Tiny Red HandsBack

AMI pays $150,000 for Karen McDougal's story and suppresses it before the election

Date
2016-08-05
Entry type
catch-and-kill-payment
Current status
Payment completed; conduct incorporated into Cohen's campaign-finance conviction

Cohen's guilty plea established the payment's principal purpose and his coordination with the campaign.

Entities and roles

Relationships in this file

  1. Donald J. Trumppersonal attorney and Trump Organization executiveMichael Cohen
  2. Michael Cohencampaign-payment coordination counterpartiesAmerican Media Inc.
  3. American Media Inc.story-rights purchase agreementKaren McDougal

Money trail

  1. paymentAMI story-rights payment$150,000
    Paid by / source
    American Media Inc.
    Received by
    Karen McDougal
    realized · 2016-08-05 · observedPopulation AMI payment to Karen McDougal under the August 2016 agreementPeriod 2016-08-05 to 2016-08-05Basis Use the payment stated in Cohen's criminal plea record; do not treat promised editorial features as cash.Limits The source establishes the gross payment, not taxes, legal fees, or McDougal's net proceeds.Open cited evidence

Claims and evidence

  1. factconvicted

    AMI paid Karen McDougal $150,000 for limited story rights and promised media features, but Cohen's plea record says the principal purpose understood by participants was to prevent her account of an alleged Trump relationship from influencing the election. Cohen coordinated with AMI and campaign members. The amount is a publisher-to-rightsholder payment, not money received by Cohen or Trump.