David Pecker lifts lid on how National Enquirer helped Trump's 2016 campaign with 'embellished' headlines including 'Ted Cruz shamed by porn star' and 'Ben Carson left sponge in patient's brain'

You don't become the tabloid king of America without knowing a thing or two about women, human nature and powerful men like Donald Trump. Cue headlines that included, 'Ted Cruz shamed by porn star,' at a time when he was emerging as the main challenger to Trump's effort to secure the 2016 Republican nomination. He has not finished giving evidence and will return when the court sits next week During the 2016 campaign, the National Enquirer frequently ran headlines knocking Trump's rivals such as Ted Cruz in the race for the Republican nomination, and his general election opponent Hillary Clinton among others Pecker delivered his testimony with the calm assurance of the accountant he once was. Donald Trump has denied 34 counts of business fraud in Manhattan criminal court The prosecution case revolves around a 2015 Trump Tower meeting between Trump, his former personal attorney and fixer Michael Cohen and Pecker Two months later, he described returning to the building for the meeting with fixer Michael Cohen and Trump, where they made a plan for handling media coverage. 2016 stories from the National Enquirer included one accusing Ted Cruz of having multiple affairs and another accusing his father Rafael of having links to the JFK assassination Before introducing National Enquirer headlines, Judge Juan Merchan warned the jury: 'The exhibits are not evidence that any of the assertions in these headlines are true' The result was headlines like: 'Ted Cruz Sex Scandal: Five Secret Mistresses' or '"Family Man" Marco Rubio's Love Child Stunner.'