Stormy Daniels Said She’s Received Death Threats In Lead-Up To Trump Indictment

Topline

Stormy Daniels has faced incessant death threats over the past several weeks as the Manhattan District Attorney’s office neared an indictment against former President Donald Trump in its probe into payments made to Daniels in exchange for her silence about their alleged 2006 affair, according to a new Vogue interview.

Adult film actress Stormy Daniels (Stephanie Clifford) exits the United States District Court … [+] Southern District of New York for a hearing related to Michael Cohen, President Trump’s longtime personal attorney and confidante, April 16, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

Daniels’ husband, recalling the threats she’s allegedly received since Trump wrongly predicted he would be arrested on March 21, told Vogue people have threatened to kill her, her family and set her house on fire, Barrett Blade said, adding “Stormy’s tough . . . but it does get to her, of course.”

Daniels said she would “like vindication” and for Trump “to get what’s coming for once,” but is disappointed that his first indictment wasn’t associated with some of the more serious investigations he’s facing, such as Justice Department probes into his role in the January 6 Capitol riots and his mishandling of classified documents.

The alleged affair (which Trump denies) was widely known prior to her going public with her account in a 2018 60 Minutes interview, Daniels said, consistent with previous statements she’s made, telling Vogue she would “put him on speakerphone” when he called her, adding “lots of people heard him, lots of people knew.”

Crucial Quote

Daniels repeated her account of having consensual sex with Trump in his Nevada hotel room in 2006 after the two met at a golf course earlier that day: “I know I didn’t say no,” she said. “But I also know I didn’t say yes.”

Key Background

The charges against Trump are widely expected to stem from a deal Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen made with Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election in exchange for her silence about the alleged affair. Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 after he was alerted by then-National Enquirer publisher and long-time Trump friend David Pecker that she was considering going public with the allegations, federal prosecutors alleged in their 2018 case against Cohen. The charges reportedly center on the contracts the Trump Organization used to repay Cohen for the deal, which falsely specified his services were for legal purposes. Prosecutors linked the misdemeanor charges of falsifying business records to an intent to commit a second crime in order to elevate them to felonies, 34 in total, according to Yahoo News. The secondary crimes are widely believed to be linked to campaign finance violations, after federal prosecutors determined Cohen made the payments to sway the results of the 2016 presidential election. Daniels, who was not called to testify before the grand jury, said she doesn’t know the details of the Trump Organization’s arrangement with Cohen. “All I really know is, I got a check . . . and then all hell broke loose,” she told Vogue.

News Peg

Trump will be arraigned on more than 30 felony counts, according to Yahoo News, when he appears in Manhattan criminal court on Tuesday afternoon. The arraignment follows the Manhattan grand jury’s vote on Thursday to indict Trump, making him the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges. Trump wrongly claimed on March 18—days after the Manhattan District Attorney’s office requested his testimony in the case, indicating an indictment was near—that he would be arrested the following Tuesday and urged his supporters to protest.

Tangent

After she went public with the alleged affair, Daniels became a household name and a hero to many liberal American women who viewed her as a symbol of the #MeToo movement, willing to take on the then-presidential candidate with a history of allegations of sordid behavior toward women. At the time, Trump was facing widespread criticism over the airing of the infamous Access Hollywood tape in which he can be heard cavalierly bragging about groping women.

Surprising Fact

Trump told Daniels his wife, Melania, was at home with their infant son Barron when he met her in Nevada in 2006, she said. Trump and Melania married a year earlier, in February 2005.

Contra

Trump has coined the nickname “horseface,” to refer to Daniels, an apparent nod to her equestrian lifestyle, while denying an affair with her. His lawyers have claimed she extorted him for the payments.