A former tabloid publisher and key prosecution witness testified during cross-examination by former President Donald Trump’s defense attorneys that he bought articles about professional golfer Tiger Woods and Obama’s former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, among others.
Prosecutors in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office brought their first witness, David Pecker, to the stand for a third day Thursday.
Mr. Pecker is the former CEO of American Media, the parent company of publications such as the National Enquirer, and his relationship with Mr. Trump dates back to the 1980s. Prosecutors allege that Pecker worked closely with the Trump campaign to suppress negative information about Trump before the 2016 election. President Trump is accused of falsifying his records regarding the “catch-and-kill” program.
David Pecker will be questioned in former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to hide money he paid to hush porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016. This courtroom sketch at the Manhattan State Courthouse on April 23, 2024 in New York City, USA. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)
Pecker testified that he bought negative articles about Trump before the 2016 election and did not publish them. This is known as a “catch and kill” plan. The article also included allegations that adult film actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougall had affairs with Trump.
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Regarding the negative stories that came out about Trump before the election, Pecker said Trump was worried about what his family would say about it, especially his wife Melania Trump and daughter Ivanka Trump. He testified that he was concerned about the repercussions.
Tiger Woods of the United States hits a shot from the 13th tee during the second round of The Players Championship at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida on May 11, 2018. (Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Mr. Pecker also testified that he was concerned about how President Trump would affect his 2016 election campaign.
But under cross-examination by Trump’s lawyer Emil Bove, Pecker testified that he had purchased articles about celebrities other than Trump.
Mr. Pecker testified that he bought an article about professional golfer Tiger Woods and an article about Rahm Emanuel in 2009, after President Obama left office. Pecker said she bought the article about Emanuel’s alleged affair to prevent it from being published. Emanuel later served as ambassador to Japan.
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Mr. Pecker also testified that he worked with Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, not as part of the 2016 campaign but as the former president’s personal lawyer.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel speaks during a visit to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ F-35 fighter jet final assembly and inspection plant in Toyoyama Town, Aichi Prefecture, western Japan, on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (U.S. Embassy via AP)
Mr. Pecker testified that American Media, the owner of the National Enquirer, said it would review articles for veracity before purchasing them. He also testified that there were instances in which AMI purchased articles to use as leverage.
When asked if this was standard, Pecker testified, “Yes.”
Pecker also said Thursday that Trump “was my mentor.”
U.S. President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen (right) stands outside a federal courthouse in New York, U.S., on Thursday, December 14, 2023. (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“He helped me throughout my career,” Pecker said, adding that Trump was the first person he called when he needed help.
“We never spoke, but I still considered him a friend,” Pecker said.
David Pecker, Chairman and CEO of American Media, speaks at the Shape & Men’s Fitness Super Bowl Party on January 31, 2014 in New York City, USA. (Reuters/Marion Curtis/File photo)
Mr. Bragg indicted Mr. Trump on 34 counts of first-degree falsification of business records. Bragg alleges that Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, arranged hush money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougall to prevent them from talking about her alleged affair with Trump. Mr. Bragg seeks to prove that President Trump was aware of these payments and allegedly falsified records of the payments to Mr. Cohen as “legal fees” rather than hush money repayments.
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President Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts and told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview Thursday that he only paid Cohen’s legal fees because Cohen was his lawyer.
Mr. Bragg also alleged that American Media, where Mr. Pecker was CEO, employed a “catch-and-kill” strategy specifically to kill Karen McDougall’s articles. Mr. Bragg and prosecutors tried to convince the jury that Mr. Pecker’s efforts were done with the benefit of the 2016 Trump campaign.
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But Mr. Pecker testified that he worked with Mr. Cohen as Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer.
Pecker’s cross-examination is expected to continue Friday morning.
