Former tabloid executive David Pecker testified Friday that Michael Cohen, a former lawyer to ex-President Donald Trump, was the one who invited him to the 2015 presidential launch event at Trump Tower in New York.
Mr. Pecker said Mr. Cohen, who will be a star witness for the prosecution in Mr. Trump’s hush money trial, also worked his press sources on behalf of the campaign and got involved in fundraisers.
Asked by prosecutor Joshua Steinglass if he saw Mr. Cohen go on TV to repeat campaign talking points, Mr. Pecker said: “Yes, I did.”
Prosecutors said Mr. Cohen was not an official member of the 2016 campaign, since he was paid by the Trump Organization, but that he had an unusual link to the presidential run.
They say Mr. Cohen was linked to efforts to suppress bad press near the election, leading to the criminal concealment of a payment to porn star Stormy Daniels through a series of checks and business entries that misled banks and triggered election and tax offenses.
Defense lawyers used cross-examination of Mr. Pecker to argue the National Enquirer was motivated by business decisions when it ran unflattering stories about Mr. Trump’s opponents.
They also said Playboy model Karen McDougal shopped her story about an alleged affair with Mr. Trump as a way to rejuvenate her career through media gigs at American Media Inc., parent of the Enquirer.
On redirect examination, prosecutors got Mr. Pecker to reaffirm that the agreement with Ms. McDougal was designed to keep her story about an alleged affair with Mr. Trump out of the public eye near the election.
Mr. Pecker said he included media opportunities, including columns with ghostwriters helping Ms. McDougal, to lend “plausible deniability” if someone cried foul about the agreement.
Also, Mr. Pecker said he acknowledged to authorities that the McDougal payment violated federal election laws.