Tabloid publisher testifies that he worked to suppress sex stories about Trump

NEW YORK: Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified at Donald Trump's criminal trial on Thursday (Apr 25) that he wrangled with Trump and his former lawyer ahead of the 2016 election over who should buy the silence of women who said they had sexual encounters with him.

Pecker's second day of testimony provided further evidence that he worked as Trump's "eyes and ears" to suppress stories which could have hurt the businessman-turned-politician's presidential bid at a time when he was facing multiple accusations of sexual misbehaviour.

New York prosecutors have charged Trump with falsifying business records to cover up that activity, which they say corrupted the election. Trump has pleaded not guilty. Pecker does not face charges.

Pecker, 72, testified that American Media, the Enquirer's owner, paid to buy the stories of former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who said she had an affair with Trump in 2006 and 2007, and a former Trump Tower doorman who said Trump fathered an illegitimate child, which turned out not to be true.

The tabloid did not run either story but ensured that rivals would not publish them either - a practice known as "catch and kill". Pecker said the newspaper spent hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years to buy stories involving prominent people, including movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger and golfer Tiger Woods.

Pecker said he alerted Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen when he heard that porn star Stormy Daniels was looking to sell her story of a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump for US$120,000 in the weeks before the election.

Pecker said he was not interested in paying Daniels at that point because he had already paid for the other stories.

"I thought it should come off the market, and if anyone was going to buy it, Michael Cohen and Donald Trump should buy it," Pecker said."

Pecker said Cohen pressed him to buy Daniels' story, but Pecker testified he did not want to be involved with a porn star.

Cohen has said he ultimately paid Daniels US$130,000 to stay silent and was reimbursed US$420,000 by Trump after the election. Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records for labelling his payments to Cohen as legal fees.

Before that, Pecker testified, American Media bought McDougal's story and signed an agreement to use a shell company to secretly sell it on to Trump.

Pecker said he called off the deal after speaking with a company lawyer.

"Michael Cohen said, 'The boss is going to be very angry with you.' And I said, 'I'm sorry, I'm not going forward, the deal is off,'" Pecker testified.

"He was very angry, very upset, screaming, basically, at me," Pecker said of Cohen.

Pecker said Trump was angered when Pecker allowed McDougal to speak to news media after the Wall Street Journal revealed the hush money deal.

"He was very upset. He couldn’t understand why I did it,” Pecker testified.

McDougal is expected to testify later in the trial.

Trump has denied having sex with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, and McDougal.

Hush money payments themselves are not illegal, and Trump's lawyers have argued the Daniels payout was personal and unrelated to his campaign.

Prosecutors say the payment was a campaign expense that should have been disclosed, and that Trump’s arrangement with the Enquirer deceived voters by suppressing stories of alleged extramarital affairs at a time when he faced accusations of sexual misbehaviour.