American Media’s David Pecker resigns from Postmedia board
David Pecker, chairman of the company that publishes the National Enquirer, resigned from the board of Postmedia Network Canada Corp. and its news-publishing subsidiary on Tuesday.
In tendering his resignation, Pecker “noted that it is important for him to focus his efforts on ensuring that his businesses are best positioned for continued growth,” said Peter Sharpe, lead director of Postmedia’s board, in a statement.
Several U.S. media outlets including the Wall Street Journal reported this week that Pecker was granted immunity by federal prosecutors in connection with an investigation into payments made during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign to two women who claimed to have previously had affairs with then-candidate Donald Trump.
NBC News reported this week that court papers allege the National Enquirer’s parent company, American Media, paid ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal for the rights to her story in an attempt to keep her relationship with Trump a secret in the run-up to the November 2016 election. Her story was not published, the broadcaster said.
Last week, Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws by helping make payments to two women — McDougal and former adult film star Stormy Daniels — in order to influence the outcome of the election. The blockbuster plea deal was accompanied by the allegation from Cohen that he had acted on Trump’s direction.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
A call seeking comment from American Media was not returned by deadline.
On Tuesday afternoon, Postmedia issued a short news release announcing that Pecker had resigned his seat on the boards of Postmedia Network Canada Corp. and Postmedia Network Inc.
“David Pecker advised us of his resignation,” said Sharpe, who in addition to being Postmedia’s lead director is also chair of the corporate governance and nominating committee.
“We would like to sincerely thank David for his dedication and contributions to Postmedia,” added Paul Godfrey, Postmedia’s executive chairman and chief executive, in the statement.
Pecker joined the board of Postmedia, Canada’s largest newspaper publisher with print, online and mobile titles including the National Post, in October 2016. His resignation Tuesday was “effective immediately,” according to the statement.
A Postmedia official said there would be no further comment.