Melania Trump's former press secretary claims Hope Hicks and Sarah Sanders called to see how the first lady was 'dealing' with Karen McDougal affair rumors... but didn't share details of the National Enquirer 'deal'

Melania Trump's former spokesperson said Hope Hicks and Sarah Huckabee Sanders would check in with her to see how the first lady was 'dealing' with the Karen McDougal affair rumors - but didn't share the details of a 'deal' with the National Enquirer.

The revelation came as former National Enquirer CEO David Pecker testified in Donald Trump's case involving hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

Pecker was speaking about a joint call with Hicks, who served as White House communications director, and Sanders, who was White House press secretary at the time and is now governor of Arkansas, about a 'catch-and-kill' contract given to McDougal. 

Stephanie Grisham, the former first lady's spokesperson, with Melania Trump

Stephanie Grisham, who served as Melania's communications director and chief of staff, said the duo of tax-payer funded White House aides never mentioned any payoff money to her. 

'Funny, they'd call me a lot to find out how MT was reacting to all the Clifford/McDougal news, but didn't bother to share any of this info w me,' Grisham wrote on X.

Melania Trump was reportedly blind-sided when reports of her husband's alleged affairs emerged. He has denied them and called the trial against him a 'witch hunt.' 

Pecker testified he had spoken to Hicks and Sanders - two of Donald Trump's most trusted White House aides - about whether McDougal's 'catch-and-kill' contact should be extended.

'Both of them said that they thought it was a good idea,' Pecker said. 

The company did not extend the contract, however, as they settled a lawsuit that McDougal filed against them to get her lifetime rights back. 

During the 2016 presidential campaign, the National Enquirer was paying tens of thousands of dollars for stories about Trump to keep them from the public eye.

McDougal was paid $150,000 for her allegation of an affair with Trump, which Trump denies. The Enquirer never published the story in a practice known as 'catch-and-kill.'

Pecker is testifying as Trump faces 34 felony challenges for a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, made during the 2016 campaign, to keep her quiet about her allegation of an affair. 

When it came to the claims from Daniels, Pecker said he put his foot down.

'I am not paying for this story,' he told jurors Thursday.

Pecker was already $180,000 in the hole on other Trump-related stories by the time Daniels came along.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump watches as prosecutor Joshua Steinglass questions David Pecker during Trump's criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016

White House Communications Director Hope Hicks (left) with then President Donald Trump and White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders (right) in the Oval Office in January 2018

Former President Donald Trump sits between his lawyers Emil Bove (left) and Todd Blanche

Trump seen with former Playboy model Karen McDougal

Pecker also testified that Trump invited him to a White House dinner in July 2017 to thank him for helping the campaign. 

Pecker brought with him his then-editor Dylan Howard and other business associates. They posed for photos with Trump in the Oval Office. Pecker said they were joined at dinner by Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and press adviser Sean Spicer.

At one point during the evening, Pecker said Trump asked him for an update on Karen McDougal, a former Playboy playmate turned model.

'How´s Karen doing?' he recalled Trump saying as they walked past the Rose Garden from the Oval Office to the dining room.

'I said she´s doing well, she´s quiet, everything´s going good,' Pecker testified.

But months later, in March 2018, the president became furious when McDougal gave an interview to CNN´s Anderson Cooper, Pecker testified.

'I thought you had and we had an agreement with Karen McDougal that she can´t give any interviews or be on any TV channels,' Trump told Pecker by phone, the former National Enquirer publisher said.

He said he explained to the then-president that the agreement had been changed to allow her to speak to the press after a November 2016 Wall Street Journal article about the tabloid´s $150,000 payout to McDougal.

'Mr. Trump got very aggravated when he heard that I amended it, and he couldn´t understand why,' Pecker told jurors.

Trump was furious in general about the leak to the Journal and accused Pecker of being behind it.

'How could this happen? I thought you had this under control,' Pecker says Trump asked him.

'Either you or one of your people have leaked this story.'