Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Stormy Daniels would ‘absolutely’ testify against Donald Trump - but doesn’t want him jailed

The 90-minute Piers Morgan interview is due to air on Thursday evening after Donald Trump appeared in court on a 34-count felony indictment

Eleanor Noyce
Thursday 06 April 2023 07:34 EDT
Comments
Stormy Daniels says she doesn’t believe Trump deserves jail time for alleged crimes involving her

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Porn star Stormy Daniels says she would “absolutely” testify against Donald Trump if asked - but doesn’t want the former president to go to prison for his alleged crimes.

In an interview with Piers Morgan due to be shown on Thursday evening, the adult film actress speaks out for the first time following Trump’s unprecedented court appearance in New York on Tuesday.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to falsifying business records related to alleged hush-money payments to Ms Daniels and others ahead of the 2016 presidential campaign. He was arraigned after being indicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.

The one-on-one interview is Stormy Daniels’ first since Donald Trump appeared in court
The one-on-one interview is Stormy Daniels’ first since Donald Trump appeared in court (Talk TV/Fox Nation)

In the 90 minute programme, Ms Daniels says she has “nothing to hide”, adding: “I’m the only one that has been telling the truth”.

She and Morgan were originally due to speak last week, but their initial talk was postponed due to “security issues.”

Asked if she wants to have her day in court, Ms Daniels replies: “I do, I do. I think having them call me in and put me on the stand legitimises my story and who I am. And if they don’t, it almost feels like they’re hiding me and people will automatically assume - I would - that ‘oh, she must not be a good witness. She’s not credible’.”

However, she doesn’t believe that Trump deserves to be jailed for the crimes he is charged with involving her.

“I don’t think that his crimes against me are worthy of incarceration”, she told Mr Morgan. “I feel like the other things that he has done, if he is found guilty, absolutely”, she added.

Piers Morgan has described the interview as “one of the best” he’s ever done
Piers Morgan has described the interview as “one of the best” he’s ever done (Talk TV/Fox Nation)
Stormy Daniels will testify against Donald Trump

“A bigger problem is that if these allegations against him - or whatever else that we don’t know yet - he is found guilty or the evidence suggests that he is or whatever and he doesn’t, that it’s going to just basically…I mean it opens the door for other people to think they can get away with doing that and worse.”

Morgan described Ms Daniels as “feisty, funny and incredibly forthcoming” ahead of the interview’s release.

“Everyone’s had their say about her, now she tells her story about the fling that may send President Trump to prison”, Mr Morgan tweeted, describing the interview as “one of the best” he’s ever done.

Ms Stormy Daniels says she would “absolutely” testify if asked
Ms Stormy Daniels says she would “absolutely” testify if asked (REUTERS)

Ms Daniels – whose real name is Stephanie Clifford – claims she had an affair with Trump in 2006 and was paid $130,000 as part of a nondisclosure agreement prior to the 2016 presidential election. She later tried to sue him for defamation after he labelled her claims a “total con job”, though this was dismissed by a judge in 2018.

Earlier this week, Ms Daniels poked fun at the charges levelled against Trump after being targeted by online abuse. “It’s definitely more fun being under my sexy man instead of under arrest”, she tweeted.

Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him
Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him (AFP or licensors)

On Tuesday, an appeals court ruled that Ms Daniels must pay Donald Trump almost $122,000 in legal fees acquired through the defamation lawsuit she levelled against him. A commissioner for the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Trump’s legal team “reasonably spent” more than 183 hours on the case.

She was similarly ordered to pay $300,000 in attorney fees last year, but stated that “I will go to jail before I pay a penny.”

Watch the full interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored tonight on TalkTV at 8pm. Available on Sky 522, Sky Glass 508, Virgin Media 606, Freeview 237 and Freesat 217 as well as on DAB, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Samsung TV Plus, YouTube, the Talk.TV website and TalkTV iOS and Android apps.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in