Trump’s Former Ally Testifies Against Him in Criminal Hush Money Trial: ‘Catch-and-Kill’ Scheme and FEC Investigation Revealed

In this ongoing trial against former President Donald Trump for his involvement in criminal hush money payments during his presidential campaign, defense lawyers continued cross-examining David Pecker on Friday. The former National Enquirer publisher has provided damaging testimony for the prosecution over three days. During Thursday’s session, Trump’s legal team questioned Pecker’s credibility and drew objections from prosecutors that would be addressed later in the day. Once cross-examination is complete, prosecutors are expected to redirect questioning. Prior to entering the courtroom on Friday, a visibly unhappy Trump commented that he thought things went “very well” during Thursday’s proceedings but complained about how cold it was inside and accused the judge of conflicts of interest while labeling the trial as rigged. Pecker testified regarding the infamous ‘catch-and-kill’ scheme conceived by himself, along with Cohen and Trump, where negative stories concerning Trump were acquired then buried during his campaign in 2016 to keep them from publication. The publishing company owned by Pecker spent $30,000 on a story involving a former doorman at the ex-president’s Tower that he deemed untrue and another $150,000 for Karen McDougal’s alleged affair with Trump; both stories were ultimately kept under wraps. Pecker explained how his publishing company was unwilling to pay an additional sum of around $130,000 as it bought the rights to adult film actor Stormy Daniel’s story concerning a sexual encounter between herself and then-presidential candidate Trump that took place years earlier during campaign proceedings, when Pecker was concerned with budget restrictions. Sitting alongside the ex-commander in chief inside courtroom, both men intermittently made eye contact as the case proceeded; at one point in time, an FEC enquiry over his publishing company’s actions on the alleged Trump ‘payments to purchase silence from various persons about accusations involving themselves and then president elect or president was highlighted during testimony by Pecker. A former lawyer specialized in campaign finance law had been consulted regarding this matter; however, it did not prevent a subsequent FEC investigation into these payments that resulted in an $180,000 fine for the publishing company as part of a conciliation agreement with the commission to settle the issue.