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The National Enquirer paid McDougal $150,000 for the rights to the story in August 2016 and suppressed the story. The Enquirer had endorsed Trump for the 2016 election and its CEO was friends with Trump. The Enquirer was later fined by the FEC for violating US election laws for the "catch and kill".

Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, admitted to paying hush money "at the direction of a candidate of federal office [...] with the purpose of influencing the election" to McDougal and Stomry Daniels. He also released a recording where he and Trump discussed either paying McDougal directly or paying the National Enquirer for the story.

References

• Donald Trump, a Playboy Model, and a System for Concealing Infidelity (newyorker.com)
• Karen McDougal: Trump escapes fine in Playboy model payment case (bbc.com)