It was a world that David Pecker, the first witness called in Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial and the former publisher of The National Enquirer, once presided over.
Mr. Trump, his old friend and associate, sat silently at the defense table as Mr. Pecker testified not only about their own dealings, but also about his brushes with other celebrities: Arnold Schwarzenegger.
His testimony, over four days, evoked the sensational, transactional tactics of tabloid newspapers and magazines.
But it was also particular to Mr. Pecker, who over two decades ran American Media Inc., the Enquirer’s parent company, commingling journalism and business interests to an extent that other executives had not in his slowly dying industry, according to people familiar with his career.
Once called the “tabloid king,” Mr. Pecker, 72, had been written about often in his decades-long career, but he had never spoken so publicly about how he operated before taking the witness stand.
Persons:
David Pecker, Donald J, Trump, Pecker, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mark Wahlberg, Tiger Woods, ” Mr
Organizations:
National Enquirer, Media Inc