Returning from a break, Pecker recalled meeting McDougal for lunch in August 2017, their first face-to-face meeting.
The agreement he signed with the Enquirer was revealed by the Wall Street Journal just days before the 2016 election. Earlier in his testimony, Pecker said he agreed to modify his agreement to allow McDougal to speak to the press after the Journal story was published. He said he set her up with a media consultant who tipped her off.
At the 2017 luncheon, Pecker said McDougal talked about articles he was writing and his career aspirations. “My point of view was that we were fulfilling the agreement and that she was comfortable,” he testified. “I wanted him to stay in our family, I should say.”
Steinglass, the prosecutor, showed another Wall Street Journal headline from January 12, 2018: “Trump's lawyer arranged $130,000 payment for adult movie star's silence.” The story was the first public acknowledgment of Cohen's payment to Daniels. In early March, Daniels, represented by attorney Michael Avenatti, he sued Trump to get out of the deal with Cohen.
McDougal gave an interview to CNN that aired on March 23, 2018. Pecker said he saw her that night and Trump called her the next day.
“Did you see Anderson Cooper's interview with Karen McDougal?” Trump asked, according to Pecker. “I thought we had an agreement with Karen McDougal that she can't do any interviews or be on any TV shows.”
Pecker said he told Trump about the amendment allowing McDougal to speak to the media. He said Trump became aggravated and said he “couldn't understand why” he would change the deal. Pecker said he backed off and told Trump that McDougal had been inundated with requests from the media.
“I was very upset, I couldn't understand why I did it. It was basically the conversation,” Pecker testified.
Pecker said he later spoke with Trump aide Hope Hicks and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary. He said he intended to extend McDougal's contract. “They both said it was a good idea,” Pecker testified.
McDougal sued AMI soon after. Pecker said he settled the lawsuit and relinquished the rights to his life story.
