Porn star says she was warned to keep silent about Trump affair
WASHINGTON: Adult film star Stormy Daniels has said she was threatened to keep silent about an alleged sexual encounter with US President Donald Trump in 2006, telling her story in a highly anticipated interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes programme, which was broadcast on Sunday.
Daniels said she was threatened by an unidentified man in Las Vegas to keep quiet about her alleged relationship with Trump, an incident that she said happened while she was with her young daughter. She said in the interview that she had one encounter of consensual sex with Trump.
“He knows I’m telling the truth,” said Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford.
The adult film actress provided little new evidence of her alleged 2006 affair with Trump but said she faced intimidation tactics aimed at ensuring her silence in 2011.
Daniels said that in the incident, in a parking lot, the man told her: “Leave Trump alone. Forget the story.” She said he then looked at her daughter and said, “That’s a beautiful little girl. It’d be a shame if something happened to her mom.”
Daniels received a $130,000 payment days before the 2016 presidential election for her silence and has sought to invalidate a non-disclosure agreement.
The White House did not immediately comment on Sunday on the interview. Trump, through his representatives, has denied the allegations. His attorney, Michael Cohen, has said Trump never had an affair with Daniels. Cohen has said he paid the $130,000 out of his pocket.
Cohen has said neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Daniels and he was not reimbursed for the payment.
However, Daniels’ attorney Michael Avenatti told 60 Minutes he has documents showing Cohen using his Trump Organization email address in setting up the payment and that the non-disclosure agreement was sent by Fedex to Cohen at his Trump Organization office.
Daniels said that before they had sex, Trump had broached the idea of her being a contestant on The Apprentice, and she likened it to a “business opportunity.” She said he called her several times and would ask if they could get together again and that he had an update for her. She said she felt that he was holding out the opportunity to keep her coming back.
Daniels was asked why she’s talking now: “Because it was very important to me to be able to defend myself,” she said.
Daniels said she was fine saying nothing at all. “But I’m not OK with being made out to be a liar, or people thinking that I did this for money and people are like, ‘Oh, you’re an opportunist. You’re taking advantage of this.’ Yes, I’m getting more job offers now, but tell me one person who would turn down a job offer making more than they’ve been making, doing the same thing that they’ve always done?” Trump kept talking about himself and was bragging about his photo being on the cover of a magazine. "Someone should take that magazine and spank you with it," Daniels said, adding that she had asked him to pull his pants down and "gave him a couple (of) swats" Trump told Daniels that she was "smart and beautiful" and told her that he really liked her. "He was like, 'Wow, you... you are special. You remind me of my daughter,'" Daniels said
When Daniels returned from a visit to the restroom, she found Trump "perched" on the edge of the bed. "I just felt like maybe…i had it coming for... going to someone's room alone," she said, adding that he did not use a condom