A key witness in Donald Trump‘s criminal trial testified Thursday about his role in hush money payments to a porn actress and a Playboy model the former president allegedly had affairs with — and Trump’s plan to make sure other negative stories about him never saw the light of day.
David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, said Trump at one point sought to buy the rights to Karen McDougal‘s allegations of a monthslong affair with him, as well as other information the Enquirer had on him in its archives. Trump has denied McDougal’s claims.
Pecker said that he eventually backed out of the deal for fear he could get into legal trouble — and that when he heard about adult film star Stormy Daniels’ claim of a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump, he decided he couldn’t front any more cash to keep his longtime friend out of trouble.
