WHAT WENT BEFORE: The porn star, the president, the fateful encounter
LEGAL PERIL Prosecutors have interviewed adult film star Stormy Daniels about her meeting with Donald Trump in 2006. —AFP
WASHINGTON — In July 2006, real estate tycoon and reality television star Donald Trump met an adult film actress, Stormy Daniels, at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.
On Thursday, that meeting culminated in the first-ever criminal indictment of a former president of the United States.
These are the events leading up to the politically explosive case and Daniels’ role in it:
‘Least impressive’
In her 2018 tell-all book “Full Disclosure,” Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, recounts her fateful encounter with Trump at the Nevada golf resort on the shores of Lake Tahoe.
A picture taken at the time shows them posing together—Trump in a red hat, Daniels in a black top—at a porn studio booth where Daniels was working as a “greeter.”
She was 27 at the time and Trump, 60. His third wife, Melania, had given birth to their son Barron about four months earlier.
READ: ‘I’m not a victim’: Stormy Daniels, ex-porn star in the spotlight
In her book, Daniels said one of Trump’s bodyguards invited her to have dinner with “The Apprentice” star in his penthouse.
They proceeded to have what “may have been the least impressive sex I’d ever had,” she wrote in her account which also included an unflattering description of Trump’s anatomy.
Trump has denied they ever had sex and has accused Daniels of “extortion” and a “total con job.”
Daniels said she remained in touch with Trump over the next year in the hope he would get her on his reality television show. But it never happened.
Seeking bidders
Fast forward to 2016 and Trump is the Republican presidential nominee.
The National Enquirer, a tabloid newspaper owned by a Trump ally, discovers that Daniels is seeking bidders for her potentially politically damaging story about her relationship with Trump.
The tabloid put her in touch with Michael Cohen, at that time Trump’s personal lawyer and fixer nicknamed “The Pitbull.”
Cohen, who had since turned against Trump, would later acknowledge arranging $130,000 in “hush money” payment to Daniels in exchange for her silence about the 2006 tryst.
Daniels and Trump—under the respective pseudonyms Peggy Peterson and David Dennison—were the parties to a nondisclosure agreement prepared by Cohen that has emerged in court filings.
The payment was revealed by The Wall Street Journal in January 2018 and forms the basis for the charges Trump faces.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and claims that he is a victim of a political “witch hunt” by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg
The former president accuses the Democrat official of intending to derail his 2024 White House campaign.
Cohen, who has served time in prison for tax evasion and campaign finance violations, and Daniels were both interviewed by prosecutors this month in connection with the case.
Throwing insults
Since coming forward, Daniels has been cashing in on her notoriety while battling Trump in and out of court and on social media.
She suggestively refers to Trump on her Twitter feed as “Tiny,” while he, too, throws various insults her way, including calling her “Horseface.”
Along with her book, Daniels has made appearances at strip clubs around the country billed as the “Make America Horny Again” tour.
Her one-time high-profile lawyer, Michael Avenatti, is currently serving jail time for stealing money from Daniels.
Avenatti tricked literary agents into sending $300,000 of an $800,000 advance she received for her book into a bank account he controlled, without her knowledge.
He spent the money on personal and professional expenses, including plane tickets, restaurants, and the lease of a Ferrari, according to prosecutors.
On Thursday, as the news of the indictment broke, Daniels took to Twitter with her usual aplomb.
“I have so many messages coming in that I can’t respond … also don’t want to spill my champagne,” she tweeted while also plugging her #TeamStormy merchandise.
RELATED STORIES
Trump hit with criminal charges in NY, a first for a US ex-president – New York Times
NY district attorney contacted Trump lawyers to arrange surrender – spokesperson
Trump camp slams ‘political’ prosecution, Democrats brace for ‘unrest’
‘History will hold Donald Trump accountable’ for January 6, Pence says
