For a long time, David Pecker had a “excellent relationship” with Donald Trump. Here they are face to face, on Tuesday, April 23, in the Manhattan Criminal Court. This is already a strong moment of the trial which is beginning, offering a mind-boggling dive into the world of the gutter press, the one which has the checkbook as its compass and acts on command, in defiance of the truth. The former CEO of American Media Inc. (AMI), who benefits from immunity in exchange for his cooperation, calmly detailed his friendly and interested ties with the ex-president, culminating in his victorious campaign , in 2015 and 2016.
Both New Yorkers, David Pecker, originally from the Bronx, and Donald Trump, born in Queens, had a lot in common: an outsider profile revanchist against traditional elites, a high idea of themselves, ambition , the taste of influence. They spoke regularly on the phone in the 2010s. Sometimes, David Pecker, at the helm of the powerful tabloid The National Enquirer, was going to Trump Tower.
When the entrepreneur decided to run in the Republican primaries in 2015, their contacts intensified. Then, it was Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s lawyer and handyman, who served as intermediary between the two men. David Pecker says he met Michael Cohen in the 2000s, during a bar mitzvah. On June 16, 2015, the day of the candidacy announcement at Trump Tower, David Pecker was among the guests.
“An agreement between friends”
At this moment in his account in court, the key witness knows that the prosecution is preparing to address an essential episode in its conspiracy thesis, intended to conceal from the American public, in the run-up to the presidential election of 2016, Donald Trump’s sex scandals. This episode is a meeting between the three men – Donald Trump, David Pecker and Michael Cohen – at Trump Tower in August 2015. Press secretary Hope Hicks reportedly made regular appearances in the room during their discussions.
According to the witness, that day, the candidate and his lawyer asked David Pecker what he could do for the campaign. “I said what I would do is publish positive stories about Mr. Trump and publish negative stories about his opponents. » He offers to continue publishing articles attacking Bill and Hillary Clinton, to the contractor’s satisfaction. The tabloid also found its interest in it: it was a goldmine. But the mutually beneficial relationship will ultimately serve Donald Trump entirely.
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