The National Enquirer paid $150,000 to a former Playboy playmate for exclusive rights to her story about having an affair with Donald Trump, but it never published the story, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Karen McDougal, Playboy’s 1998 playmate of the year, claims to have had an affair with Trump from 2006 to 2007, while he was married to his current wife, Melania Trump, according to the report. American Media Inc., which owns The National Enquirer, confirmed the payment, but said it was for a column.
Trump is friends with the CEO of American Media Inc., David Pecker. Pecker and Trump’s relationship goes back to Pecker’s tenure at the helm of Hachette Filipacchi Magazines,which published a magazine called ‘Trump Style” that was distributed at Trump’s hotels.