Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, is an adult film star who appeared in and directed scores of films. It was her meeting with Donald Trump when she was 27 and he was 60, and what happened since that has brought her to worldwide attention.
The former US President is facing criminal charges over allegations that he paid her $130,000 (£105,000) not to talk about her claim that the pair slept together and declared it as a business expense. The payment was legal but falsifying business records is illegal in New York state. The decision by New York prosecutors makes him the first serving or former US president to face a criminal charge. He denies any wrongdoing.
Ms Daniels alleges that the payment was made in 2016 just before Trump became president. She alleges that their encounter had been ten years earlier after she had appeared in a Judd Apatow film called the 40-year-old virgin and was invited to a charity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, on the border between California and Nevada, where she met Mr Trump.
Who is Stormy Daniels?
Stormy Daniels - real name Stephanie Clifford - was born in Louisiana. In her memoir, published in 2018, she claims she was neglected by her family and sexually abused at age nine by an older man. She began stripping when she was 17 years old. She was already nicknamed Stormy and took her stage name surname from the drink Jack Daniels.
She made her first pornographic film in 2002 and appeared in many films with titles like Good Will Humping and Space Nuts. She was inducted into three halls of fame and received many awards for acting and directing.
As well as her adult movie career, she also appeared in mainstream films including The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and a Maroon 5 music video.
What happened between Stormy Daniels and Trump?
Ms Daniels says she met Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, California, where she was hired to greet competitors. She has claimed she was invited to have dinner with Trump and that she was invited to his hotel room.
At the time, Trump was 60 years old and she was 27 years old. Her account is that Trump met her in his hotel room dressed in pyjamas and suggested he could get her a role on NBC's The Apprentice, in which he was a star at the time.
In her book, Daniels writes in detail about the president’s genitals and describes her disgust with herself for letting the scene play out. She has since nicknamed him Tiny. She wrote: "It may have been the least impressive sex I’d ever had."
Ms Daniels claims was negotiating a deal to go on television during the presidential campaign and discuss the alleged sexual encounter with Trump when she received what prosecutors say was a $130,000 payment to "hush up", and sign a non disclosure agreement. Trump’s then lawyer, Michael Cohen, made the payoff.
Why is this a problem for Trump?
The payment itself is not illegal, it is what happened next which may cause Trump problems. When Trump reimbursed his lawyer Michael Cohen, it is allegedly recorded in his business account as being for legal fees. Prosecutors say this amounts to falsifying business records, which is a a criminal offence in New York.
Given the timing which happened around the election campaign of 2016, prosecutors could also potentially allege that this breaks election law.
How was Stormy Daniels' affair with Trump made public?
Ms Daniels spoke to a magazine in 2011 about what she alleges happened with Trump. But before the article was published, Trump's lawyer Mr Cohen allegedly threatened a lawsuit and the story was dropped.
It was January 2018 when the Wall Street Journal published an article about the nondisclosure agreement and the alleged sexual encounter. Daniels denied it at the time however she later claimed she had been pressured to stay silent.
After the Wall Street Journal piece, the magazine In Touch published their 2011 interview. After this Daniels began speaking about the alleged affair and appeared on television. Trump's lawyers obtained a temporary restraining order to stop her speaking about it. Trump's lawyer admitted he had made the $130,000 payment but said he had paid it out of his own pocket.
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