‘Catch and kill’ tabloid chief winds up testimony in Trump trial
>> NEW YORK: Donald Trump’s historic criminal trial wrapped up for the week on Friday following four days of testimony by a colourful ex-tabloid publisher who said he suppressed potentially damaging stories about the former president.
Mr Trump, 77, is accused of falsifying business records to reimburse his lawyer, Michael Cohen, for a US$130,000 (4.8 million baht) hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels just days ahead of the 2016 election against Hillary Clinton.
Ms Daniels, 45, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was threatening at the time to go public with her story about an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Mr Trump that could have derailed his White House campaign.
During four days of testimony, David Pecker, 72, the first witness called by the prosecutors, outlined a scheme known as “catch and kill”, which involved buying and then burying salacious stories which could have been embarrassing to the real estate tycoon.
The former publisher of the National Enquirer was not personally involved in the payment to Ms Daniels, but prosecutors are using his testimony to demonstrate that “catch and kill” was commonly used by Mr Trump and his “fixer” Mr Cohen.
Mr Pecker told the court he paid $30,000 to kill a story from a Trump Tower doorman who was peddling an apparently false claim that Mr Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock with a maid.
He said $150,000 was paid to squash a story from Karen McDougal, a Playboy model who claimed to have had a yearlong affair with Mr Trump.
“We purchased the story so it would not be published by any other organisation,” Mr Pecker told the jury. “We didn’t want the story to embarrass Mr Trump or hurt his campaign.”
When it came to squashing Ms Daniels’ tale of her alleged sexual encounter with Mr Trump, Mr Pecker said he hesitated to pay for yet another story. “I’m not a bank,” he said.
The executive suggested to Mr Cohen that he pay for it instead, which prosecutors say the then-Trump fixer did.
Mr Trump has appeared increasingly disgruntled as the trial proceeds.
The Republican presidential candidate is required to report to the courtroom multiple times a week, restricting his time on the campaign trail less than seven months before his likely election rematch with President Joe Biden.
Speaking to reporters in a hallway before entering court on Friday, Mr Trump wished his wife, Melania, a happy birthday.