During the criminal trial that Donald Trump faces in New York, his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, revealed details about how the Republican politician insisted on keeping extramarital affairs "out of the spotlight" to prevent his 2016 electoral campaign from being affected.
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"The purpose was to prevent the story from being sold or commercialized to an external source," Cohen said, explaining how he acted as an intermediary with The National Enquirer, a publication led by David Pecker.
Cohen was responsible for carrying out the Trump's requests for the U.S. outlet to employ the 'catch and kill' tactic, which implied to acquire the publishing rights of the affairs and keep them under wraps indefinitely.
Currently, Trump is accused of falsifying financial documents to buy the silence of the adult film actress Stormy Daniels and thus safeguard his reputation for the 2016 elections.
According to the prosecution, the scheme involved Cohen making an advance payment of US$130,000 to Daniels to keep her alleged relationship under wraps.
Another woman mentioned in the New York trial is Karen McDougal, a Playboy model who also allegedly had an affair with Trump. To buy her silence, Cohen contacted Pecker.
On that occasion, Cohen asked Trump "if he knew who she was." In response, he said, "She's very pretty." Cohen then warned Trump that McDougal was trying to sell a story about an affair.
"Make sure it doesn't get out," the Republican politician said, according to Cohen, who assumed he should use the "catch and kill" technique to avoid scandal.
Additionally, Cohen stated that Trump was "delighted" with the role of The National Enquirer because its main competitive advantage was being in most supermarkets and convenience stores, which guaranteed that its messages reached a large part of society.