David Pecker, the former National Enquirer publisher, testified for hours on Thursday at Donald Trump's New York hush-money case.
Pecker recalled getting a call from Trump during the tabloid's pursuit of former Playboy model Karen McDougal's claims of an affair with Trump.
He testified that Trump wanted to know about a possible Mexican outlet looking to pay $8 million for her story, the Associated Press reported.
Pecker says he didn't believe the number and told Trump, "I think you should buy the story" and keep it quiet."
He said he believed the story was true.
"I thought it would be very embarrassing to himself and to his campaign," Pecker told the court.
Pecker testified that McDougal wanted $150,000 for the rights to her story but it was unclear who was supposed to pay.
He said Cohen asked him to pay but get paid back later.
Cohen allegedly told him, "Don't worry about it. I'm your friend. The boss will take care of it."
Pecker testified that a contract was drawn up giving McDougal $150,000 to pay for content for various media platforms but it was really just a cover story to buy her story and kill it.
He told prosecutors that he believed Trump was aware of the contract.
After a break, Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass started asking Pecker about porn actor Stormy Daniels and her claim of an affair with Trump.
Pecker recalled Trump calling him a day after The Wall Street Journal published an article about the National Enquirer's $150,000 payment to McDougal.
He said Trump was angry that the deal got out and ended the call "very abruptly."
Pecker says he was called to Cohen's office in Trump Tower in late 2016. He testified that Cohen suggested that he'd paid off Stormy Daniels with his own personal funds but Trump later told him, "Don't worry about him. I'll take care of him."
The court took a break for lunch and returned to session around 2:30 with Pecker returning to the stand.
