These A-List Stars Got Dragged Into Donald Trump's Hush Money Trial & They Probably Hate It
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The National Enquirer is playing a central role in Donald Trump’s hush money trial this week because it’s exposing a behind-the-scenes tabloid practice known as “catch and kill.” The idea is to buy up people’s negative stories about a celebrity, not publish them, but require the star to do the publication a favor in exchange. Yes, that means that some of Hollywood and Washington, D.C.’s biggest stars were embedded with a tabloid magazine.
Former National Enquirer head David Pecker revealed all of his secrets on the stand in New York City on Thursday. He admitted, per the New York Post, that he spent “hundreds of thousands of dollars” on not just the former president, but also Arnold Schwarzenegger during his run for California governor in 2003. The action star was still married to Maria Shriver during his campaign when more than 30 women claimed that they had engaged in an affair with Schwarzenegger or had been sexually harassed by him. Pecker bought up the stories while trying to negotiate a magazine deal with the former governor. “The agreement I had with Arnold was, I would call him and advise him of any stories that were out there. And I ended up acquiring and buying them for a period of time,” he said in court.
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It’s a very complicated web between public figures and the media, and Pecker shared how Tiger Woods even got caught up in the “catch and kill” scheme. In 2007, The National Enquirer caught the golf legend with a woman, who was not his then-wife Elin Nordegren, in a Florida parking lot. Woods was able to squash that story by appearing on the cover of Men’s Fitness magazine, another publication owned by The National Enquirer‘s parent company, American Media Inc.
Donald Trump is being accused by prosecutors of trying to influence the 2016 presidential election by having his alleged affairs with adult star Stormy Daniels and Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal buried. Pecker revealed he initially offered $10,000 to McDougal, who refused that sum. She eventually negotiated a payment of $150,000 because she “didn’t want to be the next Monica Lewinsky,” according to Pecker. Daniels tried to work out a similar deal, but the media head couldn’t pay that much. That’s when Donald Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen was contacted, and campaign funds were allegedly used to pay her off for $130,000.
Schwarzenegger and Woods haven’t acknowledged that their names were dropped in court, and they probably don’t want to be associated with such a messy political drama right now. However, Pecker has thoughts on the former president and their past business dealings. “I felt that Donald Trump was my mentor. He helped me throughout my career,” he said on Thursday, and that “even though we haven’t spoken, I still consider him a friend.” That was quite an unusual friendship.
Before you go, click here to see the biggest presidential scandals in US History.
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