Trump faces potential punishment for violating gag order in hush money trial
Published in Political News
Among the outlandish headlines were “Donald Trump Blasts Ted Cruz’s Dad for Photos With JFK Assassin,” and “Senator Marco Rubio’s Cocaine Connection.”
Pecker said the stories originated with ideas Cohen would phone in and Pecker and former Editor-in-Chief of the National Enquirer Dylan Howard would then “embellish” them. Pecker assumed Cohen’s directives were the boss’s wishes.
Hush money payoffs
In the year to come, Pecker said the scheme netted the $30,000 buyout of a story a Trump Tower doorman was looking to sell, claiming Trump fathered an illegitimate girl with a maid at Trump Tower.
“The boss would be very pleased,” Pecker recalled Cohen telling him.
He later said they determined it was “absolutely, 1,000% untrue,” but they still bought it in case it was sold to another publication.
“So this was a way to lock it up?” Steinglass asked.
“That’s correct,” Pecker said.
In the months before the 2016 election, Pecker got wind of a Playboy model in California, Karen McDougal, who alleged she’d had a yearlong “romantic” affair with Trump early in his marriage to Melania. Pecker said he urged Trump and Cohen to take it seriously.
What to know
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