NEW YORK – Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified at Donald Trump’s criminal trial on April 26 that he worked out a deal that would allow the former US president to buy the silence of a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with him, but called it off.

Mr Pecker, 72, said he signed an agreement with Trump’s personal lawyer, Mr Michael Cohen, to assign the rights to the woman’s story to a shell company that would hide the fact that Trump’s company was paying for it. He said he called off the deal after speaking to a company lawyer.

“Michael Cohen said, ‘The boss is going to be very angry with you’. And I said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m not going forward, the deal is off’,” Mr Pecker testified. “He was very angry, very upset, screaming, basically, at me,” Mr Pecker said of Mr Cohen.

Mr Pecker is a key witness in the case against Trump, who is accused of falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money payment to another woman who said she had a sexual encounter with him, porn actress Stormy Daniels.

Prosecutors say Mr Pecker, who has not been charged with a crime, engaged in a conspiracy with Trump and Mr Cohen to corrupt the 2016 election by suppressing unflattering stories that might hurt Trump’s candidacy.

Mr Pecker testified that after former Playboy model Karen McDougal told his editor that she had a year-long affair with Trump in 2006 and 2007, he advised Trump to buy her silence.

“He said, ‘What do you think I should do?’ I said, ‘I think you should buy the story and take it off the market’,” Mr Pecker testified.

Mr Pecker said he told Mr Cohen he did not want the Enquirer to pay for the story, as it had already paid US$30,000 (S$41,000) to buy the silence of a Trump Tower doorman who claimed Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock, which turned out not to be true.

He said Mr Cohen promised Trump would pay for Ms McDougal’s story, prompting the Enquirer’s parent company, American Media, to sign Ms McDougal to a contract to publish fitness articles.

Her story about the affair was never published – a practice known as “catch and kill”.

Mr Pecker said Mr Cohen set up a shell company to disguise any payment from Trump’s company to American Media before Mr Pecker backed out of the deal.

Ms McDougal is expected to testify later in the trial. Mr Cohen is also expected to be a prominent witness. He has said he arranged a US$130,000 payment to Ms Daniels to keep quiet about a liaison she said she had with Trump in 2006.

Prosecutors say Trump illegally falsified business records by disguising his reimbursement payments to Mr Cohen as legal fees.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts and denied having sex with Ms Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. He has also denied having an affair with Ms McDougal.

Hush money payments themselves are not illegal, and Trump’s lawyers have argued that the payout to Ms Daniels was personal and unrelated to his campaign.

Prosecutors say the payment was a campaign expense that should have been disclosed and that Trump’s arrangement with the Enquirer deceived voters by suppressing stories of alleged extramarital affairs at a time when he faced accusations of sexual misbehaviour.

The trial is the first of a former US president and carries political risks for Trump as he prepares for a November election rematch with President Joe Biden and fends off three other criminal indictments, to which he has also pleaded not guilty.

On April 24, he was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in an Arizona criminal case that charges 18 people with attempting to overturn his defeat in that state in the 2020 election.

Also on April 25, the US Supreme Court heard Trump’s arguments that he is immune from prosecution for actions taken as president, an appeal that has held up his prosecution on charges related to his attempts to reverse his 2020 election defeat. Trump is required to be present for the New York trial, and Justice Juan Merchan denied his request to attend the Supreme Court arguments.

Trump said while visiting a construction site in the morning of April 25: “We have a big case today, the judge isn’t allowing me to go.”

Trump has complained that the trial, which is expected to last through May, is preventing him from campaigning, though he uses his courthouse appearances as mini stump speeches.

Justice Merchan has imposed a limited gag order on Trump that bars him from publicly attacking witnesses, jurors and other people close to the case, including court staff and their families.

Prosecutors on April 25 asked Justice Merchan to hold Trump in contempt of court for violating that order, mentioning four recent statements that criticised Mr Cohen, the judge and jury.

Prosecutors have also asked the judge to fine Trump US$1,000 apiece for 10 social media posts they said violated the order.

Justice Merchan did not rule on their request.

Trump has said the gag order violates his right to free speech and that he is being treated unfairly by the judge. REUTERS