On the day two of Donald Trump's hush money trial in New York, veteran tabloid publisher David Pecker testified on Tuesday that he served as the former president's "eyes and ears" during the 2016 presidential campaign.

According to the Associated Press, Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, recounted how he promised Trump that he would help suppress damaging stories and even set up to buy the silence of a doorman

Donald Trump Hush Money Trial First Witness: David Pecker

David Pecker's testimony intends to boost the prosecution's claim of a longstanding friendship between Donald Trump and Pecker that led to a deal to provide the then-candidate's lawyer an advance notice on harmful stories and tips that they would eventually quash, such as a porn star's claim of having extramarital sex with Trump.

The prosecution alleged that these efforts constituted illegal interference in the election in an attempt to elevate the gravity of the first of four criminal cases against Trump that led to the first trial of a former US president. 

Pecker disclosed a meeting in August 2015 at Trump Tower, where he, Trump, former Trump's attorney Michael Cohen, and another aide Hope Hicks discussed what he and the publication he led could do for the campaign.

Pecker said he volunteered to publish favorable stories about Trump and negative ones about his rivals and vowed to be Trump's "eyes and ears" regarding "anything negative" about him.

"I said that anything I hear in the marketplace, if I hear anything negative about yourself, or if I hear anything about women selling stories, I would notify Michael Cohen... So that they would not get published," Pecker told the jury.

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David Pecker Breaks His Silence on 'Catch and Kill'

Prosecutors alleged various arrangements that Donald Trump used to illegally influence the 2016 election, including the practice known in the tabloid industry as "catch and kill."

"Catch and kill" is buying the rights to a potentially damaging story and then killing it through deals that prevent the paid person from telling it to others.

In this case, it included payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal to silence them about extramarital sexual encounters and affairs they said they had with Donald Trump, which the former president denied.

David Pecker also recounted an alleged $30,000 payment made by the National Enquirer to a Trump Tower doorman for the rights to a rumor about Trump fathering a child with a Trump World Tower employee. 

Despite determining the story to be false, Pecker admitted to making the decision "to buy the story because of the potential embarrassment it had to the campaign and Mr. Trump." Trump remained present in the courtroom throughout Pecker's testimony but occasionally shook his head in disagreement. 

Trump is facing 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection to the hush money payment to Daniels. The former president is accused of orchestrating a criminal scheme to hide the reimbursement of the $130,000 hush money payment made by Michael Cohen to Daniels.

Cohen allegedly arranged the payment days leading up to the 2016 election. Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

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