Trump hush money trial live: Judge Merchan to rule if Trump violated gag order

Pecker is describing a meeting with Steve Bannon in October 2016, where Bannon told him he liked the coverage. Pecker boxed up a bunch of issues for him.

An objection from Trump attorney Emil Bove leads to a sidebar with Judge Merchan.

The court takes a short break.

Another cover story to benefit Trump at the expense of his primary rival Ted Cruz reads:

DONALD TRUMP BLASTS TED CRUZ’S DAD FOR PHOTO WITH JFK ASSASSIN (OUTRAGEOUS PICTURES!)

Rafael Cruz linked to Lee Harvey Oswald!

How did that one come together? They just matched up some pics of Cruz and Lee Harvey Oswald, and “that’s how that story was created”

Michael Cohen would send information about Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, Marco Rubio or other rivals, “and that was the basis for our story, and we would embellish it from there”.

When Cohen said “we”, “I assumed he meant himself and Mr Trump,” Pecker says.

“He always told me he was not part of the campaign, he didn’t work for the campaign, he was on the outside. He kept saying he was Mr Trump’s personal attorney.”

Pecker is very careful to describe what exactly he thinks Cohen’s involvement was with Trump’s campaign.

“Michael was physically in every aspect of whatever he was working on, at least at the Trump Organization, Trump Tower,” and would “inject” himself into campaign matters.

It’s very strange to hear someone speak so comfortably and softly about the most deranged business in media.

He’s being shown a headline: BUNGLING SURGEON BEN CARSON LEFT SPONGE IN PATIENT’S BRAIN!

Another one that allegedly came from Cohen: TED CRUZ SEX SCANDAL – 5 SECRET MISTRESSES.

We’re shown a couple of dozen National Enquirer headlines from after that August 2015 meeting and before the 2016 election.

DONALD TRUMP: THE MAN BEHIND THE LEGEND!

DONALD TRUMP: HEALTHIEST INDIVIDUAL EVER ELECTED!

OBAMA’S HALF-BROTHER – CHEERING ON DONALD AT DEBATE

“When I notified Cohen of a negative story, he would try to vet it himself, and then he would go to individual publications to make sure it wasn’t published and get it killed.”

The agreements were never put into writing, they were “an agreement among friends.”

It was a 20-25 minute meeting, Pecker says.

After the meeting, he met with Dylan Howard, then editor of the National Enquirer.

“I described to him the meeting I had just had … I described to him that this concept and agreement I made has to be highly, highly confidential.”

He asked him to notify the West Coast and East Coast bureau chiefs, and “I said that any, any stories that are out there commenting” about Trump, his family, the election, “whatever it might be, I want you to vet the stories, I want you to bring them to me.”

And then he would call Michael Cohen “and tell them what the stories are.”

Pecker ran negative stories about Hillary Clinton, “as an enabler for Bill Clinton’s womanizing,” which were big sells.

“I think it was a mutual benefit. It would help him and it would help me.”

Trump was “pleased” with that.

“In writing positive stories about Mr Trump and covering the election, and writing negative stories about his opponents, is only going to increase newsstand sales of the National Enquirer … For me that was my benefit, and then in publishing those types of stories, it was also going to benefit his campaign.”

How did the topic of women come up?

“In the presidential campaign, I was the person who thought there would be, a lot of women who would come out to sell these stories, because Mr Trump was well known as the most eligible bachelor, dating the most beautiful women, and it was clear based on my past experiences that when someone is running for office like this it is very common for these women to call up a magazine like the National Enquirer to try and sell their stories. Or I would hear it in the marketplace that other stories were being marketed.”