During Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016, his close associate at the National Enquirer was acquiring potentially harmful narratives regarding the candidate and offering substantial sums of money to prevent their disclosure to the public.
However, when confronted with the scandalous allegations made by adult film actress Stormy Daniels, David Pecker, the longstanding publisher of the tabloid, firmly refused to engage in such practices.
During the Trump hush money trial, Pecker informed the jurors on Thursday that he had no intention of paying for this story. He recounted a conversation he had with Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, regarding the catch-and-kill scheme that prosecutors claimed was a form of interference in the race. Pecker had already accumulated a debt of $180,000 from other Trump-related stories before Daniels entered the picture. At that moment, he expressed his reluctance to be associated with this particular matter.
Pecker’s testimony was a pivotal element in reinforcing the prosecution’s assertion that their partnership was a method to illicitly influence the 2016 presidential election. The Manhattan district attorney is striving to underscore the importance of the groundbreaking first trial of a former American president and the first out of four criminal cases against Trump to be decided by a jury.
During the cross-examination of Pecker, Trump’s legal team commenced by scrutinizing Pecker’s recollection of events that occurred years ago and insinuating that his testimony had undergone changes over time.
