What did David Pecker do? DA Alvin Bragg reveals star witness National Enquirer publisher's role in Trump case

David Pecker, the former chief executive officer of American Media Inc., has become a crucial witness in the proceedings of former U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsification of business records on April 4. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has charged Trump for allegedly paying thousands of dollars to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to cover up their secret affair.

Bragg claimed that this was a violation of election laws since Trump hid information from voters during the 2016 election. Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker took the stand to testify against the former President in the 2016 case.

Bragg further mentioned that AMI was then run by Pecker, who had been an ally of Donald Trump. Pecker reportedly played an important role in concealing any kind of negative publicity about Trump. This included a story by former Playboy model Karen McDougal alleging that Trump was having an affair.

---

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg discovered that the alliance between Trump and David Pecker continued throughout the 2016 election

Trump and AMI began their alliance in August 2015, a few months after the former announced his candidacy for president. Alvin Bragg’s office found that Pecker agreed to assist Trump in the campaigns related to the 2016 election. Pecker reportedly acted as the “eyes and ears” for the election campaigns. According to the DA’s office, he further stated that he would often “publish negative stories about the Defendant’s competitors for the election,” as per CNBC.

DA Alvin Bragg claimed that Trump and his attorney Michael Cohen made hush money payments to former adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep their alleged affair a secret. The Independent stated that a payment of $150,000 was also reportedly made to Karen McDougal through American Media Inc.

The statement of facts further mentioned a doorman who possibly had information that claimed that Trump had a child out of wedlock. The DA’s statement further said:

“Pecker was informed that a former Trump Tower doorman was trying to sell information regarding a child that the Defendant had allegedly fathered out of wedlock.”

AMI, allegedly at David Pecker’s instruction, then paid around $30,000 to the doorman as part of the agreement to gain exclusive rights to the case. According to the DA’s Office:

“AMI falsely characterized this payment in AMI’s books and records, including in its general ledger.”

It further stated:

“AMI purchased the information from the Doorman without fully investigating his claims, but the AMI CEO directed that the deal take place because of his agreement with the Defendant [Trump] and Lawyer A [Cohen].”

---

Pecker was the CEO of AMI and then served as the publisher of the National Enquirer till 2020

The DA’s Office further mentioned that AMI later found out that the story was false, and thus removed the alleged doorman from the agreement. However, Cohen then advised David Pecker not to let the doorman go until the election came to an end.

Alvin Bragg did not reveal specific stories published by the National Enquirer regarding Donald Trump’s opponents. However, a case came forward where a false article was published that linked then-Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz’s father to Lee Harvey Oswald.

David Pecker served as the CEO of American Media Inc. He became the publisher of the National Enquirer in 1999 and worked till 2020.

Pecker has already appeared twice in front of the grand jury in the Trump case. He was seen with his attorney, Elkan Abramowitz, exiting the courtroom on Monday afternoon. The jury has already heard the testimonies of at least nine witnesses, including David Pecker. Bragg claimed that Pecker played an important role in the payment of hush money in 2016 from Trump’s end.