President Donald Trump has been revealed to be the third man who attended a 2015 meeting with Michael Cohen and David Pecker where they forged a plan to keep the president's alleged affairs out of the press.
The meeting, which was referenced in a letter federal prosecutors sent to National Enquirer publisher American Media Inc., included an offer by company CEO to 'help deal with negative stories about the presidential candidate's relationships with women.'
The plan they agreed on included a plan to help the campaign 'identifying such stories so they could be purchased and their publication avoided.' At the meeting, 'Pecker agreed to keep Cohen apprised of any such negative stories,' according to the letter.
President Donald Trump has been revealed to be the third man who attended a 2015 meeting with Michael Cohen and David Pecker about burying negative stories about his alleged affairs
NBC confirmed Trump's attendance a day after prosecutors referenced it in the letter – which revealed that AMI, like Cohen, was cooperating with the government. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Trump was involved in or briefed on 'nearly every step' of the agreements.
And so-called 'catch and kill' agreements did emerge over the course of the campaign.
Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign and banking violations after he created a shell company to transfer $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels, who claims she had an affair with Trump.
AMI gave $150,000 to Playboy model Karen McDougal, who says she had a 10-month affair with the president.
That could leave Trump as the odd man out if he continues his denials that he did nothing wrong and never 'directed' Cohen to break the law.
Former Playboy model Karen McDougal got paid $150,000 in exchange for 'limited life rights' to her story
Trump distanced himself from the $150,000 payment Thursday in an interview with Fox News.
'Let me just tell you about that tabloid I don't think - and I have to go check - I don't think they even paid any money to that tabloid. Okay?' Trump told the network in an interview.
'I don't think we made a payment to that tabloid. I was asking the question – I don't think we made a payment,' Trump continued. Then you have the other situation, and every lawyer – look, "Trump didn't violate campaign finance laws, and neither did the president," he said, reading for a headline he had with him during the interview.
Prosecutors said 'at no time' did AMI intend to publish the story it was buying.
Cohen in August and Sept. 2016 called Pecker sand said he wanted to purchase the 'limited life rights' to the story, and Pecker agreed to provide the rights in exchange for $125,000. Pecker signed the agreement Sept. 30, 2016, but in October 2016 – a month before the election – Pecker called Cohen and said the deal was off. He told Cohen to 'tear up the assignment agreement,' according to prosecutors.
The 'principal purpose' of the deal was 'to suppress the model's story so as to prevent it from influencing the election' according to a government 'Statement of Admitted Facts' included in the letter to AMI.
The confirmation of Trump's personal presence at the meeting comes a day after it was revealed that the publisher of the National Enquirer for its role in burying a story about a Playboy model who claims she had a months-long affair with Donald Trump - giving one of the president's former closest allies immunity in return for flipping.
Trump distanced himself from the $150,000 deal in an interview with Fox News on Thursday
U.S. attorneys in the Southern District of New York announced the deal with American Media Inc. shortly after a judge in Manhattan sentenced former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to three years in jail.
Cohen was involved in discussions with Pecker - who had been one of Trump's closest friends - over the $150,000 payment that went to McDougal.
The documents revealing the deal make clear that Pecker agreed to flip - and is still cooperating with federal authorities.
They do not say who he and his company flipped on, raising the possibility that he has handed over information on his former friend, Trump.
The 'principal purpose' of the deal was 'to suppress the model's story so as to prevent it from influencing the election' according to a government 'Statement of Admitted Facts'
Disgrace: The catch and kill deal was concocted between AMI and Michael Cohen. The firm got immunity and he will be jailed for three years in March
The deal outlined in the prosecution documents describe how AMI bought McDouglal's silence.
The Enquirer published guaranteed her appearances on publications' covers and gave her a fitness column in exchange for giving away the life rights to her story. It has been described as a type of 'catch-and-kill' arrangement and a way to keep a bad story out of the press.
According to a letter from prosecutors to AMI, the company entered an agreement to acquire 'limited life rights' with a model about her relationship with 'any then-married man' in exchange for $150,000.
The firm agreed to pay 'substantially more money than AMI otherwise would have paid to acquire the story' 'because of Cohen's assurances to Pecker that AMI would ultimately be reimbursed for the payment.'
But its 'principal purpose' in the deal was 'to suppress the model's story so as to prevent it from influencing the election.'
At no time during talks 'did AMI intend to publish the story or disseminate information about it publicly,' according to the letter.
As part of the deal, the National Enquirer publisher will avoid charges over its role in the hush money payments.
As part of the facts the company lawyers agreed and consented to, the letter stipulates that Pecker met with Cohen 'and at least one other member of the campaign.'
'At the meeting, Pecker offered to help deal with negative stories about that presidential candidate's relationships with women by, among other things, assisting the campaign in identifying such stories so they could be purchased and their publication avoided. Pecker agreed to keep Cohen apprised of any such negative stories.'
Former Playboy cover model Karen McDougal has said she had a months-long affair with U.S. President Donald Trump years before he took office, and that she sold her story for $150,000 to American Media Inc but it was never published.
Prosecutors revealed the immunity deal with the publisher of American Media Inc.
A statement of facts spelled out the $150,000 payment to a former Playboy model
AMI knew about federal campaign laws at the time it reached the deal, it agreed
The incident involved a practice known as 'catch and kill' to prevent a potentially damaging article from being published.
In a statement, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District said it agreed not to prosecute AMI after the company admitted 'that it made the $150,000 payment in concert with a candidate's presidential campaign, and in order to ensure that the woman did not publicize damaging allegations about the candidate before the 2016 presidential election.'
Prosecutors announced the agreement on the same day that Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, was sentenced to three years in prison in federal court in New York for orchestrating hush payments to McDougal and another woman, adult-film star Stormy Daniels, in violation of campaign laws before the election, as well as other crimes.
AMI's David Pecker, a longtime friend of Trump and Cohen, had met with prosecutors to describe their hush-money deals with McDougal and porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 U.S. election won by Trump, the Wall Street Journal reported in August.
Pecker and another AMI executive were granted immunity as part of prosecutors' probe, Vanity Fair also reported over the summer.
Representatives for AMI and Pecker could not be immediately reached for comment.
Link hienalouca.comhttps://hienalouca.com/2018/12/14/trump-revealed-to-have-attended-meeting-where-plan-hatched-to-bury-stories-about-his-alleged-affairs/
Main photo article President Donald Trump has been revealed to be the third man who attended a 2015 meeting with Michael Cohen and David Pecker where they forged a plan to keep the president’s alleged affairs out of the press.
The meeting, which was referenced in a letter federal prosecutors sent to National...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2018/12/13/21/7399744-6493865-image-a-19_1544737065508.jpg
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