Clifford—who performs under the stage name Stormy Daniels, and is a veteran of the adult film industry—allegedly met Trump during a celebrity golf tournament in 2006, a year after he married his current wife, Melania. Per the Journal, attorney Michael Cohen—who’s described himself as Trump’s “fix-it guy” in the past—arranged the $130,000 payment to her late last year, after she apparently began talking to Good Morning America about a story on the alleged affair. Cohen later issued a statement, signed by “Stormy Daniels,” that outright denied that she had ever had a “sexual and/or romantic affair” with Trump, adding, “Rumors that I have received hush money from Donald Trump are completely false.”
Clifford didn’t respond to the Journal’s request for comment; meanwhile, the White House has, of course, aggressively denied that any of this is true. Trump has been accused by multiple women of groping or sexually assaulting them in the past, although the alleged affair between him and Clifford is reported to have been consensual.
