title: What does David Pecker's immunity mean for Donald Trump?
authors: Tom Mccarthy
content: The National Enquirer boss ’ s deal appears to be more bad news for the president in a bad week
  After Michael Cohen stood in court Tuesday and said that a candidate for office – Donald Trump – had directed him to broker hush payments to two women , the details of the payments and the nature of their illegality became extremely urgent questions .
  David Pecker : Trump confidant and National Enquirer boss was given immunity in Cohen case Read more
  It was suddenly clear that a sitting president might have committed a crime during his candidacy . As Cohen ’ s attorney Lanny Davis put it : “ If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen , then why wouldn ’ t they be a crime for Donald Trump ? ”
  But federal prosecutors were a step ahead , it appears . In bombshell news stories Tuesday , Vanity Fair and the Wall Street Journal reported that two witnesses – the magazine publisher David Pecker and one of his chief officers , Dylan Howard – had been granted immunity in exchange for their testimony in the matter .
  The negotiations between prosecutors in the southern district of New York and Pecker and Howard had not been previously disclosed before Thursday . Trump has denied all wrongdoing .
  The immunity deals appear to be more bad news for Trump in a bad week . If Trump did break the law in connection with the hush payments , the testimony of Pecker and Howard could provide evidence of the crime , because they were involved in both transactions , the Wall Street Journal reported . Or their testimony could be used to prosecute someone else in the Trump Organization or his presidential campaign .
  In one transaction , the executives helped to arrange for one of their publications , the National Enquirer , to pay $ 150,000 to the former Playboy model Karen McDougal for exclusive rights to her story of an alleged affair with Trump . The story was never published .
  In a second transaction , Cohen contacted the lawyer who had brokered the McDougal deal , Keith M Davidson , to reach a deal with the pornographic actor Stormy Daniels for a $ 130,000 payment . The role of Pecker and Howard in that second transaction was unclear .
  Pecker is a longtime friend of Trump ’ s , a past frequent guest at the president ’ s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and the former publisher of a magazine called Trump Style . During the 2016 presidential campaign , the National Enquirer was an essential ally of the Republican known for railing against “ fake news ” , publishing one cover story announcing that Hillary Clinton had six months to live and another that Ted Cruz ’ s father was “ linked to JFK assassination ! ” .
  Trump repeated the latter story on Fox News in May 2016 , when Cruz was a primary opponent , saying : “ His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald ’ s being – you know , shot . I mean , the whole thing is ridiculous. ” ( Indeed the allegation is ridiculous . )
  Does the prosecutors ’ interest in Pecker and Howard mean that they are investigating someone higher up than Cohen , who has already pleaded guilty ?
  David Pecker , the tabloid king : meet Trump 's friend and fixer Read more
  That depends on when the reported immunity deal was made , said Ryan Goodman , a professor at the NYU School of Law and founding co-editor-in-chief of the website Just Security .
  “ A lot might turn on when prosecutors granted immunity to Pecker and Howard , because if it ’ s earlier on in time , it could mean that they were simply building the case against Michael Cohen , ” Goodman said .
  “ But the wording of the reporting in Vanity Fair , if true , suggests that the prosecutors are looking specifically at the president himself .
  “ The president himself can ’ t sleep easy knowing that this is what ’ s occurred in the case . ”
content_original: The National Enquirer boss’s deal appears to be more bad news for the president in a bad week
  
  After Michael Cohen stood in court Tuesday and said that a candidate for office – Donald Trump – had directed him to broker hush payments to two women, the details of the payments and the nature of their illegality became extremely urgent questions.
  
  David Pecker: Trump confidant and National Enquirer boss was given immunity in Cohen case Read more
  
  It was suddenly clear that a sitting president might have committed a crime during his candidacy. As Cohen’s attorney Lanny Davis put it: “If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldn’t they be a crime for Donald Trump?”
  
  But federal prosecutors were a step ahead, it appears. In bombshell news stories Tuesday, Vanity Fair and the Wall Street Journal reported that two witnesses – the magazine publisher David Pecker and one of his chief officers, Dylan Howard – had been granted immunity in exchange for their testimony in the matter.
  
  The negotiations between prosecutors in the southern district of New York and Pecker and Howard had not been previously disclosed before Thursday. Trump has denied all wrongdoing.
  
  The immunity deals appear to be more bad news for Trump in a bad week. If Trump did break the law in connection with the hush payments, the testimony of Pecker and Howard could provide evidence of the crime, because they were involved in both transactions, the Wall Street Journal reported. Or their testimony could be used to prosecute someone else in the Trump Organization or his presidential campaign.
  
  In one transaction, the executives helped to arrange for one of their publications, the National Enquirer, to pay $150,000 to the former Playboy model Karen McDougal for exclusive rights to her story of an alleged affair with Trump. The story was never published.
  
  In a second transaction, Cohen contacted the lawyer who had brokered the McDougal deal, Keith M Davidson, to reach a deal with the pornographic actor Stormy Daniels for a $130,000 payment. The role of Pecker and Howard in that second transaction was unclear.
  
  Pecker is a longtime friend of Trump’s, a past frequent guest at the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and the former publisher of a magazine called Trump Style. During the 2016 presidential campaign, the National Enquirer was an essential ally of the Republican known for railing against “fake news”, publishing one cover story announcing that Hillary Clinton had six months to live and another that Ted Cruz’s father was “linked to JFK assassination!”.
  
  Trump repeated the latter story on Fox News in May 2016, when Cruz was a primary opponent, saying: “His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald’s being – you know, shot. I mean, the whole thing is ridiculous.” (Indeed the allegation is ridiculous.)
  
  Does the prosecutors’ interest in Pecker and Howard mean that they are investigating someone higher up than Cohen, who has already pleaded guilty?
  
  David Pecker, the tabloid king: meet Trump's friend and fixer Read more
  
  That depends on when the reported immunity deal was made, said Ryan Goodman, a professor at the NYU School of Law and founding co-editor-in-chief of the website Just Security.
  
  “A lot might turn on when prosecutors granted immunity to Pecker and Howard, because if it’s earlier on in time, it could mean that they were simply building the case against Michael Cohen,” Goodman said.
  
  “But the wording of the reporting in Vanity Fair, if true, suggests that the prosecutors are looking specifically at the president himself.
  
  “The president himself can’t sleep easy knowing that this is what’s occurred in the case.”