NEW YORK — The former top editor of the National Enquirer talked about the possibility of being pardoned by former President Trump for “electoral fraud” in 2016, as revealed through text messages read during Trump’s hush money trial on Thursday.
In the text messages, Editor Dylan Howard and a family member discuss Howard's trip to California in 2016 to meet with former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who claimed she had an affair with Trump. The family member questioned Howard's intention for the trip, to which he responded that having information “is powerful.”
In another text message, Howard hinted at the possibility of being pardoned if Trump won the 2016 presidential election. The text did not indicate any discussion of a potential pardon between Trump and Howard.
Howard casually mentioned in one of the texts, “At least if he wins, I’ll be pardoned for electoral fraud.”
This issue arose as Judge Juan Merchan was weighing the admissibility of certain text messages between Howard and the relative as evidence to the jury. Merchan stated that he would currently exclude such text messages because they were part of a private conversation with a family member, not a business record. He also mentioned that he would review relevant case law on the matter.
The prosecution argues that the agreement with National Enquirer publisher David Pecker to suppress damaging news about Trump improperly influenced the 2016 election, which Trump won.
The texts were presented while the jury was not in the courtroom.
The discussion about the text occurred during a break in Pecker's testimony on Thursday. His testimony revolves around “catch-and-kill” operations involving McDougal, adult film actress Stormy Daniels, and a doorman at Trump Tower, aimed at preventing negative news about Trump from emerging during his presidential campaign.
McDougal was one of the women paid to keep quiet about an alleged affair with the former president, an allegation he has denied. Pecker discussed how he coordinated with Trump’s former fixer, Michael Cohen, regarding AMI’s purchase of McDougal’s story to prevent its disclosure.
Pecker testified that he sought the assistance of Howard, the magazine’s editor, to negotiate an agreement with McDougal to obtain her lifetime rights concerning her purported affair with Trump, ensuring the allegation would never be made public. He also stated that AMI acquired the McDougal story to prevent other outlets from doing so.
“We didn’t want the story to embarrass Mr. Trump or harm the campaign,” he said, referring to himself and Cohen.
Pecker's testimony has illustrated how he used “checkbook journalism” to pay off sources with unfavorable stories about Trump. The hush money case against the former president largely revolves around payments made by Cohen to Daniels, who also alleged an affair with Trump.
Trump faces 34 charges of falsifying business records related to reimbursements made to Cohen for paying $130,000 to Daniels to keep quiet about the affair.
