Panorama of the scandal between Mr. Trump and the 18+ stars
The scandal involving former President Trump and an adult film star, recently revealed following his re-election, has captured intense public interest. Shocking details about their relationship are gradually coming to light, shedding more insight into the role of key figures behind the scenes who may have orchestrated the exposure of this story.
Several sources suggest there may be a sophisticated plot by hidden forces aiming to disrupt Trump’s political career. However, the identity of the mastermind behind it all remains a mystery, leaving the public even more intrigued.
became the first former US President in history to face a criminal trial, partly related to his affair with porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business documents to cover up hush money payments. Each count carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison.
The case revolves around a $130,000 payment that Michael Cohen, Mr Trump’s then fixer, paid to Daniels before the 2016 US presidential election to keep quiet about an intentional 2006
affair .The trial, expected to last six to eight weeks, is expected to be packed with dramatic testimony after years of scandal. Witnesses will testify about hotel room meetings, television interviews and backroom campaign deals.
Before the trial in Manhattan (New York, USA) officially begins, let’s review the timeline of Mr. Trump’s illicit relationship with
born in 1979.
First meeting
Stormy Daniels met Donald Trump in 2006. Photo:
MySpace.Adult film star Stormy Daniels first met billionaire Donald Trump at a celebrity charity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nevada (USA) in July 2006, when she was 27 years old.
In a 2018 interview with
60 Minutes
, Daniels said the businessman, born in 1946, asked her out for dinner. When she arrived at Trump’s hotel room, the American billionaire did not change out of his clothes but explained that he was meant to have dinner in the room. The date ended with sex.
Daniels added that Trump then invited her to a Trump Vodka launch party in California and to his office in New York City. At the time, Trump was married to his current wife, Melania Trump, and the couple had welcomed their son, Barron, a few months earlier.
The 18+ actress said that in July 2007, Mr. Trump asked to meet her at his bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. The appointment was to discuss a possible appearance on a spin-off of the reality show Celebrity Apprentice . Daniels said the two spent four hours together but did not have sex.
In May 2011, Daniels gave an interview to In Touch magazine , in which she discussed her first meeting with Trump and the alleged sexual encounter. However, the interview was never published due to threats of lawsuits from Trump’s lawyers.
hush money
In June 2016, a year after Mr. Trump announced his candidacy for the White House as the Republican candidate, former Playboy model Karen McDougal offered to sell the story of her 10-month affair (2006-2007) with the American billionaire.
In a 2018 interview with CNN ‘s Anderson Cooper , McDougal confirmed that she truly loved the man, who was 33 years her senior. She admitted that the two had unprotected sex dozens of times and that she was the one who initiated the relationship. She then dated actor Bruce Willis and went on a trip together to Italy in August 2007.
Tháng 8/2016, tờ National Enquirer giành được thỏa thuận đưa tin độc quyền với McDougal sau khi bỏ ra 150.000 USD. Tuy nhiên, tờ báo không xuất bản bất kỳ bài báo nào. Nguyên nhân được cho là David Pecker, Giám đốc điều hành của American Media, công ty mẹ của National Enquirer, từng hứa là tai mắt của ông Trump trong cuộc gặp vào tháng 8/2015.
Tháng 9/2016, luật sư Cohen thay mặt ông Trump đạt được thỏa thuận đảm bảo McDougal giữ im lặng.
Ông Trump cũng có mối quan hệ với Karen McDougal giai đoạn 2006-2007. Ảnh: Twitter.
Một tháng sau, ông Cohen liên lạc với luật sư của Daniels là Keith Davidson và đạt được thỏa thuận trị giá 130.000 USD để ngôi sao khiêu dâm ký vào văn bản xác nhận không tiết lộ thông tin.
