WSJ: National Enquirer Paid For But Never Ran Playmate’s Story Of Trump Affair

A commuter holds a copy of the National Enquirer in New York's Penn Station Friday Aug. 8, 2008 headlining a story on former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards having an extramarital affair while his wife... A commuter holds a copy of the National Enquirer in New York's Penn Station Friday Aug. 8, 2008 headlining a story on former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards having an extramarital affair while his wife was battling cancer. (AP Photo/Ed Ou) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

The Donald Trump-friendly National Enquirer paid a former Playboy Playmate $150,000 over the summer for the exclusive rights to her story of her alleged affair with Trump in 2006 and 2007, while he was already married to Melania Trump, but never ran the story, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The report is based on documents outlining the transaction obtained by the Journal, as well as the accounts of the affair from the friends of the Playmate, Karen McDougal. The Trump campaign vigorously denied the affair, while the tabloid said the $150,000 was for McDougal to write a fitness column, appear on the magazine’s cover and recount her affairs with married men.

According to the Journal, McDougal had hired a lawyer named Keith Davidson as she sought to come forward with the allegations. A contract between the two said that he was representing her in connection with “claims against Donald Trump and or assisting client in negotiating a confidentiality agreement and/or life rights related to interactions with Donald Trump and/or negotiating assignment of exclusive press opportunities regarding same,” the Journal said.

McDougal was in talks with ABC News over the summer, but ultimately agreed in August to sell the story to the media company that owned the Enquirer, American Media, Inc., the Journal reported. The contract gave America Media, Inc., the exclusive rights to McDougal’s story but included no requirement that the company publish it, and also allowed for the company to transfer the rights elsewhere, according to the Journal’s review of the documents.

Davidson confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that he represented McDougal in the negotiations.

The story has not run, in a practice in tabloid journalism known as “catch and kill,” according to the Journal. American Media Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David J. Pecker pushed back on the claims that the Enquirer sought to kill the story by pointing to the reporting it did on Trump’s Marla Maples affair, which was a quarter century ago: “That in itself speaks volumes about our commitment to investigative reporting,” he told the Journal in a statement.

Pecker and Trump are longtime friends, the Journal noted.

According to the accounts of McDougal’s friends and colleagues given to the Journal, her consensual, romantic affair with Trump lasted 10 months or so, beginning in 2006 and into 2007, and included her attendance as his guest at 2006’s Miss Universe pageant.

Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks told the Journal that the campaign had “no knowledge” of any deal and that McDougal’s allegations were “totally untrue.”

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. Spin this, all you hypocritical Christian evangelist Drumpf supporters…

  2. I saw a 50 something YO female Trump supporter on the news last night saying, “I know he’s said and done some things I don’t like but I’m still voting for him.”

    So… it doesn’t matter really.

  3. Forget Donnie’s tax returns.

    I want to see the pre-nup / NDA with Melania…

    I’m sure she’s got a whole boatload of broken-english stories to tell.

  4. The NYT tax stories are more substantive and damaging.
    I don’t know if they will have an effect this late, however.

    Also, forgot to mention the Melania immigration story. That could really hurt if it becomes headline news.

  5. If Trump wins he’ll have no need to ever again require anyone sign a non-disclosure agreement. We’ll all be too ashamed and depressed to speak to other people about what’s going on in the country.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

163 more replies

Participants

Avatar for jootjoint Avatar for ajaykalra Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for mattinpa Avatar for clemmers Avatar for steviedee111 Avatar for teenlaqueefa Avatar for carlosfiance Avatar for inversion Avatar for mantan Avatar for morriganinoregon Avatar for maxaroo Avatar for tao Avatar for serendipitoussomnambulist Avatar for emilianoelmexicano Avatar for tena Avatar for beattycat Avatar for antisachetdethe Avatar for delmar Avatar for babble Avatar for prometheus_bic Avatar for centralasiaexpat Avatar for maximus Avatar for gregangelo

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: