The Latest | Pecker says he wanted to keep tabloid’s agreement with Trump ‘as quiet as possible’

NEW YORK (AP) — The National Enquirer’s former publisher says he pledged to be the “eyes and ears” of Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, which led to an agreement to give the ex-president’s lawyer advance notice of negative stories that might torpedo his aspirations. David Pecker is the first witness in Trump’s criminal hush money case. Prosecutors say Pecker worked with Trump and Trump’s then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, on a “catch-and-kill” strategy to buy up and bury stories. Testimony resumed Tuesday after a morning hearing on Trump’s alleged gag order violations. It’s the first of Trump’s four indictments to go to trial. He has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts.