Trump’s Lawyer Reportedly Tried to Silence Stormy Daniels Again Before Election

Social Media · 2024-10-20T20:36:09Z

As the 2024 election neared, Donald Trump once again made efforts to suppress potential damaging statements from adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, according to a recent report. Trump’s lawyer attempted to negotiate a deal with Daniels in the months leading up to Election Day, aiming to prevent her from making unflattering remarks about the former president.

Trump, who had previously been convicted on 34 felony counts for falsifying business records related to hush money payments to Daniels, reportedly sought to make another attempt at silencing her. Maddow explained that Trump’s legal team reached out to Daniels offering a financial arrangement designed to minimize what she owed Trump in legal fees.

Despite Trump's conviction, Daniels was still on the hook for over half a million dollars in legal costs stemming from a failed defamation lawsuit she filed against Trump in 2018. Maddow reported that the deal aimed to "get another hush money deal," with Trump’s lawyer suggesting a way to reduce Daniels' debt in exchange for her silence.

Citing documents from Daniels’ attorney, Maddow said that Trump’s legal team intended to "launder the new hush money payment" by framing it as a settlement of the legal judgment Daniels owed. According to the report, Trump’s lawyer proposed settling the outstanding amount for $620,000, provided Daniels agreed to remain silent about her past interactions with Trump and refrained from making any defamatory comments about him, his business, or his suitability as a presidential candidate.

An email obtained from Daniels’ attorney reportedly included the exact terms: the offer to settle for $620,000 in exchange for Daniels’ agreement to "make no public or private statements related to any alleged past interactions with President Trump" or any disparaging remarks about him. However, Maddow noted that Daniels rejected the offer.

When Daniels declined, Trump’s attorney responded with a slightly increased offer—$635,000—but this time, without any mention of a non-disclosure agreement. Eventually, Daniels agreed to a settlement of $627,500, and no confidentiality clause was included in the deal.

During her news segment, Maddow shared a screenshot of the email from Trump’s lawyer. In response to the report, Trump's spokesperson, Steven Cheung, dismissed the claims, stating that the documents Maddow referenced were part of an "illegal foreign hacking attack" against Trump and his team. Cheung said they were "working with authorities to determine the legal repercussions" for what he claimed were federal offenses related to the use of stolen material by "terror regime adversaries."

Cheung's comments alluded to the broader context of cyberattacks targeting Trump’s campaign. In September, the Department of Justice charged three men with hacking Trump’s campaign. While acknowledging that some documents had surfaced online, Maddow clarified that MSNBC had obtained the documents directly from Daniels’ legal team, not from a hacking source.

This latest attempt to silence Daniels, even after Trump's conviction, shows the ongoing complexities surrounding his legal battles and their intersection with his presidential campaