NOW THAT’S A FINE STATE OF AFFAIRS
AN AUSSIE JOURNO IS AT CENTRE STAGE AS DONALD TRUMP GOES TO TRIAL ACCUSED OF FALSIFYING RECORDS TO HIDE HUSH MONEY PAYMENT TO PORN STAR IN 2016 CAMPAIGN
Donald Trump this week will become the first US president to face a criminal trial, over a hush money scheme during his 2016 election campaign that an Australian journalist allegedly helped orchestrate.
The former US president – who is now the frontrunner to win this year’s election – is accused of falsifying business records over a $US130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to bury her allegation that they had a brief affair.
And Dylan Howard, the former editor-in-chief of the National Enquirer, has been a key witness in the bombshell case against Mr Trump.
He was a central player in the “catch-and-kill” scheme in which negative stories about Mr Trump’s relationships with women were bought and buried with the help of the tabloid outlet.
Mr Howard, who is not facing charges, gave evidence last year for New York prosecutors, who convinced a grand jury to give the green light to the historic 34-count indictment against Mr Trump.
The former president last week failed in last-ditch bids to delay the trial, with jury selection to begin on Tuesday.
Evidence tendered in other proceedings allegedly showed how Mr Howard connected lawyers for Mr Trump and Ms Daniels on the “business opportunity” and helped “get it sorted”.
The Australian – who was also the chief content officer at American Media, Inc. (AMI), which published the National Enquirer, under the tabloid empire’s boss David Pecker – allegedly told Mr Trump’s fixer it “could look awfully bad for everyone” if they could not “co-ordinate something”.
That came after he signed an AMI-funded $US150,000 contract with former Playboy model Karen McDougal to silence her claim of an affair with Mr Trump, which AMI later admitted to avoid charges.
On the night of the 2016 election, in an alleged exchange detailed in a Federal Election Commission investigation, Mr Howard told a relative: “At least if he wins, I’ll be pardoned for electoral fraud.”
Mr Howard’s lawyer John Harris said that comment was “gallows humour”, and that the former Seven Network reporter had “always fully co-operated with government inquiries regarding his former employer’s relationship with Donald Trump”.
“Mr Howard has no comment on whether he will testify in the case against Donald Trump,” he said.
TRUMP TOWER MEETING
The catch-and-kill scheme was set in motion at Trump Tower in August 2015, two months after Mr Trump had announced his White House run, according to a statement of facts filed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg when he charged him a year ago.
Mr Pecker, a friend of Mr Trump, visited the Republican candidate and his lawyer Michael Cohen to offer to help deal with negative stories about Mr Trump’s relationships with women. In a deal with the Department of Justice to avoid prosecution in 2018, AMI admitted Mr Pecker said he would assist Mr Trump’s campaign “in identifying such stories so they could be purchased and their publication avoided”.
Mr Cohen later told a congressional inquiry that Mr Pecker and Mr Howard would then contact him when “there’s a story that’s percolating out there that you may be interested in”.
THE DOORMAN AND THE LOVE CHILD
In October 2015, a former Trump Tower doorman contacted the National Enquirer and alleged Mr Trump had had an affair with a woman in the building, resulting in a secret love child.
Dino Sajudin signed a contract with AMI promising $US30,000 if it published a story from the information he provided “regarding Donald Trump’s illegitimate child”.
A month later, however, Mr Cohen learnt of the story and asked AMI not to publish it, according to an FEC report. Mr Sajudin then received $US30,000 from AMI as part of a new deal in which he would have to pay $US1m if he spread the claims elsewhere.
Separate to the New York court proceedings, Mr
Howard said publicly that his reporters were unable to confirm the claims and that “Dino Sajudin is one fish that swam away”.
THE PLAYBOY MODEL’S MAGAZINE DEAL
In June 2016, Ms McDougal’s lawyer Keith Davidson contacted Mr Howard, according to a statement of facts agreed by AMI in its nonprosecution deal with the DOJ.
Mr Davidson offered to sell the National Enquirer the story of her alleged 10-month sexual relationship with Mr Trump that began in 2006, while his new wife Melania was raising their infant son Barron.
Mr Howard and Mr Pecker contacted Mr Cohen, who urged them to strike a deal and suggested gested he would pay ay them back, AMI MI later acknowledged edged in the non-prosecution ecution deal.
So Mr Howard interviewed d the former Playboy model el and signed a contract – including uding the rights to report on n her relationship “with h any then-married d man” – for $US150,000. It was, as, as AMI later admitted itted to the DOJ, “substantially more re than AMI otherwise would ould have paid to acquire the e story”, but the deal’s “principal pal purpose” was to suppress Ms McDougal’s allegation, gation, “to prevent it from influencing fluencing the election”.
The plan for Mr r Cohen to reimburse AMI fell ell through, and Mr Howard told old the FEC that the company comp “exercised its editorial discretion di not to publish MsM Ms McDougal’s detailed personal perso story”.
THE PORN STAR’SS HUSH MONEY PAYPAYMENT
A month before befo the election, Mr Trump’s campaign ca was rocked roc by leaked audio au of him bragging br about groping gr women and saying: s “When you’re you’r a star, they let you do it.”
The next da day, an agent for Ms Daniels told to Mr Howard the porn star was w willing to speak about her h allegation that she slept slep with Mr
Trump at a golf event in 2006.
AMI decided decide against paying for Ms Daniels’ Daniel story and Mr Howard instead inste contacted Mr
Cohen, setting off a flurry of calls and messages – detailed in an FBI filing in a federal prosecution of Mr Cohen – that included Mr Trump himself. The journalist put the fixer in touch with Mr Davidson, who was also representing Ms Daniels, with Mr Cohen transferring $US130,000 in the days before the election.
THE FALLOUT
Mr Trump was charged a year ago by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. He pleaded not guilty, and denies affairs with either woman.
The 34-count indictment was given the green light by a grand jury that heard testimony from witnesses including Mr Howard, Mr Pecker and Mr Cohen, according to media reports.
Mr Cohen, the former president’s fixer, was in 2018 sentenced to three years’ jail for crimes including campaign finance violations over the deal with Ms Daniels.
While the DOJ agreed not to prosecute AMI, the FEC fined the firm $US187,500 in 2021 for “knowingly and wilfully” violating election laws by making a “prohibited corporate in-kind contribution” to Mr Trump’s campaign with its cover-up of Ms McDougal’s story.
Mr Howard’s lawyer maintained his client had played only a “limited role” in the saga.