Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker's "secret arrangement" with Donald Trump and his then-attorney Michael Cohen was hatched during a "20-25 minute meeting" at Trump Tower in August of 2015, Pecker testified.

Under the arrangement, the National Enquirer would become a trumpet for Trump's presidential ambition and a megaphone for Michael Cohen's opposition research on Trump's opponents, he said.

"He would send me information about Ted Cruz or Ben Carson or Marco Rubio, and that was the basis for our story, and we would embellish," Pecker testified.

He said that he kept the arrangement from all but his top people.

"I told them we were going to try and help the campaign, and to do that we would keep it as quiet as possible," Pecker recalled telling his East and West Coast bureau chiefs.

Prosecutors showed the jury a collection of Enquirer headlines that lauded Trump and disparaged his opponents.

"Bungling Surgeon Ben Carson Left Sponge in Patient's Brain," one article said. "Donald Trump blasts Ted Cruz's Dad for Photo with JFK Assassin," said another, recounting classic fare from the 2016 campaign.

"After the Republican debates and based on the success that some of the other candidates had, I would receive a call from Michael Cohen and he would direct me and direct Dylan Howard which candidate and which direction we should go," Pecker said, referring to the National Enquirer's chief content officer.

Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified that he suspected that multiple women would come forward to shop stories about Trump during Trump's run for president.

"In a presidential campaign, I was the person that thought there would be a lot of women who came out to sell their stories because Mr. Trump was well known as the most eligible bachelor and dated the most beautiful woman," Pecker testified. "It is very common for these women to call up a magazine like the National Enquirer to try and sell their stories. I would hear it in the marketplace through other sources that stories were being marketed."

If those stories emerged, Pecker said he vowed that he would notify Michael Cohen, Trump's then-personal attorney, per their agreement.

According to Pecker, most elements of their agreement -- including running positive stories about Trump and negative stories about his opponents -- were "mutually beneficial" to Trump and Pecker.

"Hillary running for president and Bill Clinton's womanizing was one of the biggest sales ... for the National Enquirer," Pecker said. " It was easy for me to say I was going to continue running those kinds of stories for the National Enquirer."

"It would help his campaign, but it would also help me," Pecker said.

"As I recollect, [Trump] was pleased. Michael Cohen was pleased [about] the way I was going to handle these issues," Pecker said.

Pecker said that prior to the 2016 election, his magazines never caught and killed any stories for Trump.

When pressed by prosecutor Joshua Steinglass, Pecker acknowledged that the catch-and-kill element of the agreement -- buying negative information about Trump then killing the story -- was not beneficial for the National Enquirer.

"How was that going to boost sales of the National Enquirer?" Steinglass asked.

"No, that part didn't help," Pecker said.

Despite first meeting Michael Cohen by chance in 2000 at a bar mitzvah, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified that Donald Trump first introduced him to Cohen as his personal lawyer in 2007.

Pecker said Trump asked him to begin coordinating with Cohen about any stories or rumors related to Trump or his family.

"All of the contacts that I had with Mr. Trump -- now my contact should go through Michael Cohen," Pecker said about Trump's directive after meeting Cohen.

Pecker and Cohen would touch base monthly over the following decade, but communications ramped up after Trump announced his candidacy for president in 2015, Pecker said.

"I would say a minimum of every week, and if there was an issue, it could be daily," Pecker said about his contact with Cohen during the campaign.

Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, back on the witness stand, pointed at Donald Trump and flashed a smile when he was asked to identify the defendant. Trump turned his chin up and grinned at his longtime friend.

"I met Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago," Pecker said. "I've had a great relationship with Mr. Trump over the years."

That relationship started in 1989 when Pecker wanted to start a magazine called Trump Style.

"He was very helpful in introducing me to other executives in New York. He would always advise me of parties or events that I would go to," Pecker said, adding that Trump was among the first to congratulate him upon acquiring the National Enquirer.

Pecker described how Trump became a "major celebrity" after launching The Apprentice and later Celebrity Apprentice, and how the National Enquirer was there to juice Trump's profile.

"He was always kind enough to send me the content showing the ratings and I was able to publish that," Pecker said of their "great mutual beneficially relationship.

Pecker said he considered Trump a friend from 2015 to 2017, calling him by the familiar "Donald," as he pursued the White House for the first time.

"After he announced his run for the presidency I saw Mr. Trump more frequently, maybe once a month," Pecker said. The two spoke "maybe once every couple of weeks."

Pecker recalled meeting Trump in his office when his assistant brought a batch of invoices and checks to sign.

"As I recollect the entire package was stapled together," Pecker said.

"So you observed him reviewing an invoice and signing a check?" prosecutor Josh Steinglass asked. "That's correct," Pecker responded.

"I would describe him as very knowledgeable, very detail-oriented, almost as a micromanager," Pecker said.

When Steinglass asked how Trump was with money, Pecker responded, "He was very cautious and very frugal."

With Donald Trump following along from the defense table, head cocked slightly to the side, David Pecker described the negotiations conducted with Karen McDougal to purchase the exclusive rights to her story about an alleged year-long relationship with Trump.

Pecker said that Trump's attorney Michael Cohen authorized negotiations to begin, then during those negotiations, "Michael was very agitated," constantly asking "Why is this taking so long?"

"To purchase the lifetime rights to Karen McDougal was going to cost $150,000. Plus Karen wanted to restart her career. She wanted to write for the celebrity magazines. She wanted to be on the cover of the life and fitness titles. She had a major problem when her breast implants were removed and she wanted to write about that," Pecker testified.

Pecker said he asked Cohen, "Who is going to reimburse me for this?" He said Cohen responded "Don't worry about it, I'm your friend the boss will take care of it.'"

When prosecutor Josh Steinglass asked Pecker who "the boss" was, Pecker answered "The boss would have been Donald Trump"

Prosecutors then displayed for the jury the contract with McDougal, dated August 5, 2016. It awarded AMI, the Enquirer's parent company, the rights to her story of a relationship she had "with any then-married man." Pecker said "she was referring to Donald Trump."

Pecker testified he needed to "validate" the amount of money AMI was going to pay, so the contract included other provisions, like having McDougal write monthly columns on aging and fitness.

"With respect to campaign laws, I wanted to have the contract be a record that stipulates the services she was going to perform for American Media had a basis for it, the $150,000," Pecker said.

"Was it your primary purpose to buy the life rights?" Steinglass asked. "Yes it was," Pecker responded.

"Were the other provisions to disguise the true nature of this contract?" Steinglass asked. "Yes," Pecker replied, letting out a sigh.