Trump’s flipping hell: National Enquirer CEO David Pecker, once a key ally, is reportedly granted immunity in hush-money probe
Trump’s alleged sexual dalliances were the subject of a ‘catch and kill’ policy by the tabloid publisher, in a bid to silence the women involved in the stories
The chief executive of the publisher of the National Enquirer was granted immunity by prosecutors investigating payments arranged by US President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to silence two women who said they had sex with Trump, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
Another AMI executive, Dylan Howard, also received immunity, Vanity Fair magazine reported.
American Media Inc’s (AMI) Chief Executive Officer David Pecker met with prosecutors to describe Trump and Cohen’s involvement in hush-money deals with adult-film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal ahead of the 2016 US presidential election, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources. Pecker is a long-time friend of Trump and Cohen.
Cooperation with authorities by Pecker and Howard could further implicate Trump in connection with the payments, which prosecutors have said violated campaign finance laws.
Cohen, who pleaded guilty on Tuesday to campaign finance violations and other charges, said in court that Trump directed him to arrange the payments to avoid damaging publicity shortly before the November 2016 election.
Pecker and Howard corroborated Cohen’s account, according to Vanity Fair.
Cohen paid Daniels US$130,000 in exchange for her silence, according to court papers. McDougal, who has said she had a months-long affair with Trump, sold her story for US$150,000 to AMI but it was never published, a practice known as “catch and kill” to prevent a potentially damaging article from being published.