Former National Enquirer publisher details “catch-and-kill” tactics in Trump Hush Money trial

  • David Pecker, the former National Enquirer publisher, testified about his “catch-and-kill” tactics to suppress negative stories about Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign. [thehill.com, news.sky.com, nytimes.com, washingtonpost.com, theguardian.com, independent.co.uk, latimes.com]
  • Trump is the first former US president to face a criminal trial, accused of falsifying business records to pay hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels. [news.sky.com, thehill.com]
  • Pecker testified that he flagged stories to Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, to determine their truthfulness and that he paid $30,000 for a story about Trump fathering an illegitimate child, which was found to be untrue. [news.sky.com, thehill.com]
  • Pecker described a scheme to bury unfavorable press coverage about Trump during the 2016 campaign and testified that he believed the negative stories helped Trump’s campaign and boosted newspaper sales. [news.sky.com, thehill.com, nytimes.com, washingtonpost.com, theguardian.com, independent.co.uk, latimes.com, cnn.com]
  • Trump is facing 34 felony counts for falsifying business records related to the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, which was allegedly made to prevent the publicizing of a sexual encounter allegation. [thehill.com, businessinsider.com]

What is conservative media saying?

  • Pecker testified Trump was the “most eligible bachelor who dated the most beautiful women,” leading people to sell stories about him. [nypost.com]
  • Pecker testified to striking an agreement with Donald Trump in 2015 to publish positive National Enquirer stories about Trump’s 2016 presidential run. [washingtontimes.com]

What is liberal media saying?

  • Under the leadership of Pecker The National Enquirer allegedly operated as a political weapon to support Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. [nytimes.com, washingtonpost.com, theguardian.com, independent.co.uk, latimes.com, washingtonpost.com]
  • The Enquirer paid $150,000 to suppress a story about Trump’s affair, violating campaign finance laws, and American Media admitted to these violations in a deal with the federal government. [nytimes.com, washingtonpost.com]
  • Pecker revealed details about the Enquirer’s “catch and kill” tactics, including purchasing the rights to a story from former Playboy model Karen McDougal alleging an affair with Trump to prevent it from being made public. [nytimes.com, cnn.com]

Sources:

  • The Hill
  • Sky News
  • The New York Times
  • The Washington Post
  • The Guardian
  • The Independent
  • Los Angeles Times
  • CNN
  • NPR
  • Business Insider
  • NBC News
  • New York Post
  • USA Today
  • Fox News
  • The Washington Times