the Daniels payment as part of a “criminal scheme” to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.

The first story brought up by prosecutors was a debunked allegation raised by a former Trump Tower doorman who claimed Trump had a secret child. Pecker said he immediately called Cohen when the story was brought to his attention and Cohen denied the allegation. He made the call because of the agreement he had following the August 2015 meeting, Pecker asserted.

Former National Enquirer editor-in-chief Dylan Howard negotiated a $30,000 deal to buy the story and Cohen suggested Trump would pay the fee, Pecker testified. The prosecution proceeded to show the jury an agreement between AMI and the doorman to sell the story. Trump shook his head in response to the doorman story.

“Paying the $30,000, you had the full exclusive for it and you had the choice to publish the article or not,” Pecker stated. If the story was verified, Pecker insisted he would have published it after the 2016 election.

He told the jury the doorman’s story was entirely false. If the agreement was violated, the doorman would owe AMI $1 million, Pecker divulged. Prosecutors presented the jury a redacted email related to the wire payment to the doorman.

Next, the prosecution brought up the “catch and kill” deal involving former Playboy model Karen McDougal’s allegations that she and Trump had an extramarital affair. Pecker recalled Howard notifying him in June 2016 that a Playboy model was trying to sell a story about her alleged year-long romantic relationship with Trump.

Cohen immediately denied the allegation when Pecker called him up to make him aware of it, Pecker said. They both agreed to vet the story and Cohen suggested they talk over Signal, an encrypted messaging app that allows users to active an auto-delete feature. Cohen’s anger grew as Howard investigated the story and traveled to hear more about it, Pecker asserted.

Pecker’s testimony concluded for the day after roughly two hours.