Former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial waded into sensitive territory Thursday as a former tabloid executive described how he paid $150,000 to silence a Playboy model who alleged an affair with Mr. Trump but refused to pay off adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, who also shopped around a salacious story in 2016.
David Pecker, who testified that he served as Mr. Trump’s “eyes and ears” at the National Enquirer, described how he held firm against representatives for Ms. Daniels and sought over $100,000 for her account of an alleged sexual encounter with Mr. Trump around 2006.
“I said we already paid $30,000 to the doorman, we already paid $150,000 to [Playmate] Karen McDougal,” Mr. Pecker testified. “I am not a bank and we are not paying out any further disbursements or monies.”
The testimony set the table for prosecutors to present the core of their argument: That Mr. Trump and his lawyer, Michael Cohen, relied on Mr. Pecker to capture and kill unflattering stories on the cusp of the 2016 election but turned to their own devices to silence Ms. Daniels, who came forward after the release of “Access Hollywood” in which Mr. Trump talked about groping women.
Prosecutors say Mr. Cohen and Mr. Trump paid Ms. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, and criminally concealed the payments through a series of checks and business entries that misled banks and triggered election and tax offenses.
Later, the defense cross-examined Mr. Pecker, exploring the idea that purchasing a story to kill it was not unusual, nor was it a criminal act.
Mr. Pecker said he never heard the term “catch and kill” until a prosecutor said it, and that he had a long relationship.
“Seventeen years of providing President Trump with a heads up about potentially negative publicity?” lawyer Emil Bove asked.
“That’s correct,” Mr. Pecker replied.
Mr. Pecker returned to the witness stand on a momentous day in the legal world.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Washington on Mr. Trump’s assertion of presidential immunity against election subversion charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
Mr. Trump‘s trial is taking place in the same courtroom where former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape four years ago. An appeals court overturned that conviction on Thursday.
Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records and says the case is designed to thwart his presidential campaign.
Mr. Pecker, in his third day of testimony, said he believed the affair story from Ms. McDougal was true and would be damaging to the 2016 Trump campaign. Yet there was a dispute about who should pay $150,000 to buy Ms. McDougal’s story.
“I said, ‘Michael, why should I pay? I just paid $30,000 for the doorman story. Now you’re asking me to pay $150,000 for the Karen story, plus all of these other additional items that she wants to do,’” Mr. Pecker testified, referring to a previous effort to buy an unproven story put forward by a Trump Tower doorman.
Mr. Pecker said Mr. Cohen gave him assurances that suggest Mr. Trump would make him whole: “Don’t worry about it. I’m your friend. The boss will take care of it.”
In mid-2017, Mr. Trump asked Mr. Pecker for an update on Ms. McDougal during an event at the White House.
“How’s Karen doing?” he recalled Mr. Trump saying as they walked past the Rose Garden from the Oval Office to the dining room.
Mr. Pecker replied, “She’s quiet, everything’s going good.”
But he said Mr. Trump was furious when Ms. McDougal gave an interview to CNN in early 2018 and learned Mr. Pecker’s company amended the agreement with her after a 2016 story in The Wall Street Journal exposed the payoff.
Mr. Pecker, who has a nonprosecution agreement, concluded his direct examination by saying he still considers Mr. Trump to be a friend.
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.