Political reporter Ximena Bustillo discusses the 'catch and kill' deal between David Pecker, Michael Cohen, and Trump to suppress negative stories for Trump's 2016 campaign. Topics include the gag order, plantings negative stories about Trump's rivals, and Trump's potential violations. Follow for more updates on the trial.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Catch and Kill Scheme
David Pecker testified about a 2015 meeting with Trump and Michael Cohen.
He agreed to use the National Enquirer to publish positive stories about Trump, negative stories about his opponents, and alert Cohen to negative stories about Trump.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Gag Order Violation
Prosecutors argued Trump violated the gag order with social media posts.
These posts included discrediting Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, and potential jurors.
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For this episode of Trump's Trials, All Things Considered host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with political reporter Ximena Bustillo.
David Pecker, former publisher for the National Enquirer, took the stand for a second day of testimony. Pecker explained that starting in 2015 he, Michael Cohen and Donald Trump had a deal that involved the National Enquirer buying negative stories about Trump and never publishing them – an arrangement also known as 'catch and kill.' Pecker said this was done to help Trump with his 2016 campaign. In addition, he described planting negative stories about Trump's 2016 rivals, such as the Clintons, then presidential candidate Ted Cruz and other Republican front runners.
The prosecution also argued that Trump violated the gag order placed on him at least 11 times in recent weeks. They cited posts on Truth Social and comments Trump made outside the courtroom about potential witness Michael Cohen and the jury. The judge has yet to make a ruling.
Topics include: - Gag order - Catch and kill deal - What's next
Trump's Terms 