WHO IS DAVID PECKER? EX-NATIONAL ENQUIRER PUBLISHER ADMITS ‘CATCH AND KILL’ SCHEME ON TRUMP’S BEHALF AT HUSH MONEY TRIAL
Topline
Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified to jurors in Trump’s Manhattan hush money trial this week about how he worked with Trump and his associates to manipulate coverage on Trump’s behalf—admitting Thursday he stifled affair allegations against Trump as part of an informal agreement with his friend in the lead-up to the 2016 election.
Key Facts
Pecker served from 1999 to 2020 as CEO of National Enquirer parent company American Media Inc., now A360 Media.
Pecker promised Trump after he launched his first presidential bid in 2015 he would act as a goalkeeper for potentially negative stories about him, publish others about Trump’s rivals, and ultimately orchestrate a series of “catch and kill” schemes to silence damning allegations against Trump, he admitted to jurors over three days of testimony.
Pecker was the first witness called to testify in the case Monday, when he explained to jurors that the tabloid routinely “used checkbook journalism, and we paid for stories,” the New York Times reported.
Continuing his testimony on Tuesday, Pecker detailed how he was in regular communication with Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen about how to spin National Enquirer stories in Trump’s favor, detailing headline by headline to the jury how Cohen would make suggestions for coverage and the Enquirer would “embellish” the information, according to the New York Times.
Pecker alerted Cohen that adult film star Stormy Daniels was trying to sell her story of a 2006 one-night stand with Trump, according to prosecutors and Cohen, who said he then negotiated the hush money payment to Daniels that is at the center of the case against Trump (the alleged payment to Daniels did not come up in Pecker’s testimony as of Thursday).
Pecker admitted Thursday that AMI paid former Playboy model Karen McDougal $150,000 for rights to her story that she had an affair with Trump, with the intention of never publishing the story—what’s known as a “catch and kill” scheme—because it could “embarrass Mr. Trump or embarrass or hurt the campaign,” the New York Times reported.
Prosecutors also allege AMI also paid a doorman at a building owned by the Trump Organization $30,000 in exchange for information about allegations Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock (claims the Enquirer ultimately deemed were untrue).
Trump was not charged in connection with payments to McDougal, but prosecutors are expected to use them to bolster their claim that the $130,000 Cohen paid Daniels—money prosecutors say Trump’s company reimbursed him for under the guise of legal services—was actually an unreported (and illegal) campaign expense.
Key Background
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office charged Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in April last year, marking the first-ever criminal prosecution of a former president. The trial officially began last Monday with jury selection. Bragg’s office alleged Trump and his real estate company reimbursed Cohen $420,000, accounting for fees, a bonus and taxes, and illegally recorded the payments as legal fees. Proving that the payments were inherently linked to Trump’s political aspirations is critical to prosecutors’ ability to charge Trump with felonies in the case, as the falsifying business records charges are typically misdemeanors. Prosecutors must prove that Trump committed the alleged misdemeanors in conjunction with another crime—in this case violating campaign finance laws since the payment to Daniels exceeded federal contribution limits. Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court to a series of charges, including campaign finance violations, for his role in the alleged payments to Daniels and McDougal and admitted that he made the payments at Trump’s direction and on his behalf. Trump has denied allegations of any affair and has pleaded not guilty in the case, which he has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, was brought on behalf of President Joe Biden to hurt his re-election chances.
Tangent
Pecker’s relationship with Trump—who he referred to as “the boss” on the witness stand—dates back to the 1980s, when Pecker said the two met at Mar-A-Lago. Pecker worked with Trump in the 1990s to publish a “Trump Style” magazine available to guests and visitors of his various properties featuring lifestyle articles and content promoting Trump and his brand. Pecker also detailed to the jury how Trump would tip him off when a contestant on “The Apprentice” was set to be fired so the National Enquirer could be the first to break the news. Pecker was granted immunity after aiding federal prosecutors’ case against Cohen for his role in the alleged “catch and kill” schemes, and the Justice Department also entered a non-prosecution agreement with AMI in the case that required AMI to admit to making the payment to McDougal.
What To Watch For
If convicted, Trump could be sentenced to up to four years in state prison and a $5,000 fine for each of the 34 felonies, though it’s unlikely he would receive a prison sentence since he’s never been convicted of a crime.
Further Reading
Trump’s Trial Will Include ‘Access Hollywood’ Tape—But Not Sexual Assault Allegations, Judge Rules (Forbes)
Trump Arrives In Court For First Day Of Criminal ‘Hush Money’ Trial (Forbes)Trump’s First Criminal Trial Starts Today—Here’s Who Could Show Up And What To Watch For (Forbes)
2024-04-21T21:32:50Z dg43tfdfdgfd