Trump hush money trial highlights: What David Pecker said in his testimony

Under questioning from Bove, Trump’s defense attorney, Pecker said he had been working with Trump since 1998 — that’s a year before he became publisher of the National Enquirer. He said he alerted Trump when he learned of a negative story the tabloid was working on about Trump’s second wife, Marla Maples. Pecker unsuccessfully tried to kill the story. In the early 2000s, Trump provided him with content about the TV show “The Apprentice.” In turn, Pecker would “provide information” to Trump about potentially negative stories.

Bove’s questioning seemed aimed at bolstering the idea that Pecker and Trump have had the same mutually beneficial relationship since long before the 2016 election. That helps suggest that their intent with the payment to Daniels was not about the campaign or circumventing election laws, as prosecutors allege.

Pecker said during the cross-examination that he did not consider Cohen, Trump’s lawyer with whom he was communicating, a part of the presidential campaign. Bove also tried to undermine Pecker’s credibility by pointing out that he flubbed the date of a key meeting that Pecker had at Trump Tower.

“What I’m getting at is that these things happened a long time ago and that even when you’re doing your best, it’s hard to remember exactly what happened when,” Bove said.