Former tabloid publisher details actions on behalf of Trump ahead of 2016 election

NEW YORK — The former publisher of the National Enquirer told prosecutors in New York that he killed stories that potentially could have hurt Donald Trump during the former president's run for the White House in 2016.

David Pecker, the tabloid's former publisher, detailed how Keith Davidson, an information broker, came forward in June 2016 with the story of Karen MacDougal, a playboy model, who said she'd had an affair with Trump. The Enquirer was inclined to believe her, Pecker said, and sent a top editor to speak to MacDougal.

Pecker said Michael Cohen, Trump's personal attorney at the time, called repeatedly during the meeting with MacDougal, and Pecker himself called Trump after the meeting.

Pecker's testimony Thursday came on the same day the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on whether Trump enjoys absolutely immunity from prosecutions for his actions in the White House.

Jurors in Trump's hush-money trial in New York heard details Thursday from Pecker of secret payments, buried stories and most of all, a first-hand look at how the former president acted to control information about his past in the run up to the 2016 presidential election.

Pecker said Trump told him, "Karen is a nice girl," and asked him what he should do? Pecker said that he told Trump: "You should buy the story and take it off the market."

American Media Inc., which then published the Enquirer, made the payment. Pecker says Cohen promised to reimburse him for his actions, telling him: "Don't worry, I'm your friend. The boss will take care of it." Pecker's account suggests Trump's intimate knowledge of the hush-money payments from the start.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass walked Pecker through a number of machinations the publisher made to keep