In an unprecedented event in American history, a former president is facing the possibility of being indicted and charged with criminal offenses. Donald Trump, the former president, has been involved in several legal cases, but it is the matter of hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels that could potentially lead to his downfall.
The issue centers around a payment of $130,000 that Daniels claims she received during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair they had in 2006. Reportedly, the affair occurred shortly after Trump’s wife Melania gave birth to their son, Barron.
Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer,” Michael Cohen, admitted to making the payment on Trump’s orders and was subsequently imprisoned on federal charges related to the matter. However, Trump managed to avoid any repercussions at the time, but it seems that he may finally face the consequences of his actions this week.
Who is Stormy Daniels?
Stephanie Clifford, known professionally as Stormy Daniels, was a well-established adult entertainment actress and director when she allegedly had an affair with Donald Trump.
With several awards to her name, Stormy graduated from Scotlandville Magnet High School with aspirations to become a journalist. However, her career took a different path when she visited a friend at a strip club at the age of 17 and began performing herself in Baton Rouge.
Soon after, she changed her name to Stormy Daniels, inspired by the American rock band Mötley Crüe and the band’s bassist, Nikki Sixx, who named his daughter Storm. Stormy went on to have a successful career as an adult film actress and director, as well as making appearances in mainstream TV shows and movies.
She was featured in the Steve Carell-starring film, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and appeared as a pole dancer in the Maroon 5 music video, Wake Up Call. In 2010, Stormy briefly ventured into politics and sought a Republican Senate nomination in Louisiana against David Vitter but withdrew from the race due to financial constraints and criticized the media for not taking her candidacy seriously.
What Stormy says about her liaison with Trump
During an interview with 60 Minutes in 2018, Stormy Daniels discussed her alleged relationship with Donald Trump in great detail. She claims to have met Trump in July 2006 at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, where they talked about the television industry since Trump was appearing on The Apprentice at the time.
Trump invited her to dinner, where he suggested she could appear on Celebrity Apprentice, but Stormy was hesitant due to her career as a porn actress. “He talked about himself and bragged about his magazine covers,” Stormy recounted to Anderson Cooper during the interview. They engaged in intimate activity and had unprotected sex later that evening, according to Stormy.
Trump referred to her as “honeybunch,” she claims. They remained in contact afterward, with Trump inviting her to a Trump Vodka launch party in California and to his office in Trump Tower in New York. Stormy maintains that she was never instructed to keep their affair a secret.
In her book, Full Disclosure, Stormy states that Trump invited her to his private bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles to discuss her potential appearance on Celebrity Apprentice. They did not engage in sexual activity again, and the next day, Trump informed her that he was unable to secure her a spot on the show.
Selling the story
Stormy attempted to sell her account of the affair with Trump to In Touch magazine, but two employees of the publication claimed that Michael Cohen threatened to sue them if they published the interview.
As a result, it was never released. Stormy also alleged that she was accosted by a man in a Las Vegas parking lot who warned her to “Leave Trump alone. Forget the story.” However, when Trump entered the political arena, former Playboy model Karen McDougal sold her story of an alleged affair with Trump to the National Enquirer.
A Federal Election Commission (FEC) document indicates that the parent company of the National Enquirer, American Media Inc (AMI), purchased the rights to McDougal’s life story. It then made a deal with Trump’s campaign officials to buy the story to bury it.
The Case
During his campaign, 19 women accused Trump of making sexual advances towards them. His legal team allegedly sought to pay off all such women. In 2018, reports surfaced that Michael Cohen secretly paid $130,000 to Daniels to keep her silent. On January 12, 2018, the Wall Street Journal published the first reports of the affair.
Cohen initially denied the affair, but later in February admitted to paying Daniels from his own pocket. Daniels stated in March that she would sue Trump, alleging that Cohen had coerced her into signing a statement denying the affair. In April, Trump denied making any such payment.
On December 12, Cohen was sentenced to three years in federal prison. Recently, Trump claimed on his Truth Social account that the Manhattan DA’s office would arrest him within days, calling the investigation “corrupt and highly political” and an “old and fully debunked fairy-tale”.
