Donald Trump threatened to put a celebrity publicist out of business if she helped Stormy Daniels sell her story in 2012, according to messages presented in court evidence this week.
The explosive claims appear in instant messages between Gina Rodriguez and National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard.
At the time of their exchange, interest in Trump had reached a fever pitch.
He was the clear favorite for the 2016 Republican nomination, and Howard’s then-boss explained last week how he had agreed to pursue negative stories in what prosecutors claim was a “catch-and-kill” deal to help his campaign.
“I also had Donald Trump call my office 4 years ago when Stormy Daniels was going to do the Trump mistress story,” Rodriguez wrote in April 2016.
“He threatened me that I would never do business in entertainment again.”
In messages presented at the court hearing into Donald Trump’s “hush money” trial, publicist Gina Rodriguez claims the Apprentice star phoned her office in 2012, when Stormy Daniels was first searching for her story in magazines .
A payment of money to Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is at the center of the corporate fraud case against Trump unfolding in a Manhattan court.
The publicist’s name is redacted from the evidence, but Wednesday’s court transcript and the title of the document refer to Rodriguez.
Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal money payments to the porn star to maintain his silence.
He denies all charges and insists the accusation is part of a witch hunt to prevent him from taking back the White House in November.
Far from being a dry case about invoices and wire transfers, the evidence so far has illuminated the murky world of Trump’s checkbook journalism and celebrity lifestyle.
The exchanges documented in Popular Exhibit 171A describe the alleged role played by the National Enquirer’s parent company, American Media Inc, in purchasing the Daniels story.
Rodríguez explains why his client did not make it public in 2012.
“So we killed the story because I thought he would sue me,” he writes.
“But Stormy was his lover.”
She agrees to email Howard more information about her story.
“InTouch was going to do it before she approved (redacted by the court), but she scared everyone and now Stormy won’t do anything,” Rodriguez writes on April 7, 2016.
The last batch of messages presented as evidence was between publicist Gina Rodriguez and National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard.
Rodriguez and Howard exchanged dozens of messages as they neared a deal.
The trial is in its third week in Courtroom 1530 of Manhattan Criminal Court.
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Wednesday is a free day for the field. On Tuesday, jurors heard celebrity attorney Keith Davidson describe messages exchanged with Howard as he made a $150,000 deal for the rights to Playboy model Karen McDougal’s story.
And last week, David Pecker, the then-editor of the National Enquirer and a group of supermarket tabloids, said in 2015 that he had offered to be the “eyes and ears” of the Trump campaign, looking for negative stories about the candidate.
At the center of the case is a settlement with Stormy Daniels over the story of what she claims was an affair with Trump.
Prosecutors allege that Trump altered business records to show that fixer Michael Cohen was paid a retainer for his legal services rather than reimbursed in the form of a “hush payment.”
The messages between Rodriguez and Howard establish the terms sought by Daniels, whose real name is Stefanie Clifford.
Attorney Keith Davidson, who represented former Playboy model Karen McDougal, was in court Tuesday to answer questions about his correspondence with former National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard, who asked him if Trump cheated on his wife Melania.
David Pecker testified that he had been friends with Trump for decades and had helped eradicate negative stories during the 2016 election after a key meeting at Trump Tower.
“He doesn’t want to go on record, but he will tell the story through a source,” his publicist writes. ‘She will accept (redacted by the court).
‘She has had sexual relations with him. She wants 100,000.’
Howard wants to know more. “Single or continuous relationship,” he asks.
Rodriguez responds: ‘A couple of times and he promised her a condo, a place on Apprentice.
‘She went to the Miss America pageant. He put it in.
But Trump did not keep his promises, he adds in another message.
Eric Trump arrived with his father Tuesday morning as the trial entered its third week.
People’s Exhibit 176A lists hundreds of messages between lawyer-to-the-stars Keith Davidson and Dylan Howard, who ran the National Enquirer and served as chief content officer for tabloid king David Tucker’s American Media Inc.
The exchanges are a reminder that this is no ordinary business document case. Prosecutors accuse Trump of trying to cover up negative stories before the 2016 election in what amounted to election interference.
And the evidence entered so far has revealed the inner workings of the tabloid media world and even Trump’s phone book.
The trial will resume on Thursday.
Trump returned to the campaign trail on Wednesday, with visits to the battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan.
His comments will be under close scrutiny after Judge Juan Merchán fined him $9,000 a day earlier for violating a gag order in the case.
He warned Trump that he was ready to ‘impose a prison sentence for any future violation.
