The National Enquirer once had a vault full of Trumpian goodies just waiting to be published, and President Trump had a plan to buy it all.
From a Playboy payoff to golf plans, Trump and his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen in 2016 discussed buying everything the National Enquirer knew, Trump associates tell The New York Times. Recently released recordings Cohen made between himself and Trump seem to back up the plan's existence.
Enquirer parent company American Media Inc. apparently had dirt on Trump dating back to the 1980s, including lawsuit details and marital troubles, associates tell the Times. The company was also known to have the rights to Playboy model Karen McDougal's story of her alleged affair with Trump, but it freed her from the deal in an April settlement. Cohen admitted to trying to squash McDougal's story as he pleaded guilty to financial crimes last week.
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Trump loyalist David Pecker chaired American Media Inc. and apparently blocked reporters from touching Trump tips, sources tell the Times. But the president and Cohen still hatched a plan to buy the company's stash of secrets just in case Pecker got a new job — or got "hit by a truck," Trump said in a recording hinting at the idea. Longtime Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg was involved in "setting the whole thing up," Cohen says in the recording, and then acknowledges they'll have to pay Pecker "something."
The deal never worked out, and there's no telling whether American Media Inc. still owns the stories. Both Pecker and Weisselberg have been granted immunity to speak with federal prosecutors regarding Trump. Read more about the supposed Enquirer deal at The New York Times.
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