‘National Enquirer’ Publisher David Pecker Testifies In Trump’s Hush Money Trial

On Friday, former American Media CEO David Pecker concluded his testimony about meetings he had with former President Donald Trump in August 2015.

Pecker, who was also the publisher of The National Enquirer, said he agreed to be the Trump campaign’s “eyes and ears” and redirect any negative stories to Trump’s fixer Michael Cohen. He said he offered to flag efforts by women who would try to profit by selling stories about Trump.

Pecker recalled how he found out about crucial stories – such as the claim of an affair with Playboy model Karen McDougal – and that he held a private conversation with Trump about purchasing the story to avoid it being published.

Pecker is the first witness to testify against the former president in a trial accusing him of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records with the intent to further connected crimes.

Pecker took the stand on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. 

Trump’s team tried to question Pecker’s memory on specific points. Legal experts said that he was a strong witness for the prosecution.