David Pecker says he bought McDougal story so it did not hurt Trump campaign

Former National Enquirer publisher says he helped Trump to suppress negative stories that threatened 2016 presidential bid

The former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker told the court in Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial on Thursday that he specifically bought a story from the Playboy model Karen McDougal to bury it so that it did not “embarrass or hurt the [Trump] campaign”.

Following his testimony earlier in the week, Pecker, the former chief executive of American Media Inc (AMI), which publishes the Enquirer, explained how he used his position to help Trump kill McDougal’s story about a 10-month affair she says they had in 2006.

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