image source, Getty Images
Stormy Daniels accuses Donald Trump of having paid her money to hush up an extramarital affair, something the former president denies.
Next Tuesday, the former president of the United States, Donald Trump, will become the first former president of that country to be arrested for allegedly committing criminal acts.
Despite the fact that Trump is under investigation by the courts on other serious suspicions, including whether he incited an insurrection during the attack on the Capitol when he lost the elections in 2021 and if he tried to illegally reverse his electoral defeat in the state of Georgia, the case that will lead him to sit in the dock is much more personal, and it has to do with a woman: Stormy Daniels.
That is the stage name of Stephanie Gregory Clifford, a former actress, screenwriter and director of pornographic films, who claims that in 2006 he had a sexual encounter with Trump. By then, the businessman had also been married to Melania, his current wife, for a year.
According to Clifford, in 2016, when the tycoon ran for president, he paid him through his lawyer Michael D. Cohen. US$130.000 so that he would not reveal his extramarital affair.
That sexual encounter – which Trump has always strongly denied – is not the reason for his current legal accusation. Neither is paying money to supposedly silence Daniels, an arrangement that is not illegal.
The reason Trump is facing charges is that when he reimbursed Cohen — an act the former president does acknowledge — the record of the payment says it was for legal fees. Prosecutors in New York say this amounts to falsify business records.
Although this is a misdemeanor, which would carry only a fine, prosecutors – who have not publicly disclosed the charges they will file against Trump – could also argue that payment violates electoral lawif you consider that the then-presidential candidate’s alleged attempt to hide his payments from Daniels was motivated by not wanting voters to know that he had an affair with her.
Covering up a crime by falsifying records would be a much more serious crime.
image source, Reuters
Attorney Michael D. Cohen was convicted of bank fraud and violations of Trump campaign finances.
Who is Stormy Daniels?
The woman behind the most serious legal process against a former president in US history is a well-known porn star.
Stephanie Gregory Clifford was born in Baton Rouge, in the southern state of Louisiana, in 1979, and was a lover of horses.
As a child, her dream was to be a veterinarian, but after her parents’ divorce, when she was 4 years old, she was raised by her mother, who had a hard time supporting the family financially.
At the age of 17 he started working as a stripper in a club
When she began to become more recognized, she decided to adopt a stage name. As a fan of the rock band Motley Crue, she decided to pay tribute to the daughter of the band’s bassist, whose name is Storm. The last name is in honor of the brand of whisky Jack Daniel’s.
In 2000 she began her career as an actress. of adult films with the production company Wicked Pictures, with which he had a prolific career. She also participated in tapes for Sin City Studios.
In 2004 too started directing movies pornographic films for Wicked Pictures and would later add a role as a screenwriter.
Adult film expert Kelly Roberts told the BBC that Stormy Daniels was a pioneer in the industry.
“At that time there were no women directors. It was unheard of. They were all men,” he said.
For her work as a director, Daniels garnered several awards from Adult Video News (AVN) magazine, considered the porn industry’s equivalent of the Oscars.
And in 2014 his name was added to the halls of fame of AVN magazine and the X-Rated Critics Organization.
image source, Getty Images
Stormy Daniels had a successful career as a porn actress and director in the 2000s.
According to filmmaker Judd Apatow, who cast him in two of his films, Daniels “not someone to underestimate”.
“She is a very serious businesswoman and a filmmaker who has taken the reins of her career,” Apatow told the New York Times in 2018.
The revelation
That year Stormy Daniels was on everyone’s lips after she gave an interview to the emblematic television program “60 minutes“from CBS News, in which he gave details of his alleged sexual encounter with Trump.
Daniels said she had met the mogul – who was then a famous reality show host The Apprentice– in a charity golf tournament at a resort in Lake Tahoe, California.
According to the exact actress, Trump invited her to dinner in his hotel suite and showed her a magazine with his photo on the cover. She joked that he would use it to pat her behind.
“He turned around and pulled his pants down a little bit, he had underwear on, and I gave him a couple of pats,” he said.
Daniels said that later had consensual relations with Trump, who has been accused of sexual harassment by other women. “I did not say no. I’m not a victim“, the woman clarified.
She added that Trump had suggested that she could appear on his television show, and she thought about the meeting. “as a business”.
image source, Reuters
Stormy Daniels during her famous interview on CBS
“I’m opening up possible danger“, said the exactriz during the interview, which was seen by 22 million Americans (and would later be reproduced online by millions more around the world).
Daniels – who that year divorced her third husband, with whom she had her only daughter – said she knew she was facing a million-dollar fine and a legal battle for breaking her confidentiality agreement.
However, he maintained that that agreement was legally invalid since Trump never signed it.
The woman also assured that in 2011 -five years before signing the alleged agreement with Trump- she had been threatened by a man on the street who suggested that he might hurt his daughter if she talked about their relationship.
Fama
His revelation put Stormy Daniels in the eye of the storm and caused a political uproar in the US, something that is now being repeated after a grand jury in New York on March 30 decided to indict Trump.
Daniels, who in 2022 married for the fourth time -once again with a former adult film star- has not denied that the fame that this case brought him has benefited her financially.
During his long legal battle with Trump and his attorney Michael D. Cohen he toured various clubs in Stripteasedancing for much more money than he did before.
“¿Who would refuse to earn more for the work that she had already been doing?”, she answered in the interview when asked what she would say to those who see her as an opportunist.
He also said that the main reason he was speaking was to “set the record straight” and not for publicity.
“It is very important for me to be able to defend myself“said the exactriz, who in 2009 had considered an invitation to run as a candidate for Republican senator for her state of Louisiana, before quickly withdrawing.
image source, Getty Images
Stormy Daniels gained a lot of notoriety after her impeachment against Trump.
Thanks to his lucrative career and fame, Daniels has been able to dedicate yourself to your first love: She owns several horses and is an award-winning rider.
On Thursday, after the announcement that Trump will be arrested, the woman behind the case gave her reaction through her Twitter account:
“Thank you all for your support and love! I have so many messages that I can’t reply…plus I don’t want to spill my champagne “, he published, along with an emoji of a winking face with its tongue sticking out.
And he added: “The requests for merchandising/autographs of #Teamstormy are coming too! Thank you for that too and keep in mind that deliveries will take a few more days.”
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