Salacious details of Donald Trump’s alleged affair with former Playboy model Karen McDougal were revealed in court Tuesday, as her shocked son, Eric, sat just feet away.
Legal proceedings surrounding the former president’s secret criminal trial continued, with at least three witnesses appearing Tuesday. Trump’s son Eric appeared in court alongside his father, marking the first time a member of the former president’s family attended the trial, the Mirror reports.
Keith Davidson, McDougal’s former lawyer, said he did not clearly remember the exact duration of Trump’s alleged affair with the model. However, he said it lasted “several weeks, if not several months, if not longer.”
The 1998 Playmate of the Year claims she had a 10-month relationship with Trump starting in 2006. They reportedly met while filming an episode of Celebrity Apprentice at the Playboy mansion. Last week, the New York court jury heard that the publisher of the National Enquirer tabloid paid McDougal $150,000 (£120,000) to keep the affair secret.
Davidson also served as adult film star Stormy Daniels’ legal representative during secret money negotiations. Daniels allegedly received $130,000 (£104,000) from Trump to keep quiet about her alleged one-time sexual relationship with him before the 2016 presidential election. Trump has always refuted any allegations of an affair with Daniels and McDougal.
Davidson testified at trial that he met McDougal 25 years ago through a friend and began representing her in 2016 “to provide her with advice and guidance regarding her rights and obligations regarding a personal interaction she would have had”.
“With whom?” » asked prosecutor Joshua Steinglass. “Donald Trump,” he replied. Shortly after Davidson began representing McDougal, he said, he contacted Dylan Howard, the editor of the National Enquirer, promising a “Trump success story.”
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Howard responded shortly after: “I’ll get you more than anyone. You know why.” As the text messages were displayed on screens for the jury, Davidson testified that he didn’t know exactly what Howard meant at the time. But, he noted, “I knew that Dylan’s boss, David Pecker, and Mr. Trump were longtime friends and had a previous business relationship,” he said, adding that the tabloid had effectively “supported Mr. Trump’s candidacy.”
Pecker, former CEO of American Media Inc, was called to the witness stand Friday. He told the court that his company, which published the Enquirer, purchased McDougal’s article with the intention of suppressing it for the Trump campaign.
Davidson also testified that he pitted the National Enquirer and ABC News against each other to get the best deal for his client. McDougal didn’t want to tell his story publicly, which would have been necessary if it had gone to ABC, he said.
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