Porn star Stormy Daniels meets prosecutors investigating Trump ‘hush money’ payment
- Daniels claims she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 and that she was paid US$130,000 in 2016 to keep quiet about the incident
- Daniels answered questions from Manhattan prosecutors and is willing to be a witness, her lawyer, Clark Brewster, tweeted on Wednesday
The news emerged as Michael Cohen, a former Trump lawyer who orchestrated the payment, was giving a second day of testimony before a New York grand jury looking into the matter.
The US$130,000 payment was made in 2016, as Trump’s first presidential campaign was in its final weeks and Daniels was negotiating to go on television to air her claims of a sexual encounter with him a decade earlier. Cohen made the payment and arranged another payout to a different woman – at Trump’s direction, he says.
Daniels met with and answered questions from Manhattan prosecutors and is willing to be a witness, her lawyer, Clark Brewster, tweeted. The adult film actor tweeted her thanks to him for “helping me in our continuing fight for truth and justice.”
The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to comment.
Later on Wednesday, Cohen emerged from what he expected to be his final day of testimony. He said he would continue to provide prosecutors “any information and any cooperation that they that they need.”
Now estranged from Trump, Cohen said he is not out for vindication or revenge.
“This is not about him. This is about holding accountability, truth to power, and everything else in between,” Cohen said.
Trump foe Avenatti gets 4 years jail for defrauding porn star Stormy Daniels
Federal prosecutors in 2018 charged Cohen with campaign finance crimes related to payments to Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, arguing that the payouts amounted to impermissible gifts to Trump’s election effort.
McDougal, who was paid US$150,000, alleged she had an affair with the married Trump in 2006-07. He denied it.
Cohen pleaded guilty, served prison time and was disbarred. Federal prosecutors did not charge Trump with any crime.
Manhattan prosecutors have been examining whether any state laws were broken in connection with the payments or the way Trump’s company compensated Cohen for his work to keep the women’s allegations quiet.
Cohen and federal prosecutors said the company paid him US$420,000 to reimburse him for the payment to Daniels and to cover bonuses and other supposed expenses. The company classified those payments internally as legal expenses.
Falsifying business records can be a misdemeanour under state law, or a felony if the fudging of paperwork is done in connection with a more serious crime.
Trump and his lawyers have said he was extorted into paying the money to Daniels and should be considered the victim in the investigation. Daniels and the lawyers who helped arrange the payment have denied extorting anyone.
