Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators

by Ronan Farrow

On August 5, 2016, McDougal signed a limited life-story rights agreement granting AMI exclusive ownership of her account of any relationship she’d had with any “then-married man.” Her retainer with Davidson made explicit that the man in question was Donald Trump. In exchange, AMI agreed to pay her $150,000. The three men involved in the deal—Davidson, Crawford, and Grdina—took 45 percent of the payment as fees, leaving McDougal with a total of $82,500. The day she signed the contract, McDougal emailed Davidson to express confusion over what she was signing up for, and how she’d have to respond to questions from reporters. “If you deny, you are safe,” Davidson wrote. “We really do need to get this signed and wrapped up…” “I’m the one who took it, so it’s my fault, too,” McDougal told me. “But I didn’t understand the full parameters of it.”