Who is Karen McDougal, the second woman in Trump's case
Former United States President Donald Trump is facing criminal charges for allegedly paying adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to silence her over an affair right before the 2016 presidential elections. However, the prosecutor also mentioned another woman in the case, who claimed to have a 10-month affair with Trump. The woman is Karen McDougal. Here's everything to know about her.
McDougal is a former 'Playboy' magazine model
McDougal is a 52-year-old former model and actor from Gary, Indiana, who rose to fame for her work with Playboy magazine in the 1990s. Her achievements also include being the first woman to appear on the cover of Men's Fitness magazine in 1999. Moreover, the actor did several acting gigs, including a cameo in the film Charlie's Angels.
McDougal and Trump met in 2006
According to reports, McDougal said she met Trump at the Playboy mansion in 2006, where he was recording an episode of The Apprentice. They allegedly had a 10-month relationship between 2006 and 2007. At this point, the Republican leader had been married to Melania Trump for less than two years, and their son, Barron, was a few months old.
Our relationship was loving and consensual: McDougal
In an interview with CNN, the "1998 Playmate of the Year" described her relationship with Trump as loving and consensual. McDougal added that they saw each other at least five times a month and were together "many dozens of times," implying she had sex with him on several occasions. However, Trump has denied having a sexual affair with her.
McDougal was silenced before 2016 presidential election
In 2016, McDougal signed an exclusive deal with the tabloid newspaper, National Enquirer, to tell her story for $150,000. The article, however, was never published, and she later realized it was an attempt to silence her ahead of the presidential election. In 2021, it was found that the money, paid by the tabloid's publisher American Media, Inc. (AMI), amounted to an illegal campaign contribution.
McDougal sued the company in 2018
Per reports, the company had admitted to purchasing McDougal's story in a non-prosecution agreement with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in 2018. Meanwhile, McDougal also filed a lawsuit against AMI to end the contract that prevented her from going public with the story. The same year, she also publicly apologized to Trump's wife, saying, "I'm sorry. I wouldn't want it done to me."
McDougal's information being used as background for Daniels's case
For now, the case against Trump is solely targeted toward the hush money payments to Daniels. The details regarding McDougal and Trump's alleged affair are contained in the district attorney's statement of facts as background information. On Tuesday, Trump pleaded not guilty after being accused of 34 felony counts, including falsifying business records, and slammed President Joe Biden for allegedly targeting Republicans.
