David Pecker, the former CEO of National Enquirer parent company American Media, testified today about how the tabloid assisted Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign by publishing positive stories about him and negative, sensationalized articles about his rivals.
During an August 2015 meeting at Trump Tower, Pecker promised to use the resources of his tabloid publishing empire to support Trump’s presidential bid, as he was a friend and frequent subject of cover stories in the publication.
Pecker recalled a meeting with Trump, lawyer Michael Cohen, and Trump’s campaign spokesperson Hope Hicks, where they discussed how the tabloids could assist the campaign by publishing positive stories about Trump and negative stories about his opponents.
Pecker also mentioned that he would inform Cohen about any negative stories or information he heard about Trump or women telling stories that could potentially harm the campaign.
In certain cases, stories were sent to Cohen for review before publication, Pecker revealed.
Pecker instructed AMI’s chief content officer and Enquirer editor in chief to vet stories about Trump and his family before publication and to discuss them with Cohen if necessary.
If any story needed to be kept confidential, Pecker would buy the rights to the information and bury the story to protect Trump, as he had done in the past.
This agreement was made during a 20-25 minute meeting and was never put in writing, Pecker testified.
The result of this arrangement was a continuous stream of stories in the National Enquirer praising Trump and criticizing his opponents, based on information provided by Cohen.
Jurors were shown a collection of Enquirer headlines praising Trump and attacking his opponents, based on information fed to Pecker by Cohen.
Contributor: Ted Johnson
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