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 By Tom Winter and David K. Li 
 
 The company that publishes the National Enquirer admitted that it paid $150,000 in hush money to silence alleged mistresses of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump prior to the 2016 election, prosecutors said Wednesday. 
 
 The publisher, American Media Inc., will avoid prosecution by stipulating that it worked with Trump's campaign to buy the silence of women — who have identified themselves as adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal — ahead of the vote two years ago, prosecutors said. 
 
 The agreement between prosecutors and AMI was signed and dated Sept. 21. 
 
 Trump's former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday for lying to investigators about the hush-money operation. 
 
 "As a part of the agreement, AMI admitted that it made the $150,000 payment in concert with a candidate’s presidential campaign, and in order to ensure that the woman did not publicize damaging allegations about the candidate," according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York. 
 
 "AMI further admitted that its principal purpose in making the payment was to suppress the woman’s story so as to prevent it from influencing the election." 
 
 The practice, known in the industry as "catch-and-kill," paid women for the exclusive rights to their story, with the intention of never actually publishing them. 
 
 A representative for AMI and the company's CEO, David Pecker, a long-time ally of Trump's, declined comment on Wednesday. 
 
 AMI officials will avoid any prosecution as long as they continue to cooperate with investigators, prosecutors said. 
 
 "Assuming AMI’s continued compliance with the agreement, the Office has agreed not to prosecute AMI for its role in that payment," according to the statement by the U.S. Attorney's office. 
 
 "The agreement also acknowledges, among other things, AMI’s acceptance of responsibility, its substantial and important assistance in this investigation, and its agreement to provide cooperation in the future and implement specific improvements to its internal compliance to prevent future violations of the federal campaign finance laws." ||||| Former Playboy model Karen McDougal is now free to discuss her alleged affair with President Trump, after reaching an agreement with the tabloid company that had prohibited her from speaking, according to McDougal. McDougal said she is "relieved to be able to tell the truth" about her story. 
 
 McDougal, who alleges she had a sexual relationship with Mr. Trump over 10 months in 2006 and 2007, had sued over the $150,000 contract she had with American Media, Inc., the company that owns The National Enquirer, for keeping her from speaking about it. McDougal's lawyer previously said the AMI contract "controlled her life" and she "wanted out." The lawsuit had claimed AMI worked secretly with Mr. Trump's associates and McDougal's own lawyer at the time, Keith Davidson, to bury her story about the alleged extramarital affair. 
 
 "I am pleased to have reached a settlement with AMI on my own terms, which restores to me the rights to my life story and frees me from this contract that I was misled into signing nearly two years ago," McDougal said in a statement provided to CBS News."My goal from the beginning was to restore my rights and not to achieve any financial gain, and this settlement does exactly that. I am relieved to be able to tell the truth about my story when asked, and I look forward to being able to return to my private life and focus on what matters to me. Thank you to my family, friends, legal team, and the public for the support I have received." 
 
 McDougal's lawyer, Peter Stris, said this latest agreement "makes right the wrongs that had been perpetrated against her." 
 
 As a part of the agreement, McDougal will appear on the September issue cover of Men's Journal, AMI will publish five additional health and fitness columns by her, and AMI will keep a financial interest in any re-sale of an exclusive of McDougal's story, according to the company. 
 
 "AMI is pleased that we reached an amicable resolution with Karen today that provides both sides what they wanted as a result," an AMI spokesperson said in a statement provided to CBS News. 
 
 Meanwhile, another lawsuit about an alleged affair with Mr. Trump continues. Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is suing Mr. Trump and his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, over a non-disclosure agreement she claims is invalid because Mr. Trump didn't sign it. Cohen has admitted to paying her $130,000 in 2016, a payment Mr. Trump has claimed he was unaware of at the time. 
 
 —CBS News' Paula Reid and Katie Ross Dominick contributed to this report.
– The US attorney's office in New York says it won't prosecute the National Enquirer's parent company over its efforts to suppress an embarrassing story about Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, the AP reports. The agreement was announced Wednesday shortly after former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison. Cohen's crimes included working with American Media Inc. to buy the silence of women who say they had affairs with Trump. The president denies the allegations. Like Cohen, the tabloid publisher admitted it was trying to influence the election by protecting Trump from a damaging story. As part of the deal, AMI acknowledged it made $150,000 in hush money payments "in concert" with the Trump campaign with the intent of influencing the election. Per NBC News, the payments went to former Playboy model Karen McDougal and adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The deal, which was signed and dated Sept. 21, requires AMI to cooperate with federal prosecutors in any investigation. (Click for more on Cohen, who got some leniency.)