Stormy Daniels on 60 Minutes: Adult film star says she was threatened and told to 'leave Trump alone' over alleged affair - as it happened
Mr Trump and the White House have denied the affair took place
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Your support makes all the difference.After months of headline grabbing intrigue, adult film actress Stormy Daniels has spoken publicly about an alleged affair with President Donald Trump in her first televised interview.
Ms Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, appeared appear on CBS’s 60 Minutes, interviewed by longtime host Anderson Cooper. The interview, which was actually taped earlier this month, was broadcast even though Mr Trump’s lawyers had sought to stop the interview from being made public.
Ms Daniels claimed in the in interview that she was threatened with physical violence after she first attempted to go public with the story by a man who told her: “Leave Trump alone.”
She claimed the encounter took place in a Las Vegas parking lot in 2011, some time after she had arranged for the story of an alleged sexual dalliance with Mr Trump to be sold to a magazine. Ms Daniels said was on her way to a fitness class with her infant daughter when she said she was accosted.
“A guy walked up on me and said to me, ‘Leave Trump alone. Forget the story,’” she said. Ms Daniels then claimed the man, who she could not identify, “leaned around and looked at my daughter and said, ‘That’s a beautiful little girl. It’d be a shame if something happened to her mom.’ And then he was gone.”
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Ms Daniels received $130,000 from a company established by Trump attorney Michael Cohen just before the 2016 presidential election. Mr Cohen said the money came from his own funds and denies it being paid on behalf of the president.
Ms Daniels told Anderson Cooper that the agreement was appealing because it meant she would receive some money but also not have to worry about the effect the revelation of the alleged affair would have on her child. She signed the agreement 11 days before the election.
Earlier this month Ms Daniels launched a lawsuit against Mr Trump and Mr Cohen claiming the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) she signed about the alleged 2006 affair is void as Mr Trump did not sign it.
Attorneys defending Mr Trump and Mr Cohen's company have filed to move the lawsuit against their clients to federal court and are claiming she could owe in excess of $20 million for violating the NDA.
In their filing, the Trump and Cohen attorneys say that Ms Daniels agreed to pay $1 million for “each breach,” and and allege that 20 such breaches have taken place.
Ms Daniels has offered to return the money paid in the "hush agreement" in order to speak freely about her alleged relationship with Trump.
Mr Trump, through the White House and his representatives, has denied that the affair took place.
60 Minutes is now bringing up whether the episode with Mr Cohen could be of interest to Special Counsel's Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference, the gist appears to be, possibly it will be, possibly not.
The White House did not comment, but 60 Minutes did receive a letter from Mr. Trump's attorney Charles Harder, who asked that they show on camera and read on air one of the statements Stormy Daniels signed in January, denying reports she had had an affair with Mr. Trump. The voiceover reads:
"My involvement with Donald Trump was limited to a few public appearances and nothing more."
In light of statements such as that, Anderson Cooper asks about Ms Daniel's credibility and whether it is damaged. Ms Daniels says she has "no reason to lie".
Mr Trump and the White House have denied all of Ms Daniels allegations.
The final exchange is this:
Anderson Cooper: The president watches 60 Minutes, if he's watching tonight, what would you say to him?
Ms Daniels: He knows I'm telling the truth.
As stated earlier, the biggest news line from that interview is the claim by Ms Daniels that she faced a threat from an unknown man in 2011.
Here is that quote from the interview again:
"And a guy walked up on me and said to me, 'Leave Trump alone. Forget the story'," Ms Daniels said.
"And then he leaned around and looked at my daughter and said, 'That's a beautiful little girl. It'd be a shame if something happened to her mom.' And then he was gone," she added.
Much of the rest focused on alleged details that have come out into the public domain in recent months.
Although Anderson Cooping asking Ms Daniels to confirm if is she had unprotected sex with the president as part of the alleged affair, which she said she did, was quite extraordinary.
Ms Daniels also said that Mr Trump said she reminded him of his daughter - in an apparent reference to the president's eldest daughter Ivanka.
Mr Trump denies the affair.
The interview is also not likely to end questions over the payment of $130,000 from Michael Cohen to Ms Daniels, even if Mr Cohen says the president was not involved.
