Former Playboy model’s lawyer says she may still pursue Trump lawyer over contract to silence her story

The lawyer for former Playboy model Karen McDougal is holding out the possibility of taking legal action against Michael Cohen and McDougal’s former lawyer Keith Davidson.

The lawyer, Peter Stris, told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Wednesday that Cohen and Davidson were “carved out” of a settled lawsuit against the tabloid company American Media Inc., suggesting that they could still be subjected to legal action.

“Karen wants to enjoy her privacy, but we’ll see where things go,” Stris said. “There’s a lot of information that I have seen over time, and I’m very confident that Michael Cohen and Keith Davidson and others will have to account for the things they’ve done.”

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At issue is whether Cohen, a longtime personal lawyer for President Trump, coordinated with Davidson to mislead McDougal about a contract with AMI that barred her from speaking publicly about an alleged affair with Trump.

Stris told The New York Times on Wednesday that he had not ruled out pursuing legal action against Cohen or Davidson in the future should more information reveal they had inappropriate contact with one another.

A settlement agreement reached on Wednesday lets McDougal out of that contract with AMI.

The contract was originally negotiated between Davidson and AMI. But McDougal’s lawsuit against the tabloid company claimed that Cohen had been secretly involved in the negotiations.

While the settlement protects Trump being drawn into legal battles surrounding efforts to buy McDougal’s silence on the alleged affair, it does not offer the same protections to Cohen or Davidson.