Investigators Focus on Another Trump Ally: The National Enquirer

President Trump has long had ties to the nation’s major media players. But his connections with the country’s largest tabloid publisher, American Media Inc., run deeper than most. A former top executive of Trump’s casino business sits on AMI’s four-member board of directors, and an adviser joined the media company after the election. The company’s chairman, David J. Pecker, is a close friend of the president’s. And in the Trump era, AMI’s flagship tabloid, The National Enquirer, has taken a decidedly political turn, regularly devoting covers to the president’s triumphs and travails with articles headlined “Trump’s Plan For World Peace!” and “Proof! FBI Plot to Impeach Trump!” Since the early stages of his campaign in 2015, Trump, his lawyer Michael D. Cohen and Pecker have strategized about protecting him and lashing out at his political enemies. Now the tabloid company has been drawn into a sweeping federal investigation of Cohen’s activities, including efforts to head off potentially damaging stories about Trump during his run for the White House. In one instance, The Enquirer bought but did not publish a story about an alleged extramarital relationship years earlier with the presidential candidate, an unusual decision for a scandal sheet. The federal inquiry could pose serious legal implications for the president and his campaign committee. It also presents thorny questions about AMI’s First Amendment protections, and whether its record in supporting President Trump somehow opens the door to scrutiny usually reserved for political organizations.