Trump's protector at National Enquirer is the next ally to flip on him
David Pecker has been using his tabloids to defend Trump — but now Pecker has received immunity to tell investigators about Trump’s illicit financial transactions.
Even more members of Trump’s personal inner circle are spilling the beans to federal prosecutors about his illicit activities.
David Pecker — the CEO of American Media, the company that publishes the National Enquirer — has spoken to investigators about Trump’s payoffs to silence two women he had affairs with, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Pecker has been granted immunity, and told investigators about Trump’s “knowledge of the deals” to silence model Karen McDougal and porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump’s personal attorney and fixer Michael Cohen arranged payments to the Enquirer. The tabloid then bought rights to the women’s stories but never published them, using a tactic known as “catch and kill.” Trump then paid Cohen back for the money he had spent.
According to his recent guilty plea, Cohen said he did all of this at Trump’s instruction, and that these actions violated federal campaign finance law. Cohen admitted the payoffs were issued for the purpose of helping the campaign, but that they were not disclosed as required by law.
Dylan Howard, chief content officer for American Media, has also been granted immunity by prosecutors.
Pecker’s tabloid has long been a major booster of Trump’s, and the two men were close friends. Trump even gave Pecker rides in his airplane.
Pecker has used American Media’s tabloids, including the Enquirer and the Globe, to prop up Trump and attack his political enemies.
The Enquirer endorsed Trump during the Republican primaries, and furthered Trump’s conspiracy theory that Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) father was involved in the Kennedy assassination.
The Globe has even gone after Malia Obama in an attempt to distract from the FBI’s investigations into Trump.
Trump is clearly angry that his closest allies are turning on him and spilling his crooked secrets to law enforcement.
But they’re exposing him first — perhaps aware that if the tables were turned, Trump would leave them out to dry.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
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