THE National Enquirer paid a Playboy model $150,000 for the story of her alleged affair with Donald Trump but failed to run the story.

Karen McDougal insists she had a 10-month affair with the Republican candidate in 2006, a year after he married third wife Melania, according to the Wall Street journal.

The National Enquirer reportedly paid McDougal, the 1998 Playmate of the year, six figures for the information, yet never published any of the allegations.

McDougal and American Media Inc, which owns the National Enquirer, reportedly agreed to the transaction in early August, according to the Wall Street Journal.

American Media Inc claimed in a statement that the $150,000 was for the exclusive life rights to any story related to a relationship McDougal may have had with a married man.

It is also believed to have covered payment for fitness columns written by her.

The National Enquirer has supported presidential candidate Trump throughout his bid for the White House.

In a statement, the company said: "AMI has not paid people to kill damaging stories about Mr Trump."

In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, AMI CEO David Pecker said it was known that he and Trump are friends.

But he claimed the publication is impartial and used the example of the National Enquirer's coverage of Trump's affair with Marla Maples while he was married to his first wife Ivana as proof.

Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks said the alleged affair with McDougal was "totally untrue" and said the campaign had no knowledge of a possible agreement with the ex-Playmate.</s>The company that owns the National Enquirer, a backer of Donald Trump, agreed to pay $150,000 to a former Playboy centerfold model for her story of an affair a decade ago with the Republican presidential nominee, but then didn’t publish it, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and people familiar with the matter.

The tabloid-newspaper publisher reached an agreement in early August with Karen McDougal, the 1998 Playmate of the Year. American Media Inc., which owns the Enquirer, hasn’t published anything about what she has told friends was a consensual romantic relationship she had with Mr. Trump in 2006. At the time, Mr. Trump was married to his current wife, Melania.

Quashing stories that way is known in the tabloid world as “catch and kill.”

In a written statement, the company said it wasn’t buying Ms. McDougal’s story for $150,000, but rather two years’ worth of her fitness columns and magazine covers as well as exclusive life rights to any relationship she has had with a then-married man. “AMI has not paid people to kill damaging stories about Mr. Trump,” the statement said.

Hope Hicks, a Trump campaign spokeswoman, said of the agreement with Ms. McDougal: “We have no knowledge of any of this.” She said that Ms. McDougal’s claim of an affair with Mr. Trump was “totally untrue.”

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The National Enquirer reportedly paid former Playboy model Karen McDougal US$150,000 for a story about an alleged affair she had with Donald Trump in 2006. The tabloid however suppressed the story.