A former Playboy model who claims to have had an affair with President Trump prior to his inauguration filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News on Thursday.
The model, Karen McDougal, alleges that network host Tucker Carlson intentionally defamed her on his show on Dec. 10, 2018. Carlson accused the former model of extortion and claimed, in part, that she “approached Donald Trump and threatened to ruin his career and humiliate his family if he doesn’t give them money.” He also classified her behavior as “a classic case of extortion,” however he did not mention her by name during the show, only showing a photo of her.
McDougal’s lawsuit, which was filed in New York, seeks damages from Fox for tarnishing her reputation, however, it does not name Carlson as a defendant in it, according to the New York Times. She claimed the network is responsible for his comments because they were verifiable, while her lawyer argued that a reasonable person watching Carlson’s show would’ve thought she was a criminal. McDougal also claimed in the suit that she never threatened Trump.
“FOX News will vigorously defend Tucker Carlson against these meritless claims,” a Fox News representative told the Washington Examiner.
McDougal has said that she and Trump met at the Playboy Mansion in 2006, and they began a 10-month affair that ultimately ended when she felt guilty about Trump cheating on his wife. The president has denied the affair.
Prior to the 2016 presidential election, the National Enquirer purchased the rights to McDougal’s story for $150,000 and proceeded not to publish it — a practice that’s commonly known as “catch and kill.” She was restricted from discussing the alleged affair until she came to a settlement agreement with American Media, Inc. in April, 2018.
Trump has denied knowing about the payment from the National Enquirer, however, he caught discussing the story with his then fixer Michael Cohen, but the conversation was revealed through a secret recording made by Cohen.
