It appears Donald Trump is once again attempting to silence Stormy Daniels, despite his recent convictions in that category.
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow reports that Trump’s lawyers tried to “get another hush money deal” with the adult film star, to keep her from making any “public or private statements related to any alleged past interactions” with the former president. In exchange for her written agreement, Trump’s team reportedly offered to adjust the debt she owes Trump for the unsuccessful defamation case her lawyer brought against him in 2018.
Daniels still needs to pay “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in legal fees, Maddow explained, and in hammering out the exact amount, Trump’s lawyers allegedly offered to “pretend” she owed their client “less than they actually believed” she did. Whereas they first estimated Daniels’ debt at $650,000, Maddow reported, they said they would settle her tab for $620,000, if she promised not to make any “defamatory or disparaging statements about him, his business, and/or any affiliates, or his suitability as a candidate for president.” They then adjusted the fee, asking $635,000 if she refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Daniels reportedly turned them down, paying $627,500 and declining to sign the NDA.
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As you may remember, Daniels first stepped onto the political stage in 2018, when she disclosed that—days before the 2016 election—Trump had paid her $130,000 to keep quiet about a consensual sexual encounter the two had in 2006. At that time, Trump’s wife, Melania, would've just given birth to their son, making the adultery look even worse for him. The president’s lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, admitted that Trump had directed him to make the payments and reimbursed him under the guise of a business expense. That, in turn, spurred his conviction on 34 counts of fraud earlier this year. He’s due to be sentenced on those after the 2024 election.
When Maddow reached the Trump campaign for comment, she says they told her the emails were “part of the Iranian hacking.” And while a trio of Iranian men did recently gain access to campaign files (potentially by posing as the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas), Maddow named her sources: Daniels herself, who was recording the call in which her lawyer first informed her of Trump’s alleged proposal, and her legal team, which shared the email exchange with Maddow.
The correspondent herself claims to be both “bewildered” and a little shocked by Trump’s apparent audacity, which, yeah. Reupping the hush money would be a wild move, all things considered.
