Former Playboy model Karen McDougal is now free to discuss her alleged affair with President Trump, after reaching an agreement with the tabloid company that had prohibited her from speaking, according to McDougal. McDougal said she is “relieved to be able to tell the truth” about her story.
McDougal, who alleges she had a sexual relationship with Mr. Trump over 10 months in 2006 and 2007, had sued over the $150,000 contract she had with American Media, Inc., the company that owns The National Enquirer, for keeping her from speaking about it. McDougal’s lawyer previously said the AMI contract “controlled her life” and she “wanted out.” The lawsuit had claimed AMI worked secretly with Mr. Trump’s associates and McDougal’s own lawyer at the time, Keith Davidson, to bury her story about the alleged extramarital affair.
“I am pleased to have reached a settlement with AMI on my own terms, which restores to me the rights to my life story and frees me from this contract that I was misled into signing nearly two years ago,” McDougal said in a statement provided to CBS News.”My goal from the beginning was to restore my rights and not to achieve any financial gain, and this settlement does exactly that. I am relieved to be able to tell the truth about my story when asked, and I look forward to being able to return to my private life and focus on what matters to me. Thank you to my family, friends, legal team, and the public for the support I have received.”
McDougal’s lawyer, Peter Stris, said this latest agreement “makes right the wrongs that had been perpetrated against her.”
As a part of the agreement, McDougal will appear on the September issue cover of Men’s Journal, AMI will publish five additional health and fitness columns by her, and AMI will keep a financial interest in any re-sale of an exclusive of McDougal’s story, according to the company.
“AMI is pleased that we reached an amicable resolution with Karen today that provides both sides what they wanted as a result,” an AMI spokesperson said in a statement provided to CBS News.
Meanwhile, another lawsuit about an alleged affair with Mr. Trump continues. Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is suing Mr. Trump and his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, over a non-disclosure agreement she claims is invalid because Mr. Trump didn’t sign it. Cohen has admitted to paying her $130,000 in 2016, a payment Mr. Trump has claimed he was unaware of at the time.
—CBS News’ Paula Reid and Katie Ross Dominick contributed to this report.
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