Former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal files lawsuit to speak about alleged Trump affair

Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris

Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris

Former Playboy model Karen McDougal is suing to break a 2016 contract that reportedly requires her to keep silent about an affair with Donald Trump years before he became president.

In the complaint — which was obtained by The New York Times — McDougal's lawyers allege that she had a "10-month relationship with Mr. Trump" in 2006. They say McDougal decided to pursue a lawsuit because "she has become aware of the broad effort to silence and intimidate her and others."

The former Playmate is suing in the Los Angeles Superior court, and she's charging American Media Inc. with paying her $150,000 for her story, then killing it. American Media Inc. owns the National Enquirer, which has been friendly to Trump during his candidacy and tenure in the White House.

McDougal also claims that Trump lawyer Michael Cohen was involved in the deal and that she was misled in the proceedings.

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She is the second woman to accuse the president's personal lawyer of paying her to keep silent about an extramarital relationship with Trump. McDougal says she was paid $150,000 for her silence — earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal outlined payments Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels. Both women claim that their affairs with Trump occurred in 2006, after he married Melania Trump.

Daniels is currently being sued by Cohen, who claims that she violated the confidentiality agreement she signed in 2016. Daniels' story doesn't look like it's ending anytime soon, as she's lined up for an interview with "60 Minutes."

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