The $US130,000 hush agreement was intended to prevent her from speaking out about an alleged affair that began, Daniels said, at a celebrity golf tournament in 2006.

Zervos first made public her claims against Trump at an October 2016 news conference, as one of a parade of women who accused him of misconduct after the release of an "Access Hollywood" recording capturing the future president boasting in graphic language about groping women. At a presidential debate, Trump denied ever doing the things he described in the recording, which some of his accusers said prompted them to come forward.

Zervos has accused Trump of aggressively kissing her and groping her breasts while she was pursuing a job at his company, charges he said were untrue.

In January 2017, Zervos filed a suit in the New York State Supreme Court against Trump, arguing that Trump defamed her by denying her account and calling his accusers "liars".

Attorneys for Trump pushed back on multiple fronts, arguing that the suit was "politically motivated" and was built around "allegations of events that never occurred".

A former Playboy model who says she was paid $US150,000 to keep quiet about her affair with Trump also filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to invalidate the deal so she can speak freely.

The model, Karen McDougal, filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against American Media, the owner of the National Enquirer, which paid her the money in exchange for her silence.

The lawsuit comes a month after the New Yorker reported on the alleged affair and a move by American Media to pay McDougal for exclusive rights to her story, which it never published.

The New Yorker article noted that American Media head David Pecker has described Trump as a "personal friend".

"AMI lied to me, made empty promises, and repeatedly intimidated and manipulated me," McDougal, who was Playboy magazine's 1998 Playmate of the Year, said in a statement on Tuesday.

"I just want the opportunity to set the record straight and move on with my life, free from this company, its executives, and its lawyers."

The Washington Post, Reuters