David Pecker

Former president Donald Trump waits for the start of proceedings in Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in New York. Before testimony resumes Tuesday, the judge will hold a hearing on prosecutors' request to sanction and fine Trump over social media posts they say violate a gag order prohibiting him from attacking key witnesses. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Pool)

Tabloid publisher says he pledged to be Trump campaign’s ‘eyes and ears’ during 2016 race

A veteran tabloid publisher has testified that he pledged to be Donald Trump’s “eyes and ears” during his 2016 presidential campaign, recounting for a jury how he promised the then-candidate that he would help suppress harmful stories and had even arranged to purchase a doorman’s silence.
 
FILE - In this Jan. 31, 2014 photo, David Pecker, chairman and CEO of American Media, addresses those attending the Shape & Men's Fitness Super Bowl Party in New York. In an announcement Friday, Aug. 21, 2020, Pecker is stepping down as CEO of the National Enquirer’s parent, ending a reign that saw the company entangled in a campaign-finance scandal that sent President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer to jail. Pecker's American Media is being taken over by Accelerate360, a Georgia-based logistics company. (Marion Curtis via AP, File)

David Pecker out as CEO of National Enquirer parent company

 
FILE- In this Dec. 4, 2017 file photo, the building housing the National Enquirer's parent company, American Media Inc., is shown in New York. The supermarket tabloid under fire for paying hush money to a former Playboy model to help Donald Trump in his 2016 presidential campaign is on the auction block. American Media said Wednesday, April 10, 2019, that it is exploring a possible sale as part of a "strategic review" of its tabloid business. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

National Enquirer parent explores possible sale of tabloid

 
FILE- In this Sept. 13, 2018, file photo Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, speaks at The Economic Club of Washington's Milestone Celebration in Washington. An attorney for the head of the National Enquirer’s parent company says the tabloid didn’t commit extortion or blackmail by threatening to publish Bezos’ explicit photos. Elkan Abramowitz represents American Media Inc. CEO David Pecker. He defended the tabloid’s practice as a “negotiation” in an interview Sunday, with ABC News.(AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

Tabloid CEO’s lawyer denies Enquirer tried to extort Bezos

 
FILE - This July 12, 2017, file photo shows the cover of an issue of the National Enquirer featuring President Donald Trump at a store in New York. Confidential documents obtained by The Associated Press show that the National Enquirer's circulation declined even as it published stories attacking Trump's political foes and, prosecutors claim, helped suppress stories about his alleged sexual affairs. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

Trump-friendly tabloid sees a decline in circulation

 

Who’s who in the Manhattan DA’s Donald Trump trial

The first of Donald Trump’s four criminal trials will begin in New York on April 15. Here is a look at some of the key figures in the case. (AP Video: Ted Shaffrey)

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FILE - This July 12, 2017, file photo shows the cover of an issue of the National Enquirer featuring President Donald Trump at a store in New York. Confidential documents obtained by The Associated Press show that the National Enquirer's circulation declined even as it published stories attacking Trump's political foes and, prosecutors claim, helped suppress stories about his alleged sexual affairs. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

Tabloid that kept Trump secrets faces losses, legal trouble

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Enquirer has long explained its support for Donald Trump as a business decision based on the president’s popularity among its readers.