The owner of the National Enquirer admitted Friday that supermarket tabloid paid $150,000 to a former Playboy playmate who claimed to have had an affair with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in 2006 but never published a story based on her claims.
In a statement, the tabloid said that it did not make the payment to 1998 “playmate of the year” Karen McDougal to keep her quiet but instead to purchase fitness columns from her. It conceded that the contract included the exclusive rights to any personal stories regarding any relationships she has had with married men.
The Enquirer is owned by American Media, Inc., which publishes other tabloids such as Star. David Pecker, chairman and chief executive officer of the company, is a longtime friend of Trump who is backing his campaign. The Enquirer has run numerous stories disparaging the Clintons. The current top story on its website is “Hillary Clinton Hooked On Narcotics.”
“AMI has not paid people to kill damaging stories about Mr. Trump,” the company said.
The Trump campaign has denied any knowledge of the arrangement between McDougal and the tabloid. It said the candidate never had an affair with her.
The Wall Street Journal, citing people close to McDougal, said she told the tabloid about a consensual affair she had with Trump while he was married to his current wife, Melania.
McDougal was reportedly in talks to with ABC to tell the story in July but pulled out after AMI made her an offer for exclusive rights to it.
