While much of the New York case has involved dry details about financial bookkeeping, on Tuesday it took a sharp return to tabloid sex and scandal. Daniels shed light on allegations she has made about her relationship with Trump, the alleged hush money plan, and her claims that she was threatened to keep quiet about their affair.
Trump, in a now deleted social media post, appeared furious that she was taking the stand.
Porn star and director. Former stripper. And now, witness for the prosecution.
Tuesday was the first time Daniels and Trump have been in the same room since allegations were made public about a hush money payment, and after years of the two trading crass insults and being involved in legal battles.
In 2016, Daniels was paid $130,000 by Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen to keep quiet about a sexual encounter she allegedly had with Trump a decade prior. The Wall Street Journal broke the news about the hush money payment in 2018 and reported it was made just weeks away from the 2016 presidential election and in the wake of the release of the shocking Access Hollywood tape.Daniels was one of the most recognizable porn stars in the adult entertainment industry and had made cameo appearances in films like “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up” when she first met Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, California in July 2006. They are photographed together at the event. According to Daniels, the then-real estate mogul and TV star was impressed by the fact that she was also a film director, and invited her to dinner and the encounter happened inside a hotel room, according to Daniels. She was 27 at the time and Trump was 60, and his wife, Melania Trump, had recently given birth to their only son Barron. Trump has denied having sex.
- They did not have sex, according to Daniels, and Trump later called to inform her she would not be on the show. It was the last time they saw each other.
- Then, in 2011, In Touch Weekly called Daniels and said they were considering publishing her story.
- She described a chilling moment weeks after her discussions with In Touch Weekly when a man approached her in a parking lot in Las Vegas and threatened her to “leave Trump alone, forget the story.”
- The tabloid then seemed to drop the story.
- Later, in 2016, as Trump and his presidential campaign was dealing with the fallout from the Access Hollywood tape and allegations of sexual assault, Daniels was approached about signing a non-disclosure agreement and receiving a check for $130,000 to keep her story out of the press.
- Daniels sued Trump alleging a non-disclosure agreement she signed is not binding because it was never signed by Trump, and has sued Trump for defamation but that suit was dismissed.
“Great, now I can go after Horseface and her 3rd rate lawyer,” Trump tweeted about Daniels and her attorney, Michael Avenatti, at the time. Daniels, in reply, insulted Trump’s physical “shortcomings.”
- Daniels and Avenatti, the brash celebrity attorney, dramatically went separate ways after she sued him and won.
- Avenatti was convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for embezzling $297,500 from Daniels as part of a book deal.
- Cohen pleaded guilty to eight counts including tax fraud and campaign finance violations related to keeping Daniels and model Karen McDougal from making public claims of extramarital affairs with Trump ahead of the 2016 election and served time in prison.
While Daniels’ story has brought her added notoriety, she has openly — and emotionally — discussed how going public with her claims about Trump has caused her personal pain and death threats that only escalated after the former president was indicted last year.
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