Adult film star Stormy Daniels recently testified at the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump, who is charged with falsifying records during his 2016 campaign to conceal an affair with Daniels. Social media posts falsely claim to show evidence of the affair by sharing a fake, digitally altered photo of Donald and Melania Trump with Daniels.
Porn actor Stormy Daniels maintains that she had sex with Donald Trump in 2006. Daniels said a letter she signed under pressure in 2018, claiming the affair “never happened,” was a “lie.” But some conservatives are misleadingly citing that letter as proof that Trump and Daniels were never intimate and she was not paid “hush money.”
Former President Bill Clinton settled a sexual harassment lawsuit with Paula Jones in a case that was a matter of public record. Former President Donald Trump made a secret payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels, which may lead to criminal charges against him. Social media posts falsely claim the situations are similar and Trump is being treated differently by prosecutors.
We answer some questions about the events leading up to the criminal indictment of former President Donald Trump.
For many months, President Donald Trump, his White House staff and his personal attorneys, Michael Cohen and Rudy Giuliani, repeatedly made false, misleading and contradictory statements about illegal payments that were made during the 2016 campaign to silence two women who claimed to have extramarital affairs with Trump.
Q: Has Stormy Daniels announced she’s running for president?
A: No. That false headline is based on a question she asked in jest.
President Trump has acknowledged he reimbursed his personal attorney for the $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. But many questions remain about the payment and whether it may have run afoul of campaign finance or ethics laws.