Stormy Daniels is weighing in on the indictment against Donald Trump.
via People:
On Thursday, the former president, 76, was indicted by a grand jury in New York, making him the first sitting or former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges. The indictment comes more than six years after he allegedly paid $130,000 in hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels while he was the presidential candidate in 2016.
“Trump is no longer untouchable,” Daniels told The Sunday Times. “A person in power is not exempt from the law. And no matter what your job is, or what your bank account says, you’re held accountable for the things you’ve said and done, and justice is served.”
Though she added that the grand jury’s decision is “vindication,” she also said, “It’s bittersweet. He’s done so much worse that he should have been taken down [for] before. I am fully aware of the insanity of it, being a porn star. But it’s also poetic; this p—- grabbed back.”
She went on to share her thoughts on the inevitable fallout over the indictment.
“It’s monumental and epic, and I’m proud,” Daniels said. “The other side of it is that it’s going to continue to divide people and bring them up in arms. He’s already gotten away with inciting a riot, and causing death and destruction. Whatever the outcome is, it’s going to cause violence, and there’s going to be injuries and death. There’s the potential for a lot of good to come from this. But either way, a lot of bad is going to come from it, too.”
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, told the outlet that since the indictment she has already been the target of threats on “all social media platforms, and email, and phone,” adding that she’s afraid “for the first time ever.”
“Part of me is hesitant to say that, because you don’t want blood in the water. It kind of encourages the sharks. It’s especially scary because Trump himself is inciting violence and encouraging it.”
She clarified that Trump isn’t the one she’s afraid of.
“The country is more divided and people are more desperate. I’m not afraid of him, or of the government, but it just takes one crazy supporter who thinks they’re doing God’s work or protecting democracy.”
She’s also not “as scared” to see Trump in court, pointing out, “I’ve seen him naked. There’s no way he could be scarier with his clothes on. And after what [Michael] Avenatti put me through last January, I’m not as scared.”
Avenatti, Daniels’ former lawyer, was convicted of fraud after he stole around $300,000 of the $800,000 advance for her October 2018 book Full Disclosure about her alleged affair with Trump prior to his presidency. He was his own counsel and grilled Daniels for hours when she was on the stand, per The Times. He was sentenced to four years last year.
Daniels said she’s ready to serve as a witness for the historic trial in the charges against Trump.
“I hope that I do have to. I’m not afraid, I have nothing to hide, and I look forward to telling everybody what I know.”
Revealing her first thoughts on Trump’s indictment, Daniels said it was “a shock. There was no warning.” She had just woken up from a nap and was outside riding her horse.
“There’s something really ironic and hilarious that I got the news about the indictment while I was sitting on a horse named Redemption,” she joked, noting that she purchased Redemption with a portion of the alleged six-figure payout she received from Trump.
Though Daniels has alleged she and Trump had sex in a hotel room in Nevada back in 2006, Trump has denied the claim. His now-former attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to charges related to the lump sum in 2018 and was sentenced to three years in prison. He was also disbarred.
Asked what the money was for if she and Trump allegedly didn’t have sex, Daniels said, “I don’t know. I don’t think he’s ever answered that question.”
She went on to share her thoughts about Cohen, who she made amends with in February 2021. “I know that he is worried for his safety and his family — and even my safety.”
“He was sort of responsible for making my life hell, indirectly. But part of me understands that he was trying to be loyal and do his job and really thought he was trying to do the right thing. And it takes a brave person to do what he’s done.”
Adding what she believes was the turning point in her alleged encounter with Trump, Daniels continued, “If I hadn’t signed the NDA, and I hadn’t taken the hush money, then he didn’t do anything wrong. He banged another hot chick — which he’s kind of known for doing — and nothing about that is illegal. Signing the NDA and taking the hush money was actually the greatest gift that I gave. Because it’s what made it illegal, which made it possible to actually go after him.”
She added that her work as an adult film star was “used to ruin my credibility.”
“Can you think of a single time that ‘porn star’ wasn’t put in front of my name?” she told The Sunday Times.” Imagine if I did something else — would ‘school teacher Stormy Daniels,’ or ‘accountant Stormy Daniels’ have ever been printed? No, it was salacious and used against me and used to ruin my credibility.”
She did, however, use the title to her advantage. “Because I couldn’t be shamed. I couldn’t be threatened with nude photos — they are everywhere.”
When she first shared her story, she said she “would get messages that my daughter should be euthanized.” But when she tied the knot with another porn star, Barrett Blade, last year she thought the drama “was behind me. And now I’m responsible for subjecting another person and another person’s family to s— that they didn’t ask for. I feel like I’m a danger to anybody who I love or care about, or supports me or I’m friends with.”
Asked if she has regrets about going public with the allegations against Trump, she said she has mixed feelings.
“Sometimes in the moment, I’m like, ‘What the f— was I thinking? Was it worth it?’ But I wouldn’t be able to look at myself in the mirror. If I could go back far enough to where I did go to the hotel that night, I wouldn’t have done that. But…coming forward, I would do the same thing again. Because it was the right thing to do.”
The charges against Trump may be made public next Tuesday, when the former president is expected to appear in a Manhattan courtroom for his arraignment, according to his attorneys.
Who would’ve ever thought that Stormy Daniels would end up being the person to send Donald Trump to jail?
