One of President Trump’s former doormen was paid $30,000 in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election by the same company that gave hush money to ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal to prevent her from speaking out about her alleged affair with Trump.
Dino Sajudin was given the $30,000 by American Media Inc. in 2015 in exchange for signing over the rights, “in perpetuity,” regarding a rumor he heard that Trump had fathered an illegitimate child with an employee at New York City’s Trump World Tower in the 1980s, according to multiple reports.
Reporters at the National Enquirer, an A.M.I. tabloid, spent four weeks investigating the story, which included Sajudin passing a lie-detector test, before editors put an end to the probe, per the Associated Press, the New Yorker, and fellow A.M.I. gossip website Radar.
When asked by the AP for comment, Dylan Howard, an Enquirer editor and A.M.I. executive, said the publication found Sajudin’s version of events “lacked any credibility.”
While the White House declined to comment, Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen told the AP he had discussed Sajudin with the Enquirer as the magazine embarked on its vetting process.
Cohen, however, denied knowing that a payment had been made beforehand.
Although no journalist has proven Sajudin’s claims, the payment is the second example of A.M.I. “catching and killing” a story that could have potentially damaged Trump’s chances before Election Day.
McDougal, who claims to have had an extramarital affair with Trump from 2006 to 2007, was paid $150,000 by A.M.I. in 2016 for exclusive rights to her story but an article was never published.
McDougal’s lawsuit alleges that Cohen was covertly involved in the deal.
Cohen’s home and office were raided by FBI agents on Tuesday seeking communications about whether he tried to keep salacious information about his boss from leaking out during the 2016 election season.
