Here's How Hicks and Sanders Checked on Melania Trump Amid McDougal Affair Rumors

National Enquirer CEO David Pecker recently testified against former president Donald Trump regarding the hush money trial. During the session, Pecker confessed to paying Playboy model Karen McDougal $150,000 for her claim that she had an affair with Trump—a claim that the billionaire tycoon denied. In a move known as "catch-and-kill," The Enquirer never published the story. Melania Trump was taken aback by the revelations about her husband's purported extramarital affairs. Trump however refuted them, referring to the trial as a "witch hunt." Hope Hicks and Sarah Sanders, two of Trump's top aides, inquired about how the former first lady was handling the allegations of the affair, but they never brought up the "catch-and-kill" plan, according to Stephanie Grisham, the former first lady's communications director and chief of staff.

"Funny, they’d call me a lot to find out how MT was reacting to all the Clifford/McDougal news but didn’t bother to share any of this info w me," Grisham tweeted on X after Pecker testified. Pecker disclosed that he discussed the possibility of extending McDougal's "catch-and-kill" relationship with Hicks and Sanders, two of Trump's most reliable White House aides. "Both of them said that they thought it was a good idea," the former CEO said.

However, the business decided to settle a lawsuit that McDougal had filed against them in an attempt to regain her lifetime rights, so they did not extend the contract. The National Enquirer paid tens of thousands of dollars for stories on Trump throughout the 2016 presidential campaign. For her claim that Trump and McDougal had an affair—a claim that Trump disputes—McDougal received $150,000. An esteemed publication never published the story. 

Pecker testified in light of the 34 felony charges that Trump is facing about the $130,000 he paid Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign to silence her regarding her claims of an affair. Pecker asserted that he set a firm boundary regarding Daniels' claims. Thursday, he declared to the jurors, "I am not paying for this story." When Daniels arrived, Pecker had already lost $180,000 on previous Trump-related stories. Pecker further testified that in July 2017, as a thank you for his assistance with the campaign, Trump invited him to a dinner at the White House. "How´s Karen doing?" he recalled Trump inquiring about the Playboy model. "I said she´s doing well, she´s quiet, everything´s going good," Pecker testified.

 In March 2018, the Republican leader president raged over McDougal's CNN interview with Anderson Cooper, Pecker testified. "I thought you had and we had an agreement with Karen McDougal that she can´t give any interviews or be on any TV channels," Trump told Pecker, the former National Enquirer publisher said. He added that following a Wall Street Journal report published in November 2016 regarding the tabloid's $150,000 payment to McDougal, he informed the then-president that the deal had been modified to let her address the media. "Mr. Trump got very aggravated when he heard that I amended it, and he couldn´t understand why," Pecker told the jurors while testifying. 

"How could this happen? I thought you had this under control," Pecker recalled Trump accusing him. "Either you or one of your people have leaked this story." As per The Guardian, Pecker recalled denying payment to Daniels saying, “I said I don’t want the National Enquirer to be associated with a porn star,” Pecker said. “This would be very damaging for the magazine, very damaging for American Media.” Prosecutors questioned Pecker about any animosity he may have had toward Trump before concluding their interrogation. “On the contrary,” he said. “I felt that Donald Trump was my mentor. He helped me throughout my career.”