Michael Cohen testified Wednesday that the National Enquirer has collaborated with Donald Trump to purchase and not publish stories that would damage the President for at least 12 years.
“I was involved in several of these catch-and-kill episodes,” Cohen told the House Oversight Committee at his public hearing. “But these catch-and-kill scenarios existed between [National Enquirer publisher] David Pecker and Mr. Trump long before I started working for him in 2007.”
Cohen has pleaded guilty to working with Pecker and others at the Enquirer during the 2016 campaign to purchase the rights to the story of a Playboy model who claimed to have slept with Trump.
The Enquirer admitted to its role in the scheme as part of a non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors from the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office.
Prosecutors are now examining if the publication violated that agreement in its efforts to publish the story of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ extramarital affair. Bezos has alleged that he was threatened with “extortion and blackmail” by the tabloid while the publication was trying to break the story of his relationship.
Well if Cohen doesn’t knock enough scales off the Orange Dragon, I’d settle for him bringing down the Enquirer’s little pay-for-play, sex-for-pay, extortion racket. The more of Hollywood’s seedy underbelly goes down with them, the better.
I don’t understand what the Enquirer got out of saving Trump’s ass all these years. Think of all the juicy stories they hid in their vault.
They got what all incompetent “journalists” desire above all else: ACCESS to the Rich and Powerful so they could rub elbows with them and pretend they are their “friends” and get invited to all the cool-kid parties they throw.
Ego-stroking goes both ways.
Marueen Dowd; I’m looking at YOU!!! as a prime example.
It’s a good thing that AMI already stipulated to making an illegal campaign contribution. Because the wingnuts are definitely going to use this comment to argue that it wasn’t about the campaign at all, it was just the usual run of fraud and intimidation which we all know is OKIYAR.
OT, but does anyone know if / when the hearing will rsume today?
Watching on YouTube and it just says “In Recess”?