In August of 2015, Donald J. Trump, along with confidants Michael Cohen and David Pecker, developed a plan to boost his presidential campaign by using The National Enquirer to publish positive stories about Trump and negative stories about his rivals. The Enquirer would use a practice known as “catch and kill” to suppress damaging stories. This plan was put into action, resulting in their success in influencing the 2016 election. Now, nearly nine years later, Trump faces criminal charges related to a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to cover up an alleged affair. Cohen and Pecker are expected to testify against Trump in his trial.
The Manhattan district attorney has charged Trump with falsifying business records to cover up the hush money payment to Daniels in an effort to influence the election. While Trump denies the affair, prosecutors argue that the payment was part of a larger scheme to suppress negative news about him to help his electoral prospects. They will use evidence of other similar payments to support their case, potentially elevating what would normally be misdemeanors into felonies. This trial could result in Trump becoming the first president convicted of a felony.
The initial meeting at Trump Tower in August 2015 set the stage for the plan to control information reaching the electorate by accentuating positive stories about Trump and hiding negative ones. This plan involved using The Enquirer to suppress damaging stories and protect Trump’s image during the campaign. Both Cohen and Pecker have pleaded guilty to campaign finance crimes related to their involvement in these activities. They are expected to testify that the hush money payment to Daniels was made with the intent of getting Trump elected.
Following the initial meeting, a former doorman at a Trump-managed building called The Enquirer with an explosive tip that Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock. The tabloid investigated the claim and ultimately decided not to publish the story, protecting Trump from potential damage during the campaign. Similarly, when Playboy model Karen McDougal sought to sell her story of an affair with Trump in 2016, The Enquirer bought the rights but never published it. This pattern of suppressing negative stories is a key part of the prosecution’s case.
In the case of Stormy Daniels, her attempts to sell her story about an affair with Trump were initially rebuffed by The Enquirer. However, the emergence of the “Access Hollywood” recording in October 2016, in which Trump made lewd comments about women, prompted American Media to pay Daniels $130,000 for her silence. Despite initial delays, Cohen eventually wired the money to Daniels’s lawyer, ensuring her silence. This payment, along with the transactions involving McDougal and the doorman, forms the basis of the charges against Trump.
As Trump’s criminal trial gets underway, the testimony of Cohen and Pecker, along with evidence of these hush money payments and efforts to suppress negative stories, will be central to the case against him. The prosecution argues that these payments were part of a larger scheme to influence the election by concealing damaging information about Trump. If convicted, Trump could be the first president to face felony charges. The trial will shed light on the inner workings of Trump’s campaign and the tactics used to protect his image during the 2016 election.
