The Daily Beast was informed late Friday that porn star Jessica Drake is not allowed to discuss President Donald J. Trump on account of a non-disclosure agreement she signed barring her from any such talk. NDAs are often deployed as part of settlements to silence accusers.
“Jessica’s NDA blankets any and every mention of Trump, so she’s legally unable to comment,” her publicist, Josh Ortiz, informed The Daily Beast. “Jessica signed a non-disclosure agreement after her allegations of misconduct, and she can’t do as much as peep his name publicly.”
On Saturday evening, following the initial publication of this story, Ortiz radically changed his tune.
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“I made an incorrect assumption due to a grave misunderstanding regarding Jessica Drake’s ability to speak or comment about matters relating to President Trump," Ortiz said in a statement supplied by Drake's lawyer, Gloria Allred. “I have never been told directly, or indirectly, Jessica Drake signed a Non Disclosure Agreement or reached any settlement in regards to any interactions with President Trump. My misunderstanding resulted in incorrect information being provided to The Daily Beast and undue stress to Jessica Drake, for which I am truly sorry.”
BuzzFeed, citing an unnamed source, reported on Saturday that “Drake could not talk about Trump, but was unable to confirm if that was because of a non-disclosure or some other agreement.”
The White House has not yet responded to requests for comment.
In late October 2016, Drake became the 14th woman to accuse then-candidate Trump of sexual misconduct. At a public press conference, Drake, flanked by her attorney Gloria Allred, claimed that after she met Trump in July 2006 at Nevada’s American Century Celebrity Golf Championship, where she was working a promotional booth on behalf of the adult film company Wicked Pictures, he made a pass at her. Trump’s wife, Melania, had recently given birth to their son Barron at the time.
“[Trump] flirted with me and invited me to walk along the golf course with him, which I did. During that time, he asked me for my phone number, which I gave to him. Later that evening, he invited me to his room. I said I didn't feel right going alone, so two other women came with me,” said Drake in prepared remarks.
“When we entered the room, he grabbed each of us tightly in a hug and kissed each one of us without asking permission,” Drake continued. “He was wearing pajamas. A bodyguard was also present. He asked me about details on my job as an adult film star—about shooting porn, and he also asked us about our personal relationships and whether we were married or single. We answered his questions. It felt like an interview. About 30 or 45 minutes later, we left his room.”
She alleged that Trump later called her and asked, “'What do you want? How much?” and then offered her $10,000 for sex. “This is not acceptable behavior for anyone, much less a presidential candidate,” Drake said at the presser.
The Drake NDA news comes on the heels of a Friday report in The Wall Street Journal that President Donald J. Trump’s longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, had arranged a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels “as part of an agreement that precluded her from publicly discussing an alleged sexual encounter with Mr. Trump.”
Daniels (birth name: Stephanie Clifford) is alleged to have been in talks with ABC’s Good Morning America about going public with her story just prior to the presidential election. The Daily Beast had also pursued an interview with Daniels for several months prior to the election after three sources confirmed that she and Trump had had a curious encounter. She finally backed out on Nov. 3, just five days before the election.
One of those sources, porn star Alana Evans, said that after Daniels met Trump in July 2006 at the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship—the very same golf tournament that Drake alleges she met Trump—she and Trump invited Evans to their hotel to “have some fun.” The following day, Daniels confided in Evans—her neighbor and close friend at the time—that “I ended up with Donald in his hotel room. Picture him chasing me around his hotel room in his tighty-whities.”
Cohen provided the following statement to The Daily Beast: “These rumors have circulated time and again since 2011. President Trump once again vehemently denies any such occurrence as has Ms. Daniels.” In addition, he provided a letter dated Jan. 10, 2018, allegedly signed by Daniels, that denied any “sexual and/or romantic affair” with Trump as well as the receipt of any “hush money” from Trump. Daniels could not be reached for further comment.
Around the time Drake came forward, then-candidate Trump issued a vow of revenge, threatening to sue every woman who came forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct. “Every woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign,” Trump announced at a rally in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on Oct. 22, 2016. “Total fabrication. The events never happened. Never. All of these liars will be sued after the election is over.”
Thus far, he has not sued a single one.
UPDATE 9:18PM: This story has been updated to reflect Ortiz's second statement.
