Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker continued his testimony Friday as he was cross-examined by attorneys representing former President Donald Trump.
Pecker is providing testimony before a New York jury as prosecutors allege that Trump falsified business records in a scheme to influence the 2016 election. The defense has indicated that it should wrap up questioning of Pecker early Friday afternoon.
Pecker first took the witness stand Monday and was questioned by prosecutors, where he claimed that former Trump attorney Michael Cohen provided payments to the National Enquirer to capture and sit on allegedly scandalous stories involving Trump during the run-up to the 2016 election.
During his testimony, Pecker has revealed that publishing negative stories involving 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton was good for business. He said it was also good for business for the magazine to publish negative stories about Trump’s Republican primary opponents in 2016, namely Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Ben Carson.
Pecker said it was standard operating procedure to write these stories.
On Friday, Pecker was questioned on an alleged arrangement between the National Enquirer and Karen McDougal, a former Playboy playmate who had an alleged relationship with Trump in the 1990s.
Pecker said McDougal was looking to restart her career and was interested in using National Enquirer parent company AMI to help her.
Pecker testified that AMI agreed to pay her $150,000, but that cash was for a legitimate business arrangement.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg alleges Trump tried to conceal an “illegal scheme to influence the 2016 presidential election” by trying to cover up extramarital affairs. Bragg claims Trump falsified records to hide payments to attorney Michael Cohen that were meant for porn actress Stormy Daniels and McDougal, as well as a former doorman at Trump Tower.
The charges Trump faces in New York are considered a Class E felony, the lowest among felony counts in New York. The charges are arguably the least serious among the four criminal cases Trump faces.