Trump trial hears new details about alleged “catch and kill” scheme as Pecker continues testimony

David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, revealed new details about his efforts to bury negative stories to shield Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, including a $150,000 deal with a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with Trump.

Appearing for his third day on the stand in Trump’s criminal trial in New York, Pecker detailed how the Enquirer bought the rights to Karen McDougal’s story but never published her allegations, a tactic that would come to be known as “catch and kill.” 

He also recounted how he became aware of Stormy Daniels, the adult film star who said she had sex with Trump and agreed to keep quiet in exchange for $130,000. That payment was made days before the 2016 election by Michael Cohen, then Trump’s attorney. 

Pecker told jurors why he declined to purchase the story rights himself.

“I said, I don’t want the National Enquirer to be associated with a porn star. Our largest retailer is Walmart … This would be very bad for the magazine, very bad for American Media and I don’t want any affiliation,” he said, referring to American Media, Inc., which owned the Enquirer. Pecker was the CEO of AMI until 2020.

Trump has denied both McDougal and Daniels’ accounts. He faces 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal his reimbursements to Cohen for the “hush money” payment, and has pleaded not guilty.

McDougal reached an agreement with the Enquirer in August 2016. In exchange for the $150,000, she agreed to turn over the rights to her story about the alleged affair. The deal also called for her to write a column for various AMI publications and allow the company to use her image.

Pecker testified that those provisions were included to obscure the true purpose of the agreement: preventing McDougal’s account from coming to light. He also said AMI crafted the deal to avoid triggering campaign finance laws.

“We purchased the story so it wouldn’t be published by any other organization,” he said later, referring to himself and Michael Cohen, Trump’s then-attorney and a key witness in the case. “We didn’t want the story to embarrass Mr. Trump or embarrass or hurt the campaign.”

The prosecution ended their questioning of Pecker on Thursday, and Trump’s attorneys will continue their cross examination when court resumes on Friday.