Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, took the stand to testify in the unprecedented criminal trial of former President Trump on Tuesday.
She now faces cross examination on Thursday. Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen paid Daniels a $130,000 hush money payment ahead of the 2016 presidential election in an effort to keep her silent on allegations of an affair with Trump in 2006.
The payments to Daniels were first revealed in January 2018 in a Wall Street Journal report that said Cohen and Daniels’ lawyer negotiated a nondisclosure agreement to prevent her from publicly discussing the supposed sexual encounter with Trump.
At the time, though, Cohen, Trump, and even Daniels denied the arrangement.
In January 2018, Cohen said the alleged encounter between Daniels and Trump was a rumor that had circulated “since 2011.”
And in a letter dated Jan. 10, 2018, obtained and reviewed by Fox News, Daniels also denied the allegations.
“I recently became aware that certain news outlets are alleging that I had a sexual and/or romantic affair with Donald Trump many, many, many years ago. I am stating with complete clarity that this is absolutely false,” Daniels wrote. “My involvement with Donald Trump was limited to a few public appearances and nothing more.”
Daniels wrote in the letter that when she met Trump, he was “gracious, professional and a complete gentleman to me and EVERYONE in my presence.”
“Rumors that I have received hush money from Donald Trump are completely false,” the letter read. “If indeed I did have a relationship with Donald Trump, trust me, you wouldn’t be reading about it in the news, you would be reading about it in my book. But the fact of the matter is, these stories are not true .”
But in March 2018, Daniels changed her story. During an interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” Daniels claimed she had a one-time, unprotected sexual encounter with Trump.
Tags: Trump trial Stormy Daniels testimony concludes judge denies defense motions
