Former tabloid executive David Pecker testified Tuesday that he struck a 2015 agreement with his longtime friend Donald Trump to publish positive National Enquirer stories about the mogul’s 2016 presidential run, as prosecutors set the foundation of their case over alleged hush money payments.
During a second day of testimony, Mr. Pecker said he would also “be the eyes and ears” to notify Mr. Trump’s lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen, of any “women selling stories” so the stories could be bought exclusively and killed.
“Prior to that August 2015 meeting, had you ever purchased a story in order to not print it, about Mr. Trump?” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked.
“Uh, no,” Mr. Pecker said.
Mr. Pecker was chairman, president and CEO of American Media, Inc., the parent company of tabloid papers such as the Enquirer. He is the first witness in the prosecution’s case against Mr. Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Prosecutors are setting the table for claims that Mr. Trump criminally concealed hush money payments to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels and two others by funneling checks to Mr. Cohen, effectively triggering violations of election and tax laws.
The state’s narrative begins with the 2015 meeting in which Mr. Pecker, Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen agreed to catch and kill stories that were unflattering to Mr. Trump as he ran for president in 2016.
“It was just an agreement among friends,” rather than a written deal, according to Mr. Pecker, who struck an immunity deal with prosecutors.
Mr. Pecker told the Enquirer’s editor at the time, Dylan Howard, that the agreement was “highly, highly confidential.”
“I told him that we are going to try to help the campaign, and to do that I want to keep this as quiet as possible,” Mr. Pecker said. “I did not want anyone else to know this agreement I had and what I wanted to do.”
Mr. Pecker said he was friends with Mr. Trump and they spoke more frequently after Mr. Trump announced his candidacy in mid-2015.
Mr. Pecker testified about how the Enquirer would run damaging stories about former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which pleased Mr. Trump because Mrs. Clinton was his 2016 opponent. At the same time, the Enquirer would try to elevate Mr. Trump and his candidacy.
In court, prosecutors displayed favorable headlines the Enquirer ran, including “Donald Dominates!” and “World Exclusive: The Donald Trump Nobody Knows.”
Mr. Pecker said Mr. Cohen also coordinated negative stories about Mr. Trump’s GOP primary rivals in 2016.
“He would send me information about Ted Cruz or about Ben Carson or Marco Rubio, and that was the basis of our story, and then we (the National Enquirer) would embellish it a little,” Mr. Pecker said, referring to GOP rivals. Mr. Cruz of Texas and Mr. Rubio of Florida are senators and have endorsed Mr. Trump’s current campaign.
Asked if he knew whether Mr. Cohen ever shared drafts of the stories with Mr. Trump, Mr. Pecker said: “I don’t recollect that, no.”
The first exchange of money involved a former Trump Tower doorman, Dino Sajudin, who received $30,000 from the National Enquirer in 2015 for the rights to a rumor that Mr. Trump had fathered a child with an employee at Trump World Tower. The tabloid concluded the story was not true, and the woman and Mr. Trump have denied the allegations.
The publisher remembers calling Mr. Cohen and explaining that they could purchase the doorman’s silence for $30,000 by purchasing the exclusive rights to his story.
It was the first Mr. Pecker had paid to kill a story about Mr. Trump.
Mr. Sajudin was eventually released from their deal after Mr. Trump won the election.
Court wrapped for the day in midafternoon and is expected to pick up Thursday with testimony about Mr. Trump’s alleged relationship with former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal.
The defense says Mr. Trump did not commit any crimes and was busy running the country when Mr. Cohen processed invoices and made ledger entries around the payments. Mr. Trump’s team plans to attack Mr. Cohen‘s credibility since the once-loyal ally to Mr. Trump is now his chief accuser.
Mr. Pecker said his relationship with Mr. Trump grew when Mr. Trump hosted a celebrity version of “The Apprentice,” given widespread interest in the show and the notable names whom Mr. Trump eliminated each week using his catchphrase: “You’re fired!”
Mr. Trump would feed ratings numbers about his reality show, “The Apprentice,” with the Enquirer so the tabloid could run them.
It was a “mutually beneficial relationship,” in which the Enquirer didn’t pay for information while Mr. Trump got publicity, Mr. Pecker said.
His testimony also suggests that Mr. Trump’s idea to run for president in 2016 was fueled in part by an unscientific poll in the Enquirer that showed readers favored a run.
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.