The boss of a newspaper was Donald Trump’s “eyes and ears” and killed unfavorable stories about him in the run-up to the 2016 election, a court has heard.
trump made history as the first former US president to face a criminal trial.
He is accused of paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels in an effort to cover up his alleged affair and falsifying business records to do so.
David Pecker, former head of publishing company AMI, took the stand as the first witness in the trial, describing participating in a “catch and kill” scheme with Trump and Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to bury unfavorable press coverage during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Manhattan criminal court also heard Pecker, who signed a “non-prosecution” agreement with prosecutors after AMI admitted to making secret payments, describe his role as being Trump’s “eyes and ears.”
Pecker said he would flag the stories to Cohen, who would verify whether they were true or not. This agreement was never written down, but Mr. Pecker disclosed it to Dylan Howard, editor in chief of the National Enquirer, one of his publications.
Follow: how the day in court went
Trump awaits the start of the process. Photo Reuters
Pecker told the court about a meeting he attended in August 2015 with Trump, Cohen and Hope Hicks, the former president’s communications director.
‘I would be the eyes and ears’
He said: “In that meeting with Donald Trump, they asked me what I can do to help the campaign.
“I said what I would do is publish or publish positive stories about Mr. Trump and publish negative stories about his opponents.
“I said I would also be the eyes and ears.”
In particular, Pecker said he would notify Cohen if he heard any negative stories related to Trump and alleged relationships with any women “because Mr. Trump was known as the most eligible bachelor and dated the most beautiful women.”
He added: “It’s become clear that, based on my past experience, when someone is running for public office like this, it’s very common for these women to call magazines like the National Enquirer to try to sell their stories.”
The court heard of one example in which Pecker paid $30,000 (£24,000) to buy a story about Trump allegedly fathering an illegitimate baby with a maid.
Trump was accused of plotting a “catch and kill” scheme to bury unfavorable press coverage during the 2016 presidential campaign. Photo: Reuters
Trump waves to crowds outside the courthouse. Photo: Reuters
Pecker said: “I immediately called Michael Cohen and told him exactly what I was told.
“I gave the name of the penthouse housekeeper and asked him to check with the Trump Organization payroll first.”
Buying the negative press
Pecker believed the story, but said investigators considered the story false and said Cohen told him it was “absolutely not true.”
He added: “I made the decision to buy the story because it could have been embarrassing for the campaign and for Mr. Trump.”
Looming over today’s proceedings were allegations that Trump violated a gag order on social media posts and on his campaign website.
The gag order restricted Trump’s public speech to jurors, potential witnesses and some others involved in the case.
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Prosecutors asked the judge to fine Trump $10,000 (£8,000) for ten online posts that they said violated the order, but the judge had not made a decision by the end of the day’s proceedings.
Political opponents targeted
However, as well as protecting Trump’s image, the court heard that Mr Pecker allegedly targeted his political opponents.
He said, “I would publish a story of Hillary Clinton enabling a womanizer.”
The prosecution asked, “Do you believe this helped the Trump campaign?”
Pecker told the court it was mutually beneficial because it generated newspaper sales and benefited the Trump campaign.
The court was told that Pecker’s editor would also publish stories about Trump’s Republican opponents “based on the success of some of the candidates.”
He added, “I would get a call from Michael Cohen, and he would guide me and Dylan Howard on which candidate and which direction we should go.”
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National Enquirer Headlines
Some headlines published by the Enquirer included:
• Clumsy surgeon Ben Carson left a sponge in his patient’s brain!
• Ted Cruz embarrassed by porn star
• Boozin’ Ted Cruz trying to lose
• Shocking claims: Pervy Ted Cruz is caught cheating – with 5 secret lovers
• Anonymous threat! Hackers threaten Ted Cruz with alleged prostitution
• Donald Trump attacks Ted Cruz’s father for photo with JFK Assassin
Also during today’s proceedings, it emerged that Pecker was one of the first people to encourage Trump to run for president.
In early 2015, Pecker says he told Trump that 80% of National Enquirer readers wanted him to run for president.
He received an invitation to the announcement that Trump would run, made in June 2015, which the court heard said: “Nobody deserves to be there more than you.”
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
