Tools of Trump’s Fixer: Payouts, Intimidation and the Tabloids
American Media acknowledged those ties, saying in a statement, “Michael Cohen
and President Trump have been personal friends of Mr. Pecker’s for decades.” But, it said, neither of them “nor any other individual has attempted to, or ever, influenced (or will ever influence) coverage at A. M.I.’s publications.
Mr. Cohen said, “I don’t recall those communications.”
Mr. Davidson acknowledged the public’s interest in Ms. Clifford’s and Ms. McDougal’s stories, but said
that he was “not at liberty to discuss private client information.”
In the months after Ms. McDougal’s agreement with A.
After the initial blowup, Mr. Frommer said, he and Mr. Cohen quickly agreed that Mr. Frommer would take the Trump photos to Mr. Pecker.
After Mr. Cohen joined the Trump Organization in 2006, the role
that Mr. Trump wanted him to play was clear: a combination of aggressive spokesman and lieutenant who would take on the real estate mogul’s antagonists.
In August of that year, Mr. Cohen learned details of a deal
that American Media had struck with a former Playboy model, Karen McDougal, that prevented her from going public about an alleged affair with Mr. Trump.
“I felt like I had to protect his family.”
For Mr. Cohen and Mr. Trump, American Media was more than a company they could rely on for friendly coverage.