Wooing Saudi Business, Tabloid Mogul Had a Powerful Friend: Trump
Source: nyt
'In July, David J. Pecker, the chairman of the company that owns The National Enquirer, visited his old friend President Trump at the White House.
The tabloid publisher took along a special guest, Kacy Grine, a French businessman who advises one of Saudi Arabias richest men and sometimes acts as an intermediary between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Western businesses.
The two men and other Pecker associates chatted with the president in the Oval Office and briefly met with Mr. Trumps son-in-law and Middle East envoy, Jared Kushner. Before moving on to dinner with the group, the president had a photographer snap pictures of the guests standing with him behind his desk.
Mr. Pecker has long used his media empire to protect Mr. Trumps image. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Mr. Peckers company, American Media Inc., suppressed the story of a former Playboy model who claimed to have had an affair with Mr. Trump. The night of the dinner, Mr. Pecker got something from Mr. Trump: an unofficial seal of approval from the White House.'
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/29/business/media/david-pecker-trump-saudi-arabia.html?