In a meeting held in 2015, it was revealed that Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, and David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, had reached an agreement where Pecker would assist Trump's campaign. This information was disclosed by prosecutor Matthew Colangelo during his opening statement.
The scheme devised during the meeting had three main components. Colangelo explained that Pecker had agreed to aid Trump by suppressing negative stories about him, promoting favorable stories, and disseminating negative stories about Trump's political adversaries.
It was decided that American Media Inc. (AMI), the parent company of the National Enquirer, would leverage the magazine to prevent any damaging information from being made public while simultaneously publishing positive content about Trump. Colangelo emphasized that the suppression of detrimental stories was at the core of the conspiracy.
