Adult film actress Stormy Daniels is currently under questioning by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger in Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York. Daniels has emerged as a central figure in the controversy surrounding a 2016 “hush money” payment allegedly made to her on Trump’s behalf.
Trump is facing 34 counts of falsifying business documents related to the repayment of his former attorney Michael Cohen for payments made just before the 2016 election to cover up Trump’s alleged affair with Daniels. Trump has entered a plea of not guilty and has consistently denied the affair.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, asserts that she had a brief encounter with Trump in 2006. The scandal came to light in January 2018 when the Wall Street Journal disclosed the $130,000 payment.
In a documentary titled “Stormy,” which premiered on Peacock in March, Daniels revealed that she accepted the payment to safeguard her husband and daughter. She also mentioned that she wanted there to be a clear paper and money trail linking her to Trump to prevent any harm coming to her.
Prosecutors in New York have alleged that Trump attempted to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election by concealing negative information that could have harmed his campaign. According to legal filings, Trump is accused of “repeatedly and fraudulently falsifying New York business records to hide criminal activities that concealed damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.”