Pecking holes in his story: Defiant National Enquirer boss fires back at Trump lawyer's claim he isn't being 'truthful' after revealing how little he paid to silence Arnold Schwarzenegger accusers

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Former National Enquirer chief David Pecker fired back after Donald Trump’s defense attorneys questioned whether he was being truthful during his sensational hush money trial.

During tense cross-examination on Friday the tabloid publisher, who is the first witness in the case, said he was being 'truthful'.

Trump lawyer Emil Bove was confrontational as he tired to show the jury hush-money deals were normal practice at the tabloid, and to poke holes in Pecker’s story.

Bove had been mostly cordial with Pecker during his two days of cross examination.

But he then questioned if Pecker had an obligation to cooperate with prosecutors due to a non-prosecution agreement he had reached with investigators.

Pecker responded: "I've been truthful, to the best of my recollection."

David Pecker is questioned by prosecutor Joshua Steinglass during former U.S. President Donald Trump's criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York City, U.S. April 26, 2024 in this courtroom sketch

Former US President Donald Trump (L) sits in the courtroom during his hush money trial at Manhattan criminal court in New York, USA, 26 April 2024

He stuck to the account that he gave in court, adding: "I know what the truth is."

Pecker's testimony has provided jurors with a stunning inside look at the supermarket tabloid's "catch-and-kill" practice of purchasing the rights to stories so they never see the light of day.

It is a critical building block for prosecutors' theory that Trump sought to illegally influence the 2016 race by suppressing negative stories about his personal life.

Trump has denied 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment by his 'fixer' Michael Cohen to porn star Stormy Daniels

Daniels claimed to have had an affair with Trump, which Trump denied.

Under questioning by Bove, Pecker acknowledged there was no mention at key meeting with Trump of the term "catch-and-kill".

Nor was there discussion at the meeting of any "financial dimension" such as the National Enquirer paying people on Trump's behalf for the rights to their stories, Pecker said.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's lawyer Emil Bove appears in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, New York, USA, 25 April 2024

Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks during the 10X Growth Conference 2024 at The Diplomat Beach Resort on April 04, 2024 in Hollywood, Florida

Attorneys for former president Donald Trump, Alina Habba, speaks at Manhattan Criminal Court during Trump's trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments linked to extramarital affairs in New York on April 22, 2024

Bove also confronted Pecker with statements he made to federal prosecutors in 2018 that the defense lawyer said were "inconsistent" with the former publisher's testimony.

Pecker told jurors that Trump thanked him during a White House visit in 2017 for his help burying two stories.

But according to notes Bove read in court, Pecker told federal authorities that Trump did not express any gratitude to him during the meeting.

"Was that another mistake?" Bove asked Pecker. But Pecker stuck to the account that he gave in court.

Earlier. prosecutor Josh Steinglass quizzed Pecker abut the ;catch and kill' practice at the National Enquirer.

He said: 'After Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy for governor (of California) 30 or 40 women came forward?'

David Pecker, chair and CEO of American Media, speaks at the Shape and Men's Fitness Super Bowl Party in New York City, U.S., January 31, 2014

Adult-film actress Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, speaks as she departs federal court in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., April 16, 2018

Pecker confirmed the number and that he had paid 'hundreds of thousands to kill those stories'.

He said the largest payment was $20,000 and the others were 'from $500 to $2,000'.

Meanwhile, Alina Habba, another Trump lawyer, told Fox News the trial is only showcasing that the former presidernt has done 'absolutely nothing wrong.'

Habba added that if he is convicted, it would '100 percent' be overturned on appeal.

'We have judges not allowing evidence that should be permitted,' she said. 'All of those transcripts are examined closely by the appellate court.'

This is a 'long-game trial,' Habba said..