President Donald Trump. Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta/APWoman Who Claims Affair With Trump Sues Fox News, Alleging Slander
McDougal filed suit in Manhattan's New York County Supreme Court, but Fox News attorney Shawn Patrick Regan of Hunton Andrews Kurth quickly filed a notice of removal to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
December 05, 2019 at 07:04 PM
3 minute read
Karen McDougal, the former Playboy model who has said she had a 10-month affair with President Donald Trump around 2006, sued the Fox News Network for slander Thursday.
Trump has denied the affair repeatedly.
In McDougal's complaint, personal injury lawyer Eric Bernstein quoted Tucker Carlson's comments on a December 2018 episode of his show, "Tucker Carlson Tonight."
Carlson said two women had "threatened to ruin" Trump's career and "humiliate his family" if he didn't give them money, according to the complaint. Carlson described this as a "classic case of extortion." He showed a photo of McDougal onscreen, according to the complaint.
In a statement reported by The New York Times, Fox News said it would "vigorously defend Tucker Carlson against these meritless claims."
McDougal filed suit in Manhattan's New York County Supreme Court, but Fox News attorney Shawn Patrick Regan of Hunton Andrews Kurth quickly filed a notice of removal to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Regan declined to comment Thursday.
McDougal was paid $150,000 to turn over the rights to her story of any affair in a 2016 deal with American Media Inc., the parent company of the National Enquirer. Trump's representatives have denied the affair.
The payment later became part of an investigation involving former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who was sentenced to three years in federal prison for tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations related to the AMI deal.
AMI entered into a nonprosecution agreement with prosecutors in the Southern District of New York after its role in suppressing McDougal's allegations came to light, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced in late 2018.
In McDougal's complaint, Bernstein wrote that no one involved in the payment indicated that she extorted Trump.
The goal throughout the payment process was to prevent the affair allegation from influencing Trump's ongoing presidential campaign, Bernstein wrote. The timing of McDougal and Trump's alleged affair coincided with the early stages of his marriage to Melania Trump and the birth of their son Barron.
Bernstein cited a recording Cohen made of Trump discussing the payment.
"Trump can be heard voluntarily suggesting a cash payment to McDougal without any suggestion of extortion or threats," Bernstein wrote.
Regan, the Fox News lawyer, declined to comment Thursday. In a statement reported by The New York Times, Fox News said it would "vigorously defend Tucker Carlson against these meritless claims."
Bernstein did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
'No Evidence'?: Big Law Firms Defend Academic Publishers in EDNY Antitrust Case
3 minute read
Dapper Labs $4M Settlement, $1.3M in Attorney Fees Reveal NFT Settlement Trend
4 minute read
Syracuse Courtroom Dedicated to Trailblazing City Court Judge Langston McKinney
Law Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1Infant Formula Judge Sanctions Kirkland's Jim Hurst: 'Overtly Crossed the Lines'
- 2Abbott, Mead Johnson Win Defense Verdict Over Preemie Infant Formula
- 3Trump Files $10B Suit Against CBS in Amarillo Federal Court
- 4Preparing Your Law Firm for 2025: Smart Ways to Embrace AI & Other Technologies
- 5Guarantees Are Back, Whether Law Firms Want to Talk About Them or Not
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
