McDougal also alleged that she was paid $150,000 by American Media Inc. (AMI), the parent company of the National Enquirer, for the exclusive rights to her story about the affair. The payment was made just before the 2016 presidential election, but the story was never published. McDougal claimed that the payment was part of a “catch and kill” tactic, in which negative stories about Trump were purchased and then buried to protect his presidential campaign.
The controversy surrounding the alleged affair and the payment to McDougal became the subject of legal action. Karen McDougal filed a lawsuit against AMI in 2018, seeking to be released from her non-disclosure agreement with the company. She claimed that the company misled her about the nature of the agreement and that she was not aware of the extent of the agreement’s restrictions. AMI denied any wrongdoing.
In August 2018, Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations related to payments made to McDougal and another woman, Stormy Daniels, who also alleged an affair with Trump. Cohen claimed that he made the payments at Trump’s direction and that they were made to influence the 2016 presidential election.
The controversy surrounding the alleged affair and the payments made to McDougal and Daniels remained a major topic of discussion throughout Trump’s presidency. The allegations and the legal actions taken by McDougal and others raised questions about Trump’s conduct and the use of hush money payments to silence negative stories about him.
