Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified at Donald Trump's criminal trial that he sought to silence a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with Mr Trump for fear it would hurt his 2016 presidential bid.
Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified at Donald Trump's criminal trial that he sought to silence a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with Mr Trump for fear it would hurt his 2016 presidential bid.
Mr Pecker, who has not been charged with a crime, testified on Tuesday that the National Enquirer acquired former Playboy model Karen McDougal's story of Mr Trump's alleged sexual misbehaviour but never published it - a practice known as"catch and kill" - in order to help Mr Trump's 2016 presidential bid.
In the end, the National Enquirer ended up footing the bill, rather than Mr Trump. The paper's parent company, American Media, admitted in 2018 that it paid her $150,000 . Her story was never published. Prosecutors said that the payment was a campaign expense that should have been disclosed and that Mr Trump’s arrangement with the National Enquirer deceived voters by suppressing stories of alleged extramarital affairs at a time when he faced accusations of sexual misbehaviour.
Also today, the US Supreme Court heard Mr Trump's arguments that he is immune from prosecution for actions taken as president, an appeal that has held up his prosecution on charges related to his attempts to reverse his 2020 election defeat. Mr Trump has complained that the trial, which is expected to last through May, is preventing him from campaigning though he uses his courthouse appearances as mini-stump speeches.
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