‘National Enquirer’ Publisher David Pecker Admits He Killed 30 Stories About Women Who Claimed Arnold Schwarzenegger Harassed Them

Former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial reached the end of its second week as the prosecution’s first witness, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, returned to the stand on Friday.

Defense attorneys sought to challenge Pecker’s narrative of Trump’s alleged involvement in suppressing “embarrassing” stories in the 2016 campaign.

Throughout the week, Pecker testified that Trump and his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, had requested him to serve as their “eyes and ears” and uncover whatever salacious stories could harm Trump’s candidacy. Pecker also said that he was asked to publish negative stories about Trump’s opponents. In cross-examination, Trump’s attorney, Emil Bove, aimed to undermine Pecker’s credibility and highlighted instances in which he had mixed up dates and suggested that the passage of time could affect his memory.

Pecker admitted that he had killed over 30 stories about women who claimed Arnold Schwarzenegger had harassed them during the time he was running for California governor and was married to Maria Shriver. 

Bove questioned Pecker about the National Enquirer’s negative articles on Hillary Clinton, the eventual Democratic nominee, and her husband, former President Bill Clinton. Pecker acknowledged that publishing negative stories about them posed no issue for the paper. Bove also pointed out that negative articles about Trump’s Republican rivals, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) and Dr. Ben Carson, contained recycled information from other news outlets. He questioned the cost efficiency and business sense of such articles. Pecker confirmed that it made business sense to use pre-existing details.

Earlier in the week, Pecker admitted that story about Trump rival Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was fabricated.

Pecker, 72, admitted in the cross-examination that there were gaps in his memory. Bove also highlighted that the National Enquirer would buy stories from sources without publishing them, and Pecker stated that approximately half of the purchased stories did not make it to print. Pecker had previously testified that he was involved in efforts to suppress three damaging stories during Trump’s 2016 campaign.

The first story involved a doorman who claimed Trump had an illegitimate child. The National Enquirer paid the doorman $30,000 for his silence. Pecker asserted the claim was “absolutely 1,000% untrue.” The second story concerned former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who alleged a months-long affair with Trump. Pecker believed her account, partially due to Trump describing her as “a nice girl.” The National Enquirer paid McDougal $150,000 for the rights to her story. Pecker initially planned for Trump to reimburse the payment but later decided against it to avoid potential legal issues. Trump has consistently denied McDougal’s allegations.

Pecker also mentioned an encounter with adult film actor Stormy Daniels, who claimed to have had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. Pecker refused to pay for her story but encouraged Cohen, Trump’s lawyer, to do so. Prosecutors argue that Trump reimbursed Cohen through payments listed as legal expenses, which they deem fraudulent.

Pecker added that in 2017 Trump invited him to the White House, where he thanked him for his help and said the stories from the doorman and McDougal would have been “embarrassing.”

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsified business records with the hush money payments. The trial continues as the prosecution presents its case against the former president.