STILL ENQUIRING
Don-case jury gets a second look at Pecker
The former publisher of the National Enquirer testified Monday before the grand jury that’s hearing evidence against ex-President Donald Trump in the Stormy Daniels hush-money probe, The Post has learned.
David Pecker made his second appearance before the panel after being one of the first witnesses to testify in January, a source familiar with the matter said.
Pecker was recalled because prosecutors wanted a witness to rebut lawyer and Trump ally Robert Costello, who testified last week on the ex-president’s behalf, sources have told The Post.
After Pecker’s testimony Monday, grand jurors left without voting and aren’t scheduled to return Tuesday, meaning a potential indictment of Trump, 76, won’t be handed up before Wednesday at the earliest, the sources said.
After testifying, Pecker, 71, was driven out of the garage under the office building where the grand jury has been meeting at 80 Centre St. in lower Manhattan.
He appeared to be slumped down in the rear of the silver SUV, which was driven by a man in a blue jacket with an insignia identifying him as an investigator in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Pecker’s exit, at around 3:30 p.m., came about 90 minutes after the grand jury had been scheduled to reconvene to hear his testimony. His lawyer, Elkan Abramowitz, who appeared to be seated next to him in the SUV, did not return a request for comment.
The panel has been hearing evidence since late January, with Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg reportedly seeking to charge Trump over the $130,000 payment made to Daniels by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Catching & killing
Pecker was a key player in the $150,000 “catch-and-kill” payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, in which the Enquirer bought the publishing rights to her claim that she — like Daniels — had an affair with Trump before he became president.
Trump and Pecker were pals, and the Enquirer never reported McDougal’s allegations. Parent company American Media Inc. featured her in unrelated articles in other publications after the payment.
Trump has denied having sex with either woman, as well as any wrongdoing in connection with the payments to them.
In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court to crimes including making an excessive contribution to Trump’s campaign via the hushmoney payment to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
Costello told reporters after he testified before the grand jury that Cohen, whom Costello briefly advised when the FBI raided Cohen’s office and temporary home in February 2018, masterminded the Daniels payment “on his own, that’s what he told us.”
After Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison, the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office revealed that it struck a nonprosecution agreement with AMI.
As part of the deal, AMI agreed to “truthfully and completely disclose all information” sought by prosecutors and also cooperate as directed with “any other law enforcement agency.”
Pecker was the CEO of AMI at the time, but he stepped down in August 2020 as part of a debt-restructuring deal.