IT BEGINS

Ex-Playboy Model Sues to Be Released From Trump Hush Agreement

Karen McDougal claims Michael Cohen was in talks for rights on her alleged affair with Trump.

Former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who alleges she had an affair with President Trump, sued Tuesday to be released from her “2016 legal agreement requiring her silence,” The New York Times reported. McDougal is suing American Media Inc. (AMI), parent company of The National Enquirer, which paid her $150,000 in a “catch and kill” agreement to obtain exclusive rights to her story and then bury it. AMI’s chief executive is “a friend” of the Trump’s, according to the Times. McDougal, in her suit, alleges that Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen “was secretly involved in her talks with AMI, and that the media company and her lawyer at the time misled her about the deal.” McDougal also states that after she spoke to the New Yorker about her story, AMI threatened her and said that “any further disclosures would breach [her] contract” and “cause considerable monetary damages.” This comes as adult-film star Stormy Daniels is also suing to be released from her non-disclosure agreement; and just days before Daniels’ 60 Minutes tell-all interview is set to air.