American gossip newspaper takes leading role in porn case against Trump

The American gossip newspaper The National Inquirer has been given an important role in the trial of former President Donald Trump over the payment of hush money to a porn star. On the second day of the hearing, editor-in-chief David Pecker, as a witness, discussed in detail the agreement with Trump and his former lawyer Michael Cohen to keep bad news about Trump out of the media.

Tabloid The National Inquirer is, according to foreign commentator Bernard Hammelburg, one of the ‘most exaggerated tabloids in the world’, with stories about UFOs and politicians who are influenced by mysterious forces. ‘A supermarket magazine full of an accumulation of lies.’

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Editor-in-chief Pecker is the first witness in the trial surrounding porn actress Stormy Daniels. In the run-up to the 2016 American presidential elections, Trump is said to have paid hush money to the actress. In his testimony, Pecker explained how the so-called ‘catch and kill’ agreement with Trump worked. He allegedly assured Trump that he would be his ‘eyes and ears’ during the 2016 election campaign. ‘Pecker was friends with Trump during that campaign and would ensure that stories that were harmful to Trump were kept out of his medium. The stories that were good for Trump were polished and posted.’

Catch and kill

For example, the caretaker of Trump Tower allegedly claimed that Trump had an illegitimate child. Pecker stopped publication of that story in his newspaper and, according to The New York Times, also gave the man $30,000 to prevent him from publishing the story elsewhere. ‘A clear example of ‘catch and kill’, says Hammelburg. Because at the same time, critical stories about Trump’s then political opponents, such as Ted Cruz and Ben Carson, appeared in The National Inquirer.

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That could put this case in a different light, Hammelburg thinks. In principle, paying hush money is not a punishable offense. However, according to prosecutors, campaign money was used to reimburse Trump’s lawyer, who advanced the hush money. “That is at most a tax violation, the prosecutor now wants to show that there is a broader conspiracy here,” says Hammelburg. “But we’ll just have to see.”

Take weeks

It is expected that this case will last several weeks, while the question remains whether the other cases can start before the actual presidential elections on November 5.