Before the trial, Pecker admitted that he met with Trump and his lawyer Michael Cohen in August 2015, who asked him how he could help. According to The Guardian, Pecker told them he could be the campaign’s “ears and eyes” and would monitor negative information about Trump.
Pecker emphasized that he should have particularly alerted Cohen to negative stories presented by women. “When someone is running for public office like this, it’s very common for women to call magazines like the National Enquirer and try to sell them their stories,” he told the court.
That was exactly the case with Stormy Daniels, who offered the story of her affair with Trump. Pecker “identified him as potentially dangerous for the 2016 campaign.”
“It could be a big story. I was convinced that it should be withdrawn from the market,” he testified. The porn actress ended up getting $130,000 to keep quiet. But the payment was not registered as an election expenditure.
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The story came shortly after The Washington Post published a misogynistic conversation between Donald Trump and host Billy Bush en route to the taping of another episode of the entertainment television program Access Hollywood, in which Trump described how he tried to seduce a married woman and suggested he might start kissing the woman , which they were supposed to meet: “I don’t even have to wait. When you’re a star, they let you. You can do anything. Grab them by the crotch…”
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Pecker also confirmed that Cohen wanted the deal to remain secret because otherwise it would defeat the purpose of the agreement that the National Enquirer would “catch and sink” negative stories about Trump. Pecker agreed that everything should be done quietly.
Rumors were also paid for
Pecker also described two other stories that have not been published, according to the BBC. Former Trump Tower porter Dino Sajudin came up with one. He was offering information about a rumor that Trump had an illegitimate child. Pecker found the claim to be false. Still, he agreed to have Cohen pay Sajudin $30,000 for the rights to a story that could be “very uncomfortable for the campaign.”
Pecker also advised Trump to buy the rights to the story from model Karen McDougal, who claimed to have had a long-term relationship with Trump. Trump wasn’t sure because he felt it would fall through anyway. In the end, the National Enquirer bought the story for $150,000. The case itself is not pending before the court, Pecker was asked about it to demonstrate the practices of the Trump campaign.
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Pecker described Trump personally reviewing and approving invoices and other documents related to the finances, a blow to Trump’s defense. She claimed that he delegated all these activities to other persons such as Cohen and had nothing to do with them himself.
“We talked while he looked through the stacks of bills due. He looked at one, looked at the check and signed it,” Pecker said. He added that it was not a random act and a random check, the whole package was stapled and ready to check. The check was clipped to the invoice.
“I thought his approach to money was very careful and that he was very thrifty,” Pecker said.
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