Porn actress speaks about alleged Trump affair in broadcast interview
Gretel Johnston (dpa)
WASHINGTON, Gretel Johnston (dpa) - In a tell-all interview broadcast Sunday on US television, Stormy Daniels, the adult-film actress who said she was paid for her silence about an affair she had with US President Donald Trump, said she is speaking out to defend herself.
"People are just saying whatever they wanted to say about me," Daniels said in the interview with "60 Minutes" on broadcaster CBS. "I was perfectly fine saying nothing at all, but I'm not okay with being made out to be a liar."
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has been at the centre of news reports about a 130,000-dollar payment she received from Trump attorney Michael Cohen prior to the 2016 presidential election.
The porn star said in the interview that the payment was hush money to buy her silence about the affair ahead of the 2016 election.
Cohen has confirmed that he personally paid 130,000 dollars to Clifford but said neither Trump's business nor presidential campaign had reimbursed the expense, leaving open whether Trump personally repaid the money. Trump has denied having an affair with Clifford.
The payment to Clifford is the subject of complaints by watchdog groups who say it violated US election law.
Clifford provided a number of details about the affair, which began in 2006 after they met at a golf tournament in Nevada.
She was 27 at the time and Trump was 60, and she said she was not physically attracted to him, and refused him when he sought to have sex with her a second time. The one time they had sex was "entirely consensual," she said.
Clifford said he brushed aside his marriage to Melania Trump, who had just given birth to their child.
Trump tried to keep her interested in him by suggesting she could be a contestant on his reality television show, "The Apprentice," but such an opportunity never materialized, she said.
The hush money agreement, which she said she signed 11 days before the election, was appealing to her because it meant she would be paid for her story and would not have to worry about it coming out and affecting her child.
Prior to the election "the story was coming out again," she said. "I was concerned for my family and their safety."
Part of the reason for her concern was a time in 2011 when she felt threatened when a man walked up to her in a parking lot and said, "Leave Trump alone. Forget the story."
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."
The incident occurred after she agreed to tell her story to a US gossip magazine for 15,000 dollars. She was told that the story never ran because when journalists called Trump seeking comment, Cohen threatened to sue.
Clifford now says the hush money agreement is invalid in part because Trump never signed it.
The president's lawyers claim that Clifford is liable for more than 20 million dollars in damages for violating the agreement.
Clifford also said she was pressured to lie about it by her former attorney and former business manager in statements denying the liaison. The statements have been released by Cohen as proof that the relationship never existed.
She said she was told her life could be made into "hell in many different ways" if she did not sign, and she believed the person who could have done that was Cohen. Cohen has denied ever threatening Clifford.
Her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, said his client is only trying to tell the public what really happened.
The interview is "not the end – it's the beginning," Avenatti said on Sunday on Twitter. He also said not all of the evidence he has to back up Clifford's claim would be mentioned in the interview.
Earlier in the week, Avenatti indicated on Twitter that there is a recording proving Clifford's claims about her alleged affair with Trump.
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The porn star said in the interview that the payment was hush money to buy her silence about the affair ahead of the 2016 election.
Cohen has confirmed that he personally paid 130,000 dollars to Clifford but said neither Trump's business nor presidential campaign had reimbursed the expense, leaving open whether Trump personally repaid the money. Trump has denied having an affair with Clifford.
The payment to Clifford is the subject of complaints by watchdog groups who say it violated US election law.
Clifford provided a number of details about the affair, which began in 2006 after they met at a golf tournament in Nevada.
She was 27 at the time and Trump was 60, and she said she was not physically attracted to him, and refused him when he sought to have sex with her a second time. The one time they had sex was "entirely consensual," she said.
Clifford said he brushed aside his marriage to Melania Trump, who had just given birth to their child.
Trump tried to keep her interested in him by suggesting she could be a contestant on his reality television show, "The Apprentice," but such an opportunity never materialized, she said.
The hush money agreement, which she said she signed 11 days before the election, was appealing to her because it meant she would be paid for her story and would not have to worry about it coming out and affecting her child.
Prior to the election "the story was coming out again," she said. "I was concerned for my family and their safety."
Part of the reason for her concern was a time in 2011 when she felt threatened when a man walked up to her in a parking lot and said, "Leave Trump alone. Forget the story."
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."
The incident occurred after she agreed to tell her story to a US gossip magazine for 15,000 dollars. She was told that the story never ran because when journalists called Trump seeking comment, Cohen threatened to sue.
Clifford now says the hush money agreement is invalid in part because Trump never signed it.
The president's lawyers claim that Clifford is liable for more than 20 million dollars in damages for violating the agreement.
Clifford also said she was pressured to lie about it by her former attorney and former business manager in statements denying the liaison. The statements have been released by Cohen as proof that the relationship never existed.
She said she was told her life could be made into "hell in many different ways" if she did not sign, and she believed the person who could have done that was Cohen. Cohen has denied ever threatening Clifford.
Her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, said his client is only trying to tell the public what really happened.
The interview is "not the end – it's the beginning," Avenatti said on Sunday on Twitter. He also said not all of the evidence he has to back up Clifford's claim would be mentioned in the interview.
Earlier in the week, Avenatti indicated on Twitter that there is a recording proving Clifford's claims about her alleged affair with Trump.
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