The former publisher of the National Enquirer described in court Thursday how Donald Trump infuriated him when details of a secret deal with Playboy model Karen McDougal became public just four days before the 2016 election.
David Pecker’s testimony showed how an “agitated” Trump, already facing questions about his treatment of women over the “Access Hollywood” tape, accused his company of leaking the information to the Wall Street Journal.
‘How could this happen? I thought you had this under control,” Pecker said Trump asked him.
“You or one of your people leaked this story.”
Pecker, 72, is a key witness in the case against the former president.
Former US President Donald Trump watches as prosecutor Joshua Steinglass questions David Pecker during Trump’s criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to hide money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016
Former President Donald Trump sits between his lawyers Emil Bove (left) and Todd Blanche
Trump is accused of falsifying company records to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to prevent her from revealing an affair she claimed she had with Trump in 2006.
Pecker on Tuesday described how he agreed to be the “eyes and ears” of the Trump campaign during a 2015 meeting at Trump Tower.
He said the National Enquirer’s source network would track down negative stories about the candidate, allowing him to buy them in what prosecutors say was a “catch and kill” scheme.
On Thursday, he described conversations with Trump’s fixer Michael Cohen and a plan to buy McDougal’s story about another alleged affair.
On November 4, 2016, the Journal reported that Pecker’s company American Media paid McDougal $150,000 but did not publish her account.
The report cited “documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and people familiar with the matter” in the story published four days before Election Day.
At the time, Pecker denied that his company was killing negative stories about Trump. He admitted in court that the statement was false.
“I wanted to protect my business, I wanted to protect myself and I also wanted to protect Donald Trump,” he said.
Trump listened intently as Pecker described how McDougal wanted $150,000, in addition to writing assignments and other business opportunities, for her claims of an affair. Sometimes he passed notes to the lawyers sitting on either side of him.
Trump seen with former Playboy model Karen McDougal
Trump addressed a TV camera in the hallway before entering courtroom 1530
Pecker said Cohen initially asked him to cover the costs.
‘I said, ‘Michael, why should I pay? I just paid $30,000 for the doorman’s story,” he said, referring to another deal to silence a doorman who claimed Trump had fathered an illegitimate child (a story that turned out to be untrue .
“Now you’re asking me to pay $150,000 for the Karen story, plus all the other extra things she wants to do.”
Pecker said Cohen told him, “Don’t worry about it. I’m your friend. The boss will take care of it.”
He said he signed an agreement with Cohen to transfer the rights to the story to a shell company, which would cover up his tracks.
But he then said he canceled the deal after speaking to a company lawyer.
“I’m not going any further, it’s a bad idea and I want you to tear up the agreement,” he told Cohen
“He was very angry, very upset, and actually yelled at me.”
He added that Cohen told him, “The boss will be very angry with you.”
As details emerged in the media, Cohen sent him a message saying to expect a call from Trump.
Pecker testified that he had been friends with Trump for decades and had helped stamp out negative stories during the 2016 election after a key meeting at Trump Tower
Trump leaves the courtroom on Thursday during a break in the proceedings
During the bad-tempered call on the Saturday before the election, Pecker denied being the source.
“There’s no way we’re giving this information to the Wall Street Journal,” he said.
The conversation ended abruptly.
“He didn’t say goodbye, which is very unusual,” Pecker said.
The exchange is creating a sense of panic within Trump World, with details of the deal being splashed in newspapers just as voters were set to head to the polls.
Thursday began with prosecutors accusing Trump of several more violations of a gag order meant to protect witnesses.
The judge was already considering whether to hold Trump in contempt and fine him for what prosecutors say are 10 counts of violating the order. On Thursday morning, they added four more counts, including comments he made about Cohen and that the jury was “95 percent Democrats.”
Merchan has yet to make his ruling.
There was also a discussion about whether text messages between National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard and a family member could be used in court.
“If he wins, at least I get a pardon for election fraud,” Howard said in one of the messages Trump sent during the 2016 campaign.
The messages were read out by a prosecutor.
In another message, Howard said Trump “was just named president-elect.”
“Oh dear,” was the response, prompting laughter in the gallery.
The defense called the messages ‘hearsay’ and the judge decided to keep them out of the trial for the time being.
Before heading to Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday morning, Donald Trump stopped by greeting hundreds of union workers and signing MAGA hats
Construction site workers gathered outside, while others stood on the scaffolding to catch a glimpse
Trump’s lawyers last week asked to skip Thursday’s hearing so the former president could attend a Supreme Court hearing where another legal team argued he was entitled to immunity for actions committed while in office.
“I think the Supreme Court has a very important argument before it today,” he told reporters in the hallway outside the courtroom. ‘I would have liked to have been there.’
Trump started his day with an early morning visit to a construction site in Manhattan, where he was greeted by chants of “USA, USA.”
He signed supporters hats and declined legal proceedings.
“This whole thing is election interference,” Trump told the crowd of his many legal battles before taking a shot at President Joe Biden.
‘We are well ahead. He is the worst president in the history of our country. He makes Jimmy Carter look great.