It has been reported that Manhattan DA’s investigators probing the Daniels case have inquired about payments made to other Playboy models.
Playboy magazine dubbed Karen McDougal “Playmate of the Year” in 1998, and Trump allegedly paid her $150,000 to keep quiet about the 10-month romance she claims to have had with the president.
Prosecutors, it is speculated, could use this material to file additional charges against Trump or demonstrate a pattern of conduct.
New York authorities are reportedly looking into a payment of $150,000 to a former Playboy model as part of their investigation into whether or not to press charges against Donald Trump for giving “hush money” to Stormy Daniels.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s office has interviewed grand jury witnesses about payments made to “Playmate of the Year” for Playboy magazine in 1998, Karen McDougal.
McDougal claims she had a ten-month romance with Trump beginning in 2006. On Thursday, a statement from Trump’s staff called the report a “hoax.”
Trump’s alleged payment of $130,000 to porn actress Daniels to keep silent about their alleged affair is currently being reviewed by a grand jury. The donation was made prior to the 2016 presidential election.
The new information about payments to McDougal could be used to either bring new charges or demonstrate a “pattern of behavior,” according to sources quoted by the Wall Street Journal.
A Trump aide expressed sadness that “radical Democrats and their media allies are trying to bring back a dead witch hunt.”
There is no offense, other than using our judicial system against Trump and his followers to meddle with the election, as has been the case with every other hoax used against President Trump.
Neither Bragg’s office nor McDougal’s attorney had commented on the newest developments as of Thursday afternoon.
In 2016, McDougal was given $150,000 by American Media Inc., owner of the National Enquirer, for the exclusive rights to a story about her alleged romance with Trump, which he denies. However, the acquisition served as a means of suppressing the news from reaching the general populace.
To “keep it from affecting the election,” the Federal Election Commission later concluded that the business and its former president, David Pecker, had struck an agreement with Trump officials to bury the story.
According to the FEC ruling, Pecker and AMI had a meeting with former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to discuss suppressing negative press coverage of the president and his personal life.
McDougal received $150,000 from AMI, which was determined to be “coordinated” with the Trump campaign.
On Monday, Pecker testified before the Trump grand jury.
At a moment when Trump’s team is growing increasingly confident that Bragg will abandon his case, the grand jury’s investigation into the McDougal payment comes as a surprise.
This week, the grand jury announced that it would be taking a monthlong break from reviewing evidence, giving Trump renewed optimism that he would be exonerated. This is just the “first step,” according to the former president’s staff.
In order to press accusations against Trump for violating campaign finance rules, Bragg convened a grand jury earlier this month.
Juries must determine if Trump committed a crime when his attorney, Michael Cohen, allegedly paid a woman $130,000 to silence her testimony that he had sexual relations with her.