Porn Star Stormy Daniels Reveals She Was Threatened With Death To Keep Silent On Donald Trump Affair

Washington: Porn actress Stormy Daniels revealed she was threatened with death to try and keep her silent about her alleged fling with Donald Trump, in an explosive interview which aired on a primetime cable network slot in the U.S.

Daniels told journalist Anderson Cooper on CBS's "60 Minutes" programme that she was threatened by a man in a parking lot in Las Vegas when she agreed to tell her story in 2011. She confirmed in the interview that she had had sex with Trump just once, in a hotel room during a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, California, in July 2006., The encounter occurred just months after his wife Melania Trump had given birth to their son Barron Trump. When asked by Cooper if she had sex with Trump, Daniels responded: "Yes."

She said she was not attracted to Trump and did not want to have sex with him, but: "I didn't say no. I'm not a victim," Daniels said, according to an advance transcript of the interview. She said she stayed in contact with Trump after the encounter because "I thought of it as a business deal," as the tycoon had said he would try to get her on "The Apprentice," the reality TV show he hosted at the time.

Daniels told CBS that her only sexual encounter with Trump took place after he invited her to dinner in his hotel suite. She said he had shown her a magazine with his picture on the cover and she had jokingly smacked his bottom with it. "He turned around and pulled his pants down a little, you know [he] had underwear on and stuff, and I just gave him a couple swats," she said.

At the time, Trump did not ask her not to reveal the encounter, but that changed when she agreed to tell her story to a magazine for USD 15,000 in 2011.

Daniels said. "I was in a parking lot, going to a fitness class with my infant daughter. Taking, you know, the seats facing backwards in the backseat, diaper bag, you know, gettin' all the stuff out," she said. "And a guy walked up on me and said to me, 'Leave Trump alone. Forget the story.' And then he leaned around and looked at my daughter and said, 'That's a beautiful little girl. It'd be a shame if something happened to her mom,'" Daniels said.

The experience left her shaking in fear and afraid she would drop her daughter, she added. Cooper asked: "You took it as a direct threat?" "Absolutely," Daniels said.

Daniels said that fear also motivated her to sign the non-disclosure agreement 11 days before the election in 2016. "The story was coming out again. I was concerned for my family and their safety," she said.

On her motives for speaking out now, Daniels said she did not see herself as a victim or a part of the "Me Too" movement but simply wanted to set the record straight. "I'm not okay with being made out to be a liar," she insisted.

Asked what she would say to Trump if he were watching the interview, she said: "He knows I'm telling the truth." President Trump has not responded to the allegations. The White House till date has denied any sexual encounter ever took place between Trump and Daniels.

Daniels did not, however, discuss evidence to back her encounter with Trump, the possibility of which was teased by her lawyer prior to the interview. Michael Avenatti posted a picture on Twitter of a computer disc along with the text: "If 'a picture is worth a thousand words,' how many words is this worth????? #60minutes #pleasedenyit."

Avenatti filed a lawsuit on behalf of Daniels -- whose real name is Stephanie Clifford -- earlier this month seeking to toss out the confidential settlement, under which she was paid by Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.

She is seeking to be released from a non-disclosure agreement she signed shortly before the 2016 presidential election that brought Trump to power, for which she was paid USD 130,000 -- leading to allegations that the payment amounted to an illicit contribution to Trump's campaign.

Cohen confirmed in February he had privately paid her the money but did not say what it was for. Trump's critics have suggested the money might amount to an illicit campaign contribution. Cohen said last month that neither Trump nor the Trump Organization were parties to the transaction. He also denies ever threatening Clifford, CBS News reports.

Cohen claimed that Daniels is liable for at least USD 20 million for violating the agreement -- USD 1 million for each time she did so, in a court filing made prior to the CBS interview.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 26, 2018 07:15 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).