The president and the porn star sounds like a twisted variant on a fairy tale, or one of those Hollywood rom-coms, or maybe something from the oeuvre of Stephanie Clifford. Now Daniels is enmeshed in a legal battle with President Trump over a purported affair and charges that Trump, through an intermediary, bought her silence in the waning days of the presidential race. On Tuesday, former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal filed suit in Los Angeles to abrogate her own confidentiality agreement, saying she wishes to tell the world of an alleged affair with Trump. More than just a tawdry he-said, she-said, the controversy threatens to further undermine a president already saddled with strong disapproval ratings and a probe into Russian interference in the presidential race, dampening Republican enthusiasm and possibly costing the GOP control of Congress in November.