Former Playboy model Karen McDougal sues to break silence on alleged Trump affair
Karen McDougal, the former Playboy model who has claimed she had an affair with President Trump, has filed suit to be freed from a deal she made to remain silent.
McDougal is suing American Media Inc., the company that owns the National Enquirer, which allegedly paid her $150,000 not to speak about her affair.
“AMI lied to me, made empty promises, and repeatedly intimidated and manipulated me,” McDougal said in a statement provided to USA TODAY. “I just want the opportunity to set the record straight and move on with my life, free from this company, its executives and its lawyers.”
The suit comes a month after a watchdog group asked the Justice Department and the Federal Election Commission to investigated the reported six-figure payment to McDougal.
McDougal’s new lawyer, Peter Stris, said McDougal’s previous lawyer worked with AMI to mislead her about the deal.
“A quarter billion dollar company posing as a media organization systematically intimidated and silenced Karen McDougal in ourder to achieve its political and financial ends, and she will no longer be quiet,” Stris said in a statement provided to USA TODAY. “We are confident that the so-called contract will be invalidated, and are eager for Ms. McDougal to be able to move forward with her life with the privacy she deserves.”
McDougal’s suit follows that of former porn star Stormy Daniels, who has also filed suit to tell her side of the story about her alleged 2006 affair with Trump.
It also comes on the same day that a Manhattan Supreme Court judge ruled that a former Apprentice contestant can sue the president for defamation.