Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testifies he suppressed a story about alleged Rahm Emanuel affair
The ex-publisher of the National Enquirer tabloid testified during former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial Thursday that in the run-up to Rahm Emanuel’s first run for Chicago mayor, the publisher helped quash a story about an alleged affair Emanuel had.
David Pecker, who has had a long relationship with Emanuel and has contributed tens of thousands of dollars to his political campaigns over the years, testified he paid $20,000 for a story about an alleged Emanuel affair before Emanuel’s Chicago mayoral campaign kicked off in 2010. The Enquirer then did not report on the allegations, effectively preventing them from becoming public, according to the Politico report.
Emanuel, now the U.S. ambassador to Japan, could not be reached for comment Thursday. He served two terms as Chicago’s mayor, before opting not to run for reelection in 2019 amid fallout from the Chicago police shooting of Laquan McDonald.
Emanuel’s ties to Pecker go back years, according to campaign finance reports that show that around the same time Pecker testified he was catching and killing a story for Emanuel he was also contributing to Emanuel’s first successful bid to run for Chicago mayor.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/04/25/enquirer-publisher-emanuel-affair-allegation/
