Trump first met Daniels at a 2006 celebrity golf tournament. They took photos together, and he invited her to dinner in his hotel room. After promising her a spot on Celebrity Apprentice, they had unprotected sex. Just months prior, Trump’s wife Melania had given birth to Barron, her only child, and his fifth.
Daniels sold the story for $15,000 to a magazine in 2011, but it never ran and she was never paid. She alleged that soon after, a man approached her in a parking lot and directly threatened her over the story.
A month ahead of the 2016 election, Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, provided a $130,000 payment for her to maintain her silence. Cohen later pleaded guilty to campaign finance crimes for his role in facilitating the non-disclosure agreement.
Trump repeatedly denied that the affair happened, and that he didn’t know of any payments to her.
When Daniels spoke out, a prolonged legal battle began over her breaking the terms of the NDA. Her lawsuits to break the terms of the NDA were eventually dismissed. Trump took the opportunity tweet further denials, using his moniker for her, “Horseface.”
Within a month of denying any knowledge of the payment, spokesman Rudy Giuliani revealed that Trump had reimbursed Cohen for the $130,000.
Daniels filed three suits against Trump and his legal team to escape the NDA. One was dismissed, another was dismissed where Daniels was ordered to pay $293k in legal fees and went into an appeal process, and the third was settled.
Michael Cohen was eventually sentenced to 3 years in prison. In his testimony, he called Trump a con-man, a liar, and a cheat, and implicated Trump in his campaign finance violations.
Business Insider – Porn star Stormy Daniels is taking a victory lap after Michael Cohen’s guilty plea. Here’s a timeline of Trump’s many marriages and rumored affairs.
CNN – Stormy Daniels says she was threatened to keep quiet about Trump
CBS News – Stormy Daniels describes her alleged affair with Donald Trump
BBC News – Why the Stormy Daniels-Donald Trump story matters
Los Angeles Times – Stormy Daniels settles suit against Michael Cohen in hush-money scandal
The New York Times – Stormy Daniels Ordered to Pay Trump $293,000 in Legal Fees
ABC News – Trump says ‘much of the Stormy Daniels stuff’ a ‘political hoax’, ally says: ‘Those were his words’
Politifact – The timeline of Donald Trump’s explanations for the Stormy Daniels payment
Wikipedia – Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal
