Who is Karen McDougal, the Playboy model in Donald Trump’s case?

McDougal said she was paid US$150,000 to keep her from going public with claims that Trump had sex with her in 2006 and 2007

The transaction is one of two involving alleged affairs that are at the heart of the criminal case against the former president

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Playboy model Karen McDougal. Photo: Getty Images/AFP

Published: 8:52am, 5 Apr 2023

The criminal case against former US president Donald Trump, unveiled on Tuesday, rests not just on his high-profile alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels but also on a separate liaison with Playboy model Karen McDougal.

A 52-year-old former model and actress from Indiana, McDougal was a Playboy magazine Playmate of the Year in the late 1990s.

She has said she had an affair with Trump in 2006 and 2007. Trump has denied having a sexual relationship with her.

American Media Inc (AMI), corporate parent of the National Enquirer, has acknowledged paying McDougal US$150,000 for the rights to her story to prevent her from going public with it ahead of the 2016 presidential election – a practice known in the publishing industry as “catch and kill.”

AMI admitted to the arrangement in a non-prosecution agreement with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in 2018.

Prosecutors said in a charging document on Tuesday that Trump did not want the woman’s story to become public “because he was concerned about the effect it could have on his candidacy.”

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