The parent company of the National Enquirer has admitted to federal prosecutors that its principal purpose in paying former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal $150,000 ahead of the 2016 election was to suppress her story about an alleged affair with Donald Trump for the explicit purpose of improving the then-candidates chances of victory.

The decision, the company also said, was made in direct cooperation, consultation and concert with one or more members of the Trump campaign.

At the bottom of a Wednesday press release touting the sentencing of former Trump personal lawyer Michael Cohen , the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York revealed that it had recently reached a non-prosecution agreement with American Media Inc., which owns tabloids including the National Enquirer.