Adult Film Star Stormy Daniels Reveals The Real Reason She Took Donald Trump's 'Hush Money'
By Favour Adegoke on March 19, 2024 at 10:30 PM EDT
Updated on March 22, 2024 at 4:28 AM EDT
Stormy Daniels has revealed why she accepted Donald Trump's hush money in her Peacock documentary. The duo allegedly had an affair in 2006, after which the former president paid $130,000 for her to keep quiet about it.
Daniels claimed that she accepted the money to create a paper trail for her protection and also claimed that the s-- was consensual. Trump has since denied having an affair with the adult film star and falsifying his business records to hide the payments.
Stormy Daniels Accepted The 'Hush Money' To Create A Paper Trail For Her Protection
Daniel's Peacock documentary, "Stormy," has revealed never-before-known information about her alleged affair with Trump.
The duo reportedly had a one-night stand in 2006, and she was then paid an alleged $130,000 days before the 2016 presidential election through Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen.
In a scene from the documentary that debuted on Monday, Daniels is seen saying she was "completely sure" she was "gonna die" in the wake of her hush money deal with the former president coming to light in 2018.
According to CNN, the adult film star also shared the real reason why she took the money, claiming that she accepted the cash so "that there would be a paper trail and money trail linking me to Donald Trump so that he could not have me killed."
Trump has since denied that he had an affair with Daniels but still faces election interference charges for allegedly covering up the payments he made to Cohen as reimbursements. He has also pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Why Stormy Daniels Accepted Donald Trump's Advances
In the documentary, Daniels revealed why she did not reject the billionaire mogul's request for s-- during their meeting decades ago.
"I didn't say no because I just, I was 9 years old again," Daniels said, referencing the alleged sexual abuse she faced at the hands of a neighbor as a child.
Regarding whether the s-- was consensual, Daniels asserted that it was. However, she noted that it wasn't something she genuinely desired.
"To this day, I blame myself and I have not forgiven myself because I didn't shut his a-- down in that moment, so maybe make him pause before he tried it with someone else," Daniels added, per NPR.
"The hardest part about all of this is I feel like I am partially responsible for every woman that could have come after me," she said.
Donald Trump Lawyers Ask For Trial Delay Due To The Documentary Release
As a result of the documentary, Trump's lawyers have argued that the upcoming Stormy Daniels trial should be delayed or dismissed.
They claimed the release contained statements from Daniels, which could be considered prejudicial to Trump, especially because it was released a week before the initial jury selection date.
Trump attorneys wrote in their filing, "[Daniels] asserts on the video trailer that 's--- got real' when President Trump got the Republican nomination, claims that she was 'terrified,' reads highly prejudicial threats not connected to President Trump, such as a random person stating, 'you just signed your death warrant,'"
They also mentioned that the documentary "reflects an egregious effort to prejudice the venue, which the People were undoubtedly aware of but failed to disclose."
Trial Judge Recently Agreed To Consider Prosecutors' Motion For Delay
Meanwhile, the judge overseeing the case recently agreed to consider the prosecutors' motion to delay the trial. The trial was initially scheduled to be held on March 25.
The prosecution, in its filing, mentioned receiving "approximately 31,000 pages of additional records" from the US Attorneys' Offices, per The Guardian.
They also claimed that upon an "initial review" of the batch they received, it contained "materials related to the subject matter of this case, including materials that the People requested from the USAO more than a year ago and that the USAO previously declined to provide."
They asked for some time to review the documents to better prepare their case, which the judge overseeing the case agreed to consider. A new trial date has yet to be assigned, but it is not likely to be placed before mid-April.
The judge has also advised Trump to avoid scheduling commitments that might clash with the new trial timeline.
Judge Rejects Donald Trump's Request To Block Stormy Daniels And Michael Cohen's Testimony
In another development related to the "hush money" trial, the judge overseeing the case, Judge Juan Merchan, turned down Trump's attempt to stop Daniels and Cohen's testimony.
In an earlier court filing, the former president claimed that their testimony was unimportant to the case. However, Judge Merchan opposed this.
The judge argued that the two witnesses are important to the narrative of Trump's charges involving the payments of hush money and the subsequent fabrication of company papers to conceal them.