Melania Trump Comforted by Hope Hicks and Sarah Sanders During Karen McDougal Affair Rumors, Says Aide

Melania Trump's former spokesperson claimed former White House communications director Hope Hicks and former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders would regularly check in with the then-first lady to see how she was dealing with the rumors of Donald Trump's alleged affair with Playboy model Karen McDougal, RadarOnline.com has learned.

Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified in a case involving alleged hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels. He shed some light on a joint call he had with Hicks and Sanders about a "catch-and-kill" contract given to McDougal and whether they should extend the deal further.

"Both of them said that they thought it was a good idea," Pecker told the court.

The outlet ultimately did not extend the contract. However, they allegedly settled a lawsuit that McDougal filed against them to get her lifetime rights back.

McDougal was reportedly paid $150,000 for her allegation of an affair with Trump, which the former president denies to this day.

Stephanie Grisham, the former first lady's ex-spokesperson, clarified that she was kept in the dark about any financial arrangements related to the rumors surrounding McDougal and the National Enquirer.

"Funny, they'd call me a lot to find out how MT was reacting to all the Clifford/McDougal news, but didn't bother to share any of this info w me," Grisham wrote on X.

“A couple of times I came close to telling Mrs. Trump about the president's behavior. I thought that if she would say one little word to him about it, she could make it stop. But I could never bring myself to say anything,” Grisham wrote in her book, I’ll Take Your Questions Now: What I Saw in The White House, adding she ultimately decided against telling the former FLOTUS. “Maybe it wasn't my place or any of my business.”

Trump faces 34 felony challenges for an alleged $130,000 payment to Daniels, made during the 2016 campaign, to keep her quiet about her allegation of an affair.

Pecker said he put his foot down when it came to Daniels' claims - telling the jurors, "I am not paying for this story."

The former publisher was allegedly $180,000 in the hole on other Trump-related stories when the Daniels story came along.

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Pecker testified that the then-president asked him for an update on McDougal as they were heading over to have dinner with Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and press adviser Sean Spicer.

He recalled the GOP leader asking, "How's Karen doing?" as they walked past the Rose Garden from the Oval Office to the dining room. "I said she´s doing well, she´s quiet, everything´s going good," Pecker testified.