The focus of Donald Trump’s impeachment case may have been Stormy Daniels, a pornographic actress who was paid $130,000 to keep quiet about having sex with the former president on a Lake Tahoe golf course in 2006, but the indictment also mentions Karen McDougall. .

Details about McDougall are contained in the prosecutor’s statement, which is cited as the history of the case.

The model posed for Playboy magazine, where in 1998 she received the Playmate of the Year award and was recognized as a “toy of the 90s”, second only to Pamela Anderson. She later worked as a fitness model and became the first woman to pose for the cover of Men’s Fitness magazine in 1999. She has also appeared in television commercials and in small roles such as a cameo in the 2000 film Charlie’s Angels.

In August 2016, the 47-year-old former model sold for $150,000 to American Media Inc, which publishes The National Enquirer tabloid magazine, the rights to speak about her relationship with Trump. But in mid-March 2018, McDougal filed a lawsuit to be released from the deal, alleging she entered into it after she was pressured into not disclosing information.

The deliberate buying of a story, which is then hidden, is known as “catch and kill” – and the National Enquirer allegedly did this to silence negative stories about Trump.

As part of the deal, AMI will receive 10 percent, up to $75,000, of any proceeds from the sale of McDougal’s story about her alleged 10-month affair with the current U.S. president, which began in 2006, according to Playmate.

In 2021, the US Federal Election Commission, which is responsible for enforcing campaign finance laws, found that the publisher of the Enquirer violated election laws by paying for the rights to McDougal’s story and never publishing it. In addition, the money that was paid to McDougall during the 2016 presidential election was an illegal campaign contribution. The National Enquirer was fined $187,500 (£132,000).

In a 2018 interview with CNN, McDougal said she fell in love with Trump and that their relationship began shortly after his wife, Melania, gave birth to their son, Barron. In fact, he then publicly apologized to Melania for her alleged relationship, saying, “I’m so sorry. I wouldn’t want something like that to happen. When I look back where I was then, I know it’s wrong,” he said.

Source: BBC