Trump tried again to silence Stormy Daniels with a hush money agreement

Photo: White House/Alan via Wikimedia Commons (CC License 3.0)

Former President and current Republican candidate Donald Trump reportedly tried to get adult film actor Stormy Daniels to sign a hush money agreement – againhaving already been found guilty on charges related to the first time he bought her silence.

This week our MSNBC host Rachel Maddow continued the story All In with Chris Hayes. According to Maddow, Daniels’ lawyer provided her and her team with documents showing that, with the November election looming, Trump’s lawyers offered to reduce the amount Daniels owed the former president in legal fees after she filed a defamation lawsuit against him in 2020 Trump’s lawyers wanted Daniels to agree not to talk about the former president.

Related:

Daniels, of course, was at the center of the criminal case in which Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records related to payments Daniels received before the 2016 election to cover up his alleged extramarital affair with the adult film actress.

Your LGBTQ+ guide to the 2024 election

Stay ahead of the 2024 election with our newsletter covering key candidates, issues and perspectives.

In another case, Daniels sued the former president for defamation. The case was dismissed and Daniels was ordered to pay more than $600,000 to cover Trump’s legal fees.

According to Maddow, Daniels was able to raise enough to cover her debt to Trump through a GoFundMe account. But during what Maddow described as normal negotiations over the exact amount she would pay, Daniels received a call she wasn’t expecting.

On Hayes’ show, Maddow showed a cellphone video of that call apparently taken by Daniels, in which a voice identified as Daniels’ attorney Clark Brewster tells Daniels, “They want to make a deal where they keep you quiet.”

“During these negotiations to repay the last legal settlement between them, Trump is attempting to strike another hush money deal with Stormy Daniels The election,” Maddow explained.

“Trump’s lawyer basically offered to take it off the bottom line. “They would act like Stormy Daniels owed Trump less money than they actually believed if she also signed an agreement not to talk about Trump,” she continued. “This time they apparently planned to launder the new hush money payment to Stormy Daniels by paying a court judgment.”

In addition to the recordings of the call, Daniels’ attorney also provided Maddow and MSNBC with an email from Trump attorney Harry J. Ross dated July 25, 2024, in which Ross writes that Trump’s lawyers “do not agree” to a payment of $620,000. . “Would be fully satisfied with the three judgments,” they “would agree to settle these matters for $620,000.00, provided your client agrees in writing not to make any public or private statements relating to alleged past interactions with President Trump.” … or his suitability as a presidential candidate.”

As Maddow noted, Trump’s lawyers essentially agreed to ask for $30,000 less than they said she owed if she agreed to sign another nondisclosure agreement similar to the one that led to Trump’s criminal conviction.

Both Daniels and her lawyers firmly rejected the offer. According to Maddow, Daniels’ attorney said they eventually agreed to a payment of $627,500, which she paid without signing another NDA.

Maddow said Trump’s lawyer did not respond to questions about the matter, but instead referred her questions to the Trump campaign.

Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung wrote in a statement: “These alleged documents were obtained as part of an illegal foreign hacking attack against President Trump and his team.”

Maddow reiterated that MSNBC received the documents directly from Daniels’ attorney. “There was no hacking involved. We didn’t get them through a hack or leak of hacked documents,” she said.

“The bottom line here is that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is currently awaiting sentencing for crimes involving a secret hush money payment he made to him [adult film] star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election to stop her from talking about him, and especially from having sex with him,” Maddow said. “And now, just before the 2024 election, Trump has again demanded that Stormy Daniels sign an agreement not to talk about him, offering to take thousands of dollars off her bill if she did.”

Maddow said MSNBC contacted the New York attorney general’s office, which prosecuted Trump in the first hush money trial, and they declined to comment.

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation Newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines impacting LGBTQ+ communities around the world.

Don’t forget to share: