David Pecker, the former CEO of the parent company of the National Enquirer, took the stand in his own defense Thursday in the trial of Michael Cohen, President Trump's former personal lawyer.
Pecker is accused of buying the rights to former Playboy model Karen McDougal's story about an affair Trump had with her in 2006 and 2007 in exchange for a $130,000 hush money payment.
Prosecutors say Pecker's company, American Media International, was the first to buy McDougal's story and keep it from getting out there, a practice known as "catch and kill."
In his testimony, Pecker said he considered himself a friend of Trump's and described the president as "my mentor," the New York Times reports.
"Even though we haven't spoken [since 2019], I still consider him a friend," Pecker said, adding that he was sure ABC didn't pay for McDougal's story and that rumors about a Mexican group offering her $1 million for her story were "almost certainly false."
Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, attacked Pecker's credibility in his own testimony, saying the ex-CEO "acted like a pathological liar" and had made up stories about Trump in an attempt to
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