- Mattia Bubalo
- BBC News
Donald Trump has denied all allegations by Stormy Daniels regarding their relationship
Former US President Donald Trump was asked to testify regarding allegations of payments on his behalf to former porn star Stormy Daniels, with the aim of concealing her information regarding an alleged relationship between them.
Daniels says she had a sexual relationship with Trump, and that she received $130,000 from his lawyer before the 2016 election in exchange for her silence regarding the relationship.
Attorney Michael Cohen was later imprisoned on several counts.
The former president has denied having any such relationship with Daniels since the allegations became public in 2018.
how I started The alleged relationship issue?
Daniels – whose real name is Stephanie Clifford – first opened up regarding her relationship with Trump in 2011 in an interview with In Touch weekly.
She said she met Trump during a charity golf tournament in July 2006, and claimed they had an affair in his hotel room in the Lake Tahoe resort between California and Nevada. At the time, Trump’s lawyer “vehemently” denied the allegations.
Asked if Trump had asked her to keep quiet regarding what happened, Daniels said: “He didn’t seem concerned regarding it. He was kind of arrogant.”
And if the allegations are true, this means that this happened four months following the birth of Trump’s youngest son, Barron.
image copyright Getty Images
Reports indicated that Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid Clifford $130,000 in October 2016.
allegations of threats
But the magazine did not publish the story following threats of legal action from Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen, according to what “60 Minutes” quoted former employees.
The magazine then ran the story once more in 2018, weeks before Daniels told “60 Minutes” that she had been threatened shortly following agreeing to speak to the magazine in 2011.
Daniels said a man approached her and her infant daughter in a Las Vegas parking garage and told her to “leave Trump alone.”
She claimed the man added, “She’s a beautiful little girl. It’s unfortunate that something happened to her mother.”
She said she later agreed to get $130,000 “in exchange for her silence” from attorney Cohen a month before the 2016 election because she was worried regarding her family’s safety.
Before “60 Minutes” aired, a front company linked to Cohen threatened Daniels with a lawsuit and a $20 million fine, claiming it had breached a non-disclosure agreement.
Daniels said during the episode that she was risking a $1 million fine for breaching the agreement by speaking out on local television, but, she added, “it was very important to me that I might stand up for myself.”
A shift in Cohen’s position
Rumors arose regarding the relationship between Trump and Daniels before the 2016 presidential election, but the Wall Street Journal published a report in January 2018 regarding the money Cohen paid Daniels for her silence.
And since the money was paid a month before the election, Trump’s critics argue that the money would violate campaign laws.
Cohen initially denied the report. But he returned and admitted in February 2018 that he had, in fact, paid Daniels out of his own money, and confirmed that Trump or the election campaign were not involved in that.
And later in 2018, Cohen testified under oath that Trump directed him to pay $130,000 to buy Daniels’ silence days before polling began.
He presented what he said was evidence of getting back the money he paid for silence from Trump.
Trump acknowledged that he personally paid the amount to Cohen, which is not an outlaw, but he denied the relationship and any violation of the campaign laws.
Cohen was imprisoned on several charges following a court found him guilty of breaking laws during the 2016 presidential election.
What are the latest developments in the case?
Donald Trump – who is running for president once more – has confirmed that the prosecution has requested the presence of the former president to testify in the Stormy Daniels case.
A Manhattan prosecutor has been investigating for years allegations of payment for silence.
A grand jury was convened in secret by the prosecution to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to bring charges in a case. If the prosecution charges Trump, it might be the first criminal case ever filed once morest a former US president.
The New York Times reported that the offer to testify was voluntary, and Trump would likely turn it down.
On his social media platform, TruthSocial, Trump described the investigation as a political witch hunt by a “rotten justice system.”
