National Enquirer up for sale

THE supermarket tabloid under fire for paying hush money to a former Playboy model to help Donald Trump in his 2016 presidential campaign is on the auction block.

The parent of the National Enquirer said yesterday that it is exploring a possible sale as part of a “strategic” review of its tabloid business.

The decision by American Media comes after the tabloid said it paid $150,000 to keep Karen McDougal quiet about an alleged affair with Trump and being accused by Amazon chief Jeff Bezos of blackmail.

American Media said it was considering a sale so it could focus more on other parts of its business, including its teen brand and broadcast platforms. “Because of this focus, we feel the future opportunities with the tabloids can be best exploited by a different ownership,” said American Media CEO David Pecker in a statement.

Pecker is a longtime Trump ally who helped bury potentially embarrassing stories about the future president over the years by paying hush money in a tabloid practice called “catch-and-kill”.

The Associated Press reported last year that Pecker kept a safe that held documents on hush money payments and killed stories, including records on ones involving Trump.

In August, the US attorney’s office in Manhattan agreed not to prosecute American Media in exchange for the company’s cooperation in its investigation of campaign violations. That probe eventually led to a three-year prison term for Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen for campaign violations among other charges.

In addition to the National Enquirer, American Media said it was also considering selling two other brands, Globe and

National Examiner. American Media owns news, celebrity and sports publications such as

Us Weekly, Star, OK!, In Touch, Life & Style, Men’s Journal, Muscle & Fitness, Snowboarder and Surfer.