Bove is getting under the hood of the National Enquirer’s editorial process, seeking to show the tabloid had its own publishing incentives unrelated to any deal with Trump.
To underscore his point, Bove pulled up five headlines that ran in 2015 about Ben Carson — who ran against Trump in the 2016 GOP primary — describing him as a “bungling surgeon” and alleging he harmed patients, among other claims. Bove noted the information was pulled from publicly available information published in other outlets, including the Guardian.
In his testimony, Pecker acknowledged it was standard practice at the publication to recycle stories from other outlets with a new slant.
“Because it’s good, quick and cost efficient, and you would’ve done it without President Trump?” Bove asked.
“Um, yes,” Pecker replied.
Pecker acknowledged that the National Enquirer had been running negative stories about Trump’s 2016 rival Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, long before the August 2015 meeting where he said he agreed to help Trump’s campaign. Pecker previously testified that stories about the Clintons boosted sales of the supermarket tabloid.
Tags: Trump trial live updates David Pecker crossexamination continues
