[USA TODAY] NEW YORK ‐ The owner of the National Enquirer has admitted the company paid off a former Playboy model to squelch her account of an alleged sexual affair that could have jeopardized Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.New York federal prosecutors on Wednesday disclosed that the intent of a $150,000 payment American Media Inc. gave the woman in August 2016 "was to suppress the model's story so as to prevent it from influencing the election."
Without naming Trump, prosecutors released a nonprosecution agreement with American Media that said the transaction was made "in cooperation, consultation, and concert with ... one or more members or agents of a candidate's 2016 presidential campaign."
The filing similarly did not identify Karen McDougal, the former Playboy model who contacted a National Enquirer editor in June 2016 in an effort to sell her account of a 10-month sexual affair she said she'd had with Trump in 2006 and 2007.
However, the outlines of the nonprosecution agreement generally match McDougal's previous public statements about Trump and the National Enquirer.