Former tabloid publisher David Pecker took the stand as the first witness in the NY v. Trump case, where former President Donald Trump is facing 34 charges of falsifying business records. Pecker, the former CEO of American Media Inc., testified about 'catch and kill schemes' allegedly used to bury negative information about Trump before the 2016 election.
'Catch-and-kill' schemes involve media companies buying the rights to a story with no intention of publishing it. In this case, the prosecution alleges that Trump's personal attorney paid $130,000 to former pornographic actress Stormy Daniels in 2016 to silence her claims of an extramarital affair with Trump in 2006.