Former Playboy model Karen McDougal claimed to have had a one-year romance with Trump, and David Pecker recounted his first handling of the situation.
Pecker was informed by his deputy Dylan Howard of McDougal’s accusations in June 2016. After Pecker testified, Howard was instructed by Pecker to interview McDougal in Los Angeles on her allegations.
According to him, Pecker reached out to Michael Cohen the moment he learned of McDougal’s story. “When this subject came up, I spoke to him much more frequently, almost every day, sometimes a couple of times a day,” Pecker said of their increased communication with Cohen, even though they had been chatting every few weeks before. Cohen then requested that Pecker use the encrypted messaging software Signal to contact him.
According to Pecker, Cohen’s calls increased in frequency around the time Howard travelled to Los Angeles to interview McDougal.
“Michael was quite upset. According to Pecker’s testimony, it appeared as though he was under significant time pressure to provide an immediate response. “His anxiety level seemed to increase with each successive call.”
“I assumed that he had a conversation with Mr. Trump,” Pecker stated when asked where Cohen’s fear was coming from; however, he clarified that he did not discuss McDougal with Trump directly until a later date.
The Untold Story: McDougal, Cohen, and Pecker’s Secret…
