A playboy model who had an alleged affair with Donald Trump wanted to keep quiet about it over fears she'd end up being the next Monica Lewinsky.
As National Enquirer head David Pecker testifies before a New York City court on his relationship with Donald Trump as part of the hush money case involving two women who say they'd had relations with the ex-President, the publisher revealed Playboy model Karen McDougal preferred to keep quiet.
David Pecker says the former editor-in-chief of the National Enquirer, Dylan Howard, told him about Karen McDougal after meeting with her. McDougal apparently told Howard she didn't want her story out there. She feared ending up like Ms Lewinsky, who gained celebrity status after her affair with Bill Clinton came to light.
"She said she didn’t want to be the next Monica Lewinsky … She wanted to restart her career," revealed Pecker, poignantly, on the same morning that Harvey Weinstein's New York court case was overturned.
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Playmate Karen McDougal in 2007, around the time the alleged affair was happening (Getty Images)
McDougal has reiterated that her only goal was to say the 'truth' (FilmMagic)Though these aren't McDougal's own words, she's likely to testify later on in the trial - most women will have no doubts about Pecker's claims - which are under oath.
In August 2016, the tabloid’s parent company, American Media Inc., paid McDougal $150,000 for the rights to her story about the alleged relationship, but the story never ran.
David Pecker, the publisher of the Enquirer, is now on the stand to explain why the story didn't run. He had admitted to using 'catch-and-kill' tactics to stop certain stories from embarrassing Trump. But interestingly, he also detailed how the story of Karen McDougal came around - claiming that McDougal was receiving multiple offers for her story but hesitant to put it out there.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaking at construction site in NYC (Getty Images)And considering that their affair ended in 2007, less than 10 years after the Monica Lewinsky debacle, it's a pertinent point. Donald Trump's lawyers will get their chance to cross-examine McDougal if she testifies at this trial - and likely will go after her character as a means to discredit her. Sound familiar?
Clinton's infamous 1998 speech has become etched into the global psyche and is the starting point of then-22-year-old Monica Lewinsky's troubles. It was a lesson women throughout America would learn.
"I... did... not... have... sexual relations... with... that... woman," Bill Clinton asserted, pointing his finger in the air to feign anger and concern over the accusations.
The media frenzy transformed Lewinsky into a figure of ridicule and speculation. Lewinsky was labelled either a harlot or a 'naive casualty,' becaming an emblem of female empowerment. Lewinsky was all at once alluring and derided for her appearance, cast as both quintessentially feminine and unfeminine.
A 1992 photo shows then Governor of Arkansas Bill Clinton (L) and his wife Hillary (R) embracing (AFP via Getty Images)Her very name became shorthand for an intimate act, and her public shaming turned into a national pastime.
"I became a social representation," Lewinsky would reflect in a piece for Vanity Fair, "a social canvas on which anybody could project their confusion about women, sex, infidelity, politics, and body issues."
Monica Lewinsky pictured in 2022 (Getty Images)Karen McDougal says it was precisely this Monica Lewinsky effect, this Madonna-Whore complex, that she wanted to avoid when the National Enquirer negotiated to buy her story. It could have also come out much earlier, instead of in the midst of Trump's election campaign when he had plenty of staffers working overtime to cover up those stories he didn't want - i.e. his relationship with Pecker.
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But Pecker explains that he was facing pressure from Michael Cohen, who he believed was acting on behalf of Donald Trump, 'the boss,' and so they found a way to pay McDougal for her story, avoid publishing her statement, and cover up the payment by marking it down as work she did for the Enquirer.
When asked if his main aim in purchasing Karen McDougal's story was to suppress it and prevent it from interfering in the election, David Pecker responded: "Yes it was."
Though, none of Trump's allegations against women seem to stick - over 26 women in total have accused 'the Donald' of sexual assault and rape.
David Pecker testified that Karen McDougal's contract with American Media Inc included clauses that she would write fitness columns, among other things, to justify the $150,000 they were paying her. However, he testified that the real purpose of the agreement was to buy her story about having an affair with Donald Trump.
Trump with Karen McDougal (Karen McDougal/Twitter)Pecker wanted to mask the true intent of the agreement for campaign finance reasons. It's important to note that Pecker has not said Trump or Michael Cohen directed him to do this. Rather, it's something he of his own volition.
When asked why AMI paid Karen McDougal, David Pecker paused for a few seconds. "We purchased the story so it wouldn't be published by any other organization."
When asked to clarify, Pecker reiterated: "We didn't want this story to embarrass Mr Trump or embarrass or hurt the campaign... 'we' being myself and Michael Cohen."
Later, a lawsuit was filed by McDougal, seeking rights to her own story. At the time, McDougal told CNN that she was keen to regain control of her narrative and was not attempting to further profit from her story.
"The story is out there now," she stated. "I'm not telling the nitty gritty details, as you can see. I'm very selective in what I'm saying about our relationship. I'm not out to make money on this. I'm out to get my rights back, to prove a contract was illegal, that I was taken advantage of and go back to my life. Period."
In 2018, The New Yorker released an article referencing an eight-page document penned by McDougal regarding the alleged affair. This document, provided to the magazine by a friend, was verified by McDougal herself.
McDougal has since publicly apologized to Melania in a bombshell statement, and has reiterated that she was a Trump-voting Republican and simply wants the truth out there. Donald Trump has repeatedly denied the affair.
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