Stormy Daniels fears she will “never escape” the maniacal supporters of disgraced US President Donald Trump who have sent her death threats.
The former US President faced , charges which are punishable by up to four years in prison. He denied all wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty, but on Thursday a jury found him guilty on all 34 counts, in doing so making him the first former president to be convicted of felony crimes.
At the heart of the charges are reimbursements paid to Trump's then-lawyer Michael Cohen for a $130,000 (£102,000) hush money payment to porn actor Stormy in exchange for not going public with her claim about a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump.
Stormy, real name Stephanie Gregory Clifford, avoided speaking about his guilty verdict until now. She told the Mirror she fears she will never get away from Trump’s supporters as she faces threats and backlash.
Stormy added: “It’s not over for me. It’s never going to be over for me. Trump may be guilty, but I still have to live with the legacy. You always feel like you’re the bad guy, even when you’re not just being up on that standard. Being in court was so intimidating with the jurors looking at you, but I’m glad the stuff came out in court that wanted to come out and prove, like I said, I’ve been telling the truth the entire time.”
Gangsters ‘call for ceasefire’ after deadly Christmas Eve pub shootingThe payment made to Stormy by Michael Cohen was to ensure she remained silent in the days leading up to the 2016 US election about the alleged sex she had with the businessman at a celebrity golf tournament ten years earlier.
Cohen and Trump, 77, later concocted an illegal scheme to falsify business records to cover up the reimbursement of the payment to the lawyer. During the trial’s closing arguments, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told the jury that paying to silence Stormy could have “very well” been what “got President Trump elected.”
Trump won the 2016 election by beating Hillary Clinton, winning by razor-thin margins in six states, including Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, which had not voted Republican since the 1980s. If Clinton, who Trump campaigned against with the slogan 'lock her up', had won those states, she would have sealed the presidency. As news of his alleged one night stand with Stormy began to emerge before his election win, the scandal thrust his presidential paramour into the international spotlight.
When asked about what sentence Trump should receive, Stormy said: “I don’t know what the sentencing could be or what Trump will even understand. It’s like when you have a child, and sometimes you take the electronics away from them, but if your child is very artistic, they don’t. They don’t care. They’ll just go colour their colouring books, and then you have another child that, you know, they don’t want to go outside.
“You gotta ground them or like take away electronics or don’t let them have dessert. You have to find the punishment that not just matches the crime, but is fair and just, and that impacts that particular person. Who knows what that is with Trump.”
Stormy and Trump first met in July 2006 at the celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nevada when he was a high-profile businessman and reality TV star, while she was an established name in the adult entertainment industry. The meeting, which Stormy described as a mix of business and pleasure, eventually led to alleged sex in Trump’s hotel suite. The businessman, by then married to Melania Trump, had just welcomed their son Barron a few months earlier.
While giving evidence about their night together, Stormy recounted details from the floors and furniture in Trump’s hotel suite to the contents of his toiletry kit in the bathroom. At one point, she threw back her arm and lifted her leg in the witness box to re-create the moment she says he posed on the bed for her, stripped down to his boxer shorts.
Stormy also gave testimony detailing how Trump likened her to his daughter Ivanka and how she spanked him with a magazine featuring him on the front cover before the alleged sex. She said that after returning from his suite’s bathroom, he had undressed.
Stormy told jurors how Trump “stood up between me and the door. Not in a threatening manner. He didn’t come at me, he didn’t rush at me. Nothing like that.” She said she blacked out while they had sex. “I had my clothes and my shoes off. I removed my bra. We were in missionary position,” she recalled. At one point, she told the New York court, “Nobody would ever want to publicly say” that they had sex with Trump.
In the years following the encounter, Stormy kept the story to herself. However, in 2011, she agreed to share her experience with In Touch Weekly for $15,000. The article never saw the light of day after Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen, threatened to sue the publication.
Four human skulls wrapped in tin foil found in package going from Mexico to USBut after a video emerged of Trump boasting how he would grab women by the genitals without their consent, the story would resurface. The footage sent his campaign into crisis, threatening to derail any chance of a 2016 election victory. Quickly, Trump and his cronies moved to silence Stormy paying her off.
His election interference scheme came back to haunt him on Thursday, when, after a six-week trial, he was found guilty of all 34 criminal counts he faced. But while Trump now faces up to four years behind bars when sentenced on July 11, for Stormy she still remains an effective prisoner in her own environment.
It is a fate that now threatens to befall the seven men and five women who unanimously found Trump guilty. On Saturday Trump’s rabid MAGA mob were seen on the internet trying to hunt down the 12 jurors while issuing vile threats to them. It is a life Stormy wishes on nobody.
Stormy’ journey from a chance encounter with Trump to the centre of a national scandal has been both tumultuous and transformative. Her call for him to be jailed is a reflection of her broader commitment to justice and accountability.
Speaking to her, it is clear the adult star’s story is a testament to the power of resilience and the impact one individual can have in the fight against corruption and abuse of power. As the legal proceedings continue, her voice acts as a crucial reminder that the pursuit of justice is a fundamental pillar of the very democracy Trump has sought to destroy.
The courage and determination Stormy displayed throughout this 18-year saga will undoubtedly leave a lasting legacy in the ongoing quest for accountability and truth in American politics.