Donald Trump 'had affair' with Playboy model Karen McDougal a decade ago, report alleges

Donald Trump had an affair with a Playboy model a decade ago, it has been alleged.

The consensual relationship began in 2006, after Mr Trump met model Karen McDougal at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, according to the New Yorker. At the time Mr Trump was married to his current wife Melania and had a young son, Barron.

In a statement to the New Yorker, the White House dismissed the allegation of an affair as “more fake news”.

“The President says he never had a relationship with McDougal,” the statement said.

American Media, Inc., a publisher whose titles include the tabloid the National Enquirer, acquired the rights to Ms McDougal’s story before the 2016 presidential election but elected not to run it, potentially indicating story-burying tactic known as “catch-and-kill”, according to the New Yorker.

In a statement to the Independent, an American Media, Inc spokesman said that the “suggestion that AMI engages in any practice that would allow it to hold influence over the President of the United States is laughable”.

The story marks the second time in a month that the White House has batted down allegations of an extramarital affair.

The Wall Street Journal reported in January that Mr Trump had engaged in an affair with an adult film actress named Stephanie Clifford — stage name Stormy Daniels — and that his attorney arranged a payment to keep her quiet.

While Mr Trump and Ms Clifford have denied that an affair occurred, Mr Trump’s attorney Roger Cohen this week acknowledged paying Ms Clifford.

“In a private transaction in 2016, I used my own personal funds to facilitate a payment of $130,000 to Ms. Stephanie Clifford,” Mr Cohen said in a statement to the media. “Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford, and neither reimbursed me for the payment, either directly or indirectly.”