President Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen received digital copies of articles and cover images concerning Trump and political adversaries prior to their publication during the 2016 campaign, according to a new report.
Trump and David Pecker, chief executive of the Enquirer’s parent company American Media Inc., have known each other for years, but discussions between Trump, Cohen, and Pecker’s publications increased as the 2016 election picked up steam, the Washington Post reports.
“Since Trump’s become president and even before, [Pecker] openly just has been willing to turn the magazine and the cover over to the Trump machine,” a person familiar with the practice told the Post.
The person added that during the 2016 campaign, “if it was a story specifically about Trump, then it was sent over to Michael, and as long as there were no objections from him, the story could be published.”
[Also read: Michael Cohen resigns from RNC, slams Trump’s ‘family separation policy’]
Meanwhile, the company rejects the notion that material was shared with Cohen prior to publication.
The report comes after it was reported Wednesday that American Media Inc. was subpoenaed by Manhattan federal prosecutors for documents pertaining to the payment of former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who claims she had a sexual relationship with Trump, over the exclusive rights to her story.
The subpoena is related to a criminal investigation to determine if Cohen, whose home and office were raided by the FBI in April, violated tax or campaign finance laws and if he conspired with American Media to pay McDougal $150,000 and then not publish a story about her affair with Trump.
McDougal sued American Media in March to be released from the 2016 agreement that prevents her from speaking of the relationship. The lawsuit also claims that Cohen was covertly involved and led her astray in the matter.
The National Enquirer denies McDougal was paid in an effort to silence her, and the White House and Trump have denied that he was involved in a relationship with McDougal.
