{"slug":"trump-catch-and-kill-national-enquirer","title":"Catch and Kill: National Enquirer's AMI Suppressed Stories to Protect Trump's 2016 Campaign","date":"2015-01-01","lastUpdated":"2018-12-12","description":"American Media Inc. (AMI), publisher of the National Enquirer, had a longstanding arrangement with Trump to 'catch and kill' negative stories — buying exclusive rights to potentially damaging accounts of Trump's conduct and then suppressing them rather than publishing. AMI CEO David Pecker entered into a non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors in 2018, admitting the scheme constituted illegal in-kind campaign contributions to Trump's 2016 campaign.","summary":"The National Enquirer's 'catch and kill' program operated by buying the rights to stories from people with negative accounts of Trump — paying them for exclusives and then killing the stories. AMI purchased stories involving alleged sexual affairs and other damaging material. Federal prosecutors concluded the scheme constituted illegal campaign contributions; AMI entered a non-prosecution agreement admitting this. David Pecker's cooperation was central to the conviction of Michael Cohen and the eventual conviction of Trump himself.","category":"corruption","severity":"major","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/nyregion/michael-cohen-trump-ami-npe.html","title":"AMI Admits to Helping Trump, Signs Non-Prosecution Agreement","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/12/10/the-national-enquirer-donald-trump-and-a-decades-long-relationship","title":"The National Enquirer, Donald Trump, and a Decades-Long Relationship","publisher":"The New Yorker"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/08/23/what-is-catch-kill-scheme-and-how-does-it-work/","title":"What is the 'catch and kill' scheme and how does it work?","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/ami-pecker-trump-nondisclosure-campaign-finance-1b9ce2d5f77c4e2db6c1b5edceae2a20","title":"AMI admits campaign finance violation in non-prosecution deal","publisher":"The Associated Press"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["catch-and-kill","National-Enquirer","AMI","campaign-finance","pre-presidency","2016-election","Pecker"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2015-08-01","title":"Pecker-Cohen meeting — 'surrogate' agreement","summary":"David Pecker, Cohen, and Trump meet at Trump Tower and agree that Pecker will act as an 'eyes and ears' for the campaign — alerting Cohen to negative stories and suppressing or acquiring them. The agreement is described in detail in AMI's non-prosecution agreement."},{"date":"2016-08-05","title":"AMI pays Karen McDougal $150,000","summary":"AMI pays former Playmate Karen McDougal $150,000 for exclusive rights to her account of a nine-month affair with Trump. The story is never published. The payment is later characterized by federal prosecutors as an illegal campaign contribution."},{"date":"2016-10-27","title":"Cohen pays Stormy Daniels $130,000","summary":"Using the same framework, Cohen — aware of the McDougal approach — pays Stormy Daniels $130,000 for her silence. AMI is aware of the payment."},{"date":"2018-08-21","title":"Cohen pleads guilty — implicates Trump","summary":"Cohen pleads guilty and states the hush money payments were made at Trump's direction for campaign purposes."},{"date":"2018-12-12","title":"AMI enters non-prosecution agreement","summary":"AMI admits in a non-prosecution agreement with SDNY that the McDougal payment was made in coordination with the Trump campaign for the purpose of influencing the 2016 election — admitting a campaign finance felony while avoiding prosecution in exchange for cooperation."},{"date":"2024-04-22","title":"Pecker testifies at Trump trial","summary":"At Trump's Manhattan criminal trial, Pecker testifies in detail about the arrangement with Trump and Cohen, describing the catch-and-kill scheme and his role as a tip line for the campaign. His testimony is a key element in the prosecution's case."}],"location":{"name":"New York, NY","lat":40.7128,"lng":-74.006},"custom":{"era":"pre-presidency","posture":"judicial-finding","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"American voters who cast ballots in the 2016 election while negative information was deliberately suppressed; women whose stories were purchased and silenced; the integrity of democratic elections","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"Directed and coordinated the scheme; beneficiary","institution":"Trump campaign"},{"name":"David Pecker","role":"CEO of American Media Inc.; executed the catch-and-kill scheme","institution":"American Media Inc. / National Enquirer"},{"name":"Michael Cohen","role":"Trump's personal attorney; coordinated with Pecker","institution":"Trump Organization"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2024-04-22","summary":"Updated with Pecker trial testimony."}]}}