Explained | Who Is Karen McDougal, Key Witness In Trump's Hush Money Trial?

As Donald Trump's hush money trial enters its second week, preparations are underway by lawyers to question witnesses, with former Playboy model Karen McDougal topping the list.

Donald Trump was recorded secretly by his longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, discussing payments to Playboy model Karen McDougal, with whom he allegedly had an affair, and the recording is now in the hands of the FBI. Although Karen's potential testimony does not directly implicate Trump, her involvement adds intrigue to the trial.

Photo Credit: x-@AnnieForTruth

Who is Karen McDougal?

Karen is a former Playboy model and claims she had an affair with Trump for 10 months in 2006. It has been alleged that Trump instructed his lawyer Michael Cohen to negotiate a 'catch and kill' deal with McDougal via the US tabloid National Enquirer. The tabloid reportedly paid the playboy model $150,000 for the rights to her story, which was tacitly funded by Trump through Cohen.

Unaware of the specifics of the deal, Karen later sued the tabloid, which was also fined $187,500 by the Federal Election Commission for issuing the payment with the intent of influencing the election.

"AMI (owner of National Enquirer) lied to me, made empty promises and repeatedly intimidated and manipulated me," McDougal said in a statement. "I just want the opportunity to set the record straight and move on with my life, free from this company, its executives and its lawyers."

How will Karen's testimony impact Trump's case?

David Pecker, the former owner of the National Enquirer, will be questioned over the tabloid's "catch-and-kill" strategy, which focused on the company's tactic of routinely paying for scandalous stories that it didn't publish. These stories included anti-Trump stories that were purchased and not published.

As the CEO of AMI, Pecker allegedly met Trump and his lawyer, Cohen, in 2015 to "help deal with negative stories about Trump" by purchasing them and not publishing them.

The facts surrounding Karen's story will support the prosecution's argument that Trump had been working closely with tabloids to suppress negative news.