March, so far, has been an interesting month for President Trump. Karen McDougal is the second woman to file a lawsuit in the past couple of weeks asking to be released from a legal agreement regarding the President.
A $150,000 deal between Karen McDougal and American Media Inc., which owns The National Enquirer, requires McDougal's silence. Like Stormy Daniels, McDougal is claiming that she was misled by signing the deal as it was influenced by Michael D. Cohen, President Trump's lawyer.
When news came out hinting at McDougal and President Trumps affair early 2016, she decided to get ahead of the story and sell it herself. McDougal hired the same lawyer as Stormy Daniels, Keith Davidson, who informed her that her story could sell for millions of dollars. Mr. Davidson has a history of convincing clients to sell their stories to tabloids.
Initially, McDougal and her lawyer, Davidson, were with the intention that they were selling the story to American Media Inc. (A.M.I.). The company at first found the story to be false and canceled the deal made with McDougal. Later, A.M.I. pitched another deal to McDougal, this time with significantly less money. However, the deal also included 2 cover features of McDougal on its magazine as well as more than 100 columns. This was beneficial for McDougal as she is a fitness specialist looking to boost her career.
In McDougal's complaint, she claims that the company had ulterior motives when interviewing and investigating her story for multiple days. She believes the company A.M.I.'s chief executive, David J. Pecker, wished to buy and bury the story to protect his good friend, Donald Trump.
The New York Times reports that A.M.I. does have a history of buying and burying stories also known as "catch and kill."
McDougal is also claiming that her previous lawyer Keith Davidson forced her into signing the deal. Reportedly, when she asked her lawyer, Davidson, what to do if her story leaked, she was urged to deny everything and urgently sign the deal. Davidson and others involved in the legal deal for $150,000 were taking 45% of the payment.