Donald Trump's Ex-Lawyer Was Allegedly 'Under Pressure' To Bury Playboy Model's 'Affair' Story

A witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial has alleged that the billionaire mogul pressured his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to bury the Karen McDougal story.

In today's session of the trial, former editor-in-chief of the National Enquirer, David Pecker, took to the stand to make the revelation.

He also revealed that he had an agreement with Trump to publish negative stories about the former president's opponents while propping up his image in the media throughout the 2015 presidential race.

Trump's hush money trial continued on Tuesday, with former editor-in-chief of the National Enquirer, Pecker, being called up as a witness in the case.

While being questioned, Pecker revealed unheard details about Trump's alleged affair with former Playboy model Karen McDougal.

He recalled having a phone call conversation with Cohen about McDougal trying to sell her story about her affair with Trump, adding that the lawyer immediately denied that the affair occurred.

"I didn't even finish the conversation when Cohen said 'untrue,'" Pecker told the court, per Yahoo News.

The writer continued, noting that he and Cohen engaged in "more frequent" discussions revolving around the story following their initial exchange. This conversation was reportedly held as frequently as twice a day.

Pecker further explained that Cohen quickly became "agitated," expressing a desire for regular updates due to him being under a lot of "pressure" from Trump to kill any story from McDougal.

During his testimony, Pecker recounted a meeting with Trump in 2015 where he was asked how his magazines could "assist the campaign" of the former president.

Pecker claimed that he replied by offering to act as Trump's "eyes and ears" and committed to informing Cohen promptly if any negative information regarding Trump surfaced from the rumor mill.

According to the journalist, the National Enquirer's relationship with Trump was "mutually beneficial," adding that the outlet frequently published stories that tarnished his opponents' reputations. This began to occur after his interaction with the billionaire mogul.

One such story portrayed Hillary Clinton as "an enabler" for her husband, Bill Clinton, concerning alleged claims of him being a womanizer.

Pecker went on to say that stories like this "pleased" Trump and Cohen, who desired the publication to continue running such narratives.

Regarding whether Trump violated a gag order through his recent media posts, his lawyer claimed that the billionaire mogul's posts only responded to political attacks.

The former president was prohibited from publicly discussing witnesses or jurors in the criminal hush money case. However, he has been accused of violating the order 11 times since its implementation.

In Trump's defense, his lawyers argued that he is facing a "barrage of political attacks from all sides," some of which allegedly came from the witnesses in the case.

However, the prosecution countered, saying that there is "no provision in this order for responding to attacks." They also claimed that Trump's violations were "willful beyond a reasonable doubt."

After several back and forths on the matter, the presiding judge, Juan Merchan, reserved his decision on whether the former president violated the gag order.

After the court session, Trump spoke with reporters, slamming the gag order imposed on him.

"We have a gag order, which to me is totally unconstitutional," Trump told the press while holding onto articles he claimed called the hush money trial a "sham."

He added, "I'm not allowed to talk, but people are allowed to talk about me, so they can talk about me. They can say whatever they want. They can lie, but I'm not allowed to say anything."

The real estate mogul also claimed that he was being derailed from the campaign trail by being compelled to attend the trial.

"We're locked up in a courtroom, and he's out there campaigning," Trump said, referencing President Joe Biden, the Democratic party's presumptive 2024 nominee.

More witnesses are expected to take the stand and testify in the coming days, with Trump himself being a possibility after an earlier claim that he intends to do so.