Trump Hush Money Trial: Karen McDougal’s Attorney Details “Catch And Kill” Deal With National Enquirer
30.04.2024 - 20:25
/ deadline.com
UPDATE: Jurors in the Trump hush money trial got a glimpse at how National Enquirer won the rights to former Playboy model Karen McDougal’s story of an alleged affair with The Apprentice host — all for the purpose of making sure that the claim never saw the light of day.
Texts seen by jurors today between Keith Davidson, a lawyer for former Playboy model Karen McDougal, and Dylan Howard, editor in chief of the National Enquirer, showed the negotiations over rights to McDougal’s “blockbuster” story of the affair.
“I have a blockbuster Trump story,” Davidson texted Howard on June 7, 2016. On the witness stand in Trump’s hush-money trial, Davidson said he was referring to McDougal’s claim of a romantic and sexual relationship with the soon-to-be GOP presidential nominee. When he offered more details later on, Howard texted, “I would get you more than ANYONE for it. You know why.”
Asked by Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass what Howard meant by that, Davidson said, “I knew that Dylan’s boss, David Pecker, and Mr. Trump were longtime friends.”
Howard, Davidson and McDougal met in Davidson’s Los Angeles office on June 20 in what the lawyer described as “sort of a proffer session” to spell out McDougal’s story and gauge interest from the Enquirer and its parent company American Media, which Pecker ran. Over the next month, Davidson said he was also talking to an ABC News journalist, Brian Ross, about McDougal’s story. On July 21 he texted, “Better be quick,” to Howard.
“I was trying to play two entities off of each other … to create a sense of urgency, if you will,” Davidson testified.
Two days later, Howard texted, “Get me a price on McDougal,” describing his company as “all in” on a deal that would include a