Luật sư của Trump thành lập công ty có trụ sở ở tiểu bang Delaware, gọi là Essential Consultants LLC, gửi vào tài khoản công ty số tiền 131.000 USD, rồi lại chuyển 130.000 USD từ Essential Consultants tới Davidson. Thỏa thuận giữ bí mật sau đó được ký kết bằng cách sử dụng bí danh “Peggy Peterson” cho Daniels và “David Dennison” cho Trump.
Bê bối bị phanh phui
Thông tin chi tiết về thỏa thuận giữa McDougal và American Media bị Wall Street Journal phanh phui vào 4 ngày trước cuộc bầu cử vào tháng 11/2016. Tờ báo cũng đưa tin Daniels đã đàm phán với chương trình Good Morning America của ABC để phỏng vấn.
Ngay sau đó, chiến dịch tranh cử của ông Trump khẳng định cáo buộc ngoại tình là sai sự thật.
Thời điểm đó, vụ việc không gây ra sóng gió gì cho ông Trump. Kết quả, vào ngày 8/11/2016, ông Trump đắc cử Tổng thống Mỹ, đánh bại bà Hillary Clinton.
Vào tháng 1/2017, ông Cohen đòi phía ông Trump trả 130.000 USD đã trả cho Daniels, kèm theo 50.000 USD tiền công. Trump Organization sau đó quyết định trả cho luật sư 420.000 USD trong thời gian một năm. Cohen hợp thức hóa khoản tiền trên bằng hóa đơn trị giá 35.000 USD/tháng.
Khoảng một năm sau, Wall Street Journal đưa tin về sự tồn tại của khoản thanh toán 130.000 USD cho Daniels và bị ông Trump bác bỏ. Tuy nhiên, vào tháng 2/2018, luật sư Michael Cohen thừa nhận bỏ tiền túi trả cho Daniels nhưng không được ông Trump hay chiến dịch của ông hoàn trả khoản cho đó. Ông nhấn mạnh, số tiền đó là hợp pháp, không phải là khoản đóng góp cho chiến dịch hay chi tiêu cho chiến dịch tranh cử của bất kỳ ai.
Tháng 3/2018, Daniels kiện ông Trump và Essential Consultants để hủy bỏ thỏa thuận không tiết lộ thông tin. Cô lập luận thỏa thuận không có hiệu lực vì ông Trump – hay còn gọi là David Dennison – không ký tên. Cô nhấn mạnh nhận được từ Cohen 130.000 USD nhưng có sự đe dọa. Lúc này, đại diện pháp lý cho người đẹp là luật sư Michael Avenatti.
Ông Michael Cohen là luật sư của Donald Trump từ năm 2006 đến tháng 5/2018. Ảnh: AP.
In April 2018, Mr. Trump claimed that he knew nothing about the $130,000 and called Daniels a fraud . In response, the 18+ actress sued her ex for defamation. However, the lawsuit was dismissed by a judge in October of the same year. The actress had to pay nearly $300,000 in legal fees.
In April 2018, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided Cohen’s home and office.
A month later, Mr. Trump reversed his earlier statement. He said on Twitter that he had repaid Cohen the $130,000 but that he had not taken money from the campaign.
In August 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to criminal charges, including campaign finance violations for hush money payments. He admitted acting at Trump’s direction for the primary purpose of influencing the election. He was sentenced to three years in prison for violating election law, along with other tax and bank fraud charges.
In August 2019, then-Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. issued a subpoena to the Trump Organization for documents about the payments to Cohen, as well as Trump’s tax records. Prior to this move, Trump claimed immunity from criminal proceedings while in office. However, in July 2020, the US Supreme Court ruled that Trump was not immune.
In January 2023, Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney in 2023, and reporters in his office began presenting evidence to a grand jury. Cohen and Pecker were on the witness list.
On March 31, 2023, a grand jury voted to indict Trump. This was the first time a former US president had been criminally prosecuted. On April 4, 2023, Mr. Trump was arraigned in court and pleaded not guilty to 34 charges of falsifying business records.
