Pecker testified that he spoke to Cohen “at least daily,” who was “agitated” it was taking a while to lock in a deal with the pinup model.

“[Cohen] said, ‘You should pay.’ I said, ‘Why would I pay? I just paid $30,000 for the doorman story.’ I said, ‘Now you’re asking me to pay $150,000 for the Karen story, plus all these other, additional terms that she wants to do?’”

“Who is going to reimburse me for this?” Pecker recalled asking.

“[Cohen] said to me, ‘Don’t worry about it, the boss will take care of it.’” That was the second time Pecker recalled a reassurance about “the boss” taking care of the payment.

Before jurors took their seats, prosecutor Chris Conroy told Merchan Trump had violated his gag order another four times by commenting on jurors and witnesses Michael Cohen and David Pecker in recent media interviews. He renewed his request to the judge to find Trump in contempt.

The bombshell testimony about Trump’s behind-the-scenes campaign strategies comes as the 2024 race grinds into gear.

The former president has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, alleging he covered up a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels as part of a sweeping scheme to defraud voters.

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