Prosecution’s key witness

From porn star to prosecution’s key witness: The evolution of Stormy Daniels

Trump, in a now deleted social media post, appeared furious that she was taking the stand.

By MERIDITH MCGRAW

Porn star and director. Former stripper. And now, witness for the prosecution.

Stormy Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, had a lucrative career as a porn star before an alleged sexual encounter with Donald Trump almost two decades ago changed her life and, arguably, the course of American politics. That moment is at the heart of the former president’s hush money trial.

Tuesday was the first time Daniels and Trump have been in the same room since allegations were made public about a hush money payment, and after years of the two trading crass insults and being involved in legal battles.

In 2016, Daniels was paid $130,000 by Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen to keep quiet about a sexual encounter she allegedly had with Trump a decade prior. The Wall Street Journal broke the news about the hush money payment in 2018 and reported it was made just weeks away from the 2016 presidential election and in the wake of the release of the shocking Access Hollywood tape.

While much of the New York case has involved dry details about financial bookkeeping, on Tuesday it took a sharp return to tabloid sex and scandal. Daniels shed light on allegations she has made about her relationship with Trump, the alleged hush money plan, and her claims that she was threatened to keep quiet about their affair.

When she took the stand Tuesday, she began her testimony by recounting how she began exotic dancing at age 17 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, because it paid much better than menial jobs.

“I could still make more in two nights than I did shoveling manure eight hours a day,” Daniels said in the courtroom.

Trump was furious about Daniels’ expected appearance in court on Tuesday. In a post to Truth Social that was quickly deleted, Trump said he was “just recently” told who the witness is, and complained that it was “unprecedented, no time for lawyers to prepare.” Trump also accused the judge presiding over the case, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, of being “CROOKED & HIGHLY CONFLICTED.”

Daniels was one of the most recognizable porn stars in the adult entertainment industry and had made cameo appearances in films like “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up” when she first met Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, California in July 2006. They are photographed together at the event. According to Daniels, the then-real estate mogul and TV star was impressed by the fact that she was also a film director, and invited her to dinner and the encounter happened inside a hotel room, according to Daniels. She was 27 at the time and Trump was 60, and his wife, Melania Trump, had recently given birth to their only son Barron. Trump has denied having sex.

According to Daniels, she and Trump kept in touch and then met again in a bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles where she expected to discuss a promise Trump made to cast her on his hit NBC show, “The Celebrity Apprentice.” They did not have sex, according to Daniels, and Trump later called to inform her she would not be on the show. It was the last time they saw each other.

Then, in 2011, In Touch Weekly called Daniels and said they were considering publishing her story. She described a chilling moment weeks after her discussions with In Touch Weekly when a man approached her in a parking lot in Las Vegas and threatened her to “leave Trump alone, forget the story.” The tabloid then seemed to drop the story.

Later, in 2016, as Trump and his presidential campaign was dealing with the fallout from the Access Hollywood tape and allegations of sexual assault, Daniels was approached about signing a non-disclosure agreement and receiving a check for $130,000 to keep her story out of the press.

Daniels told 60 Minutes she agreed to take the payment because “the story was coming out again. I was concerned for my family and their safety.”

Since then, the two have been battling in courtrooms and exchanging at times coarse taunts. Daniels sued Trump alleging a non-disclosure agreement she signed is not binding because it was never signed by Trump, and has sued Trump for defamation but that suit was dismissed.

“Great, now I can go after Horseface and her 3rd rate lawyer,” Trump tweeted about Daniels and her attorney, Michael Avenatti, at the time. Daniels, in reply, insulted Trump’s physical “shortcomings.”

Daniels and Avenatti, the brash celebrity attorney, dramatically went separate ways after she sued him and won. Avenatti was convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for embezzling $297,500 from Daniels as part of a book deal.

While Daniels’ story has brought her added notoriety, she has openly — and emotionally — discussed how going public with her claims about Trump has caused her personal pain and death threats that only escalated after the former president was indicted last year.

“Back in 2018, there was stuff like ‘liar, s***, gold digger,’” she said in a documentary about her life called “Stormy.” “This time around, it is very different. It is direct threats. It is ‘I’m going to come to your house and slit your throat.’”