Donald Trump’s hush money trial: 7 takeaways from ex-National Enquirer publisher David Pecker's testimony

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Former tabloid executive David Pecker testfied on various topics as he was back on the stand on Tuesday, April 23, to resume his testimony in the hush money trial against former President Donald Trump, reports CNN. The 72-year-old mainly established the substance of the August 2015 meeting at the crux of the “catch and kill” practice that is central to the case.

Pecker, who was the then-chairman of American Media Inc which publishes the National Enquirer, got allegedly involved in numerous schemes to kill negative stories about Trump and he allegedly helped with the deal involving Stormy Daniels. 

Judge Juan Merchan held a hearing on whether the former president violated the gag order in the hush money case before Pecker returned to the stand. Under the order, Trump is barred from publicly discussing witnesses or jurors in the case. Merchan said he is reserving a decision on the gag order violations.

However, before the trial resumes on Thursday, April 25, here are seven key takeaways that can be derived from Pecker's testimony. 

1. David Pecker's bond with Donald Trump

The publishing executive knew Trump since the 80s and has had a “great relationship” with him over the years. He said that as a celebrity, Trump advised him about parties and events to be attended and even introduced him to various people in New York. Pecker said he saw Trump more frequently after he announced his 2016 presidential run.

2. David Pecker's interaction with Donald Trump at Trump tower

Pecker said he attended a meeting with Trump and Michael Cohen in August 2015 where he told Trump he would be his “eyes and ears.” Pecker said he offered to tell Cohen “about women selling stories” so that Cohen could have those stories killed or for someone to purchase them. The agreements with Trump were not put in writing, Pecker said.

3. David Pecker and his role in maintaining Donald Trump's positive image 

According to Pecker, he would dial Cohen directly if he heard any negative stories about Trump or his family. Besides, he also testified that Cohen would request the Enquirer to portray Trump's political opponents in bad light. The Enquirer would also send articles to Cohen before they were published, Pecker said.

4. David Pecker's admiration towards Donald Trump

Pecker testified that he saw Trump review and sign invoices and checks and described him as “very knowledgable” and almost “a micromanager” in business. He also described Trump as “very frugal” in his approach to money.

5. David Pecker's benefit

Pecker testified that publishing negative stories about Trump’s opponents and alerting him about damaging information had a mutual benefit for the Enquirer and the campaign. However, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass pushed back and had Pecker confirm that stopping stories from being printed about Trump only benefited the campaign.

6. The 'catch and kill' story

Pecker said the first time he paid to kill a negative article about Trump was when he bought a story for $30,000 from a doorman who said Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock.

Pecker said he decided to buy the story even after knowing it was false "it would have been very embarrassing to the campaign” and Trump. The doorman was eventually released from the exclusivity agreement in December 2016 after the election at Cohen’s request.

7. Karen McDougal and her alleged relationship with Donald Trump

Pecker said former National Enquirer editor-in-chief Dylan Howard went to interview former Playboy model Karen McDougal about a story she was trying to sell alleging she had a relationship with Trump, which the former president denies. Pecker testified that Cohen called him frequently to ask about what happened at the interview and was agitated.