STORY: David Pecker continued his testimony in Donald Trump's New York criminal trial Tuesday.
The former National Enquirer publisher said he used the supermarket tabloid to suppress stories that might have hurt Trump's 2016 presidential bid.
Pecker said the decision followed a 2015 meeting at which he told Trump the Enquirer would publish favorable stories about the billionaire candidate and keep an eye out for people selling stories that might hurt him.
Prosecutors say Pecker's actions helped Trump deceive voters by burying stories of alleged extramarital affairs at a time when he already faced multiple accusations of sexual misbehavior.
The former president is charged with criminally falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to buy the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels, who says they had a sexual encounter 10 years earlier.
Trump has pleaded not guilty and denies having an encounter with Daniels.
His lawyers argue that Trump did not commit any crimes and only acted to protect his reputation.
"We have a gag order which to me is totally unconstitutional. I'm not allowed to talk but people are allowed to talk about me."
Trump again railed against a gag order that prohibits him from criticizing trial witnesses, court officials and their relatives.
Earlier, prosecutors requested that Trump pay a $10,000 fine, claiming he violated the judge's gag order.
Trump's lawyer said he was only responding to political attacks and not intimidating witnesses.
But the judge admonished Trump's lawyer telling him quote, "you're losing all credibility with the court."
Still, the judge said he would not rule immediately on the prosecution's request.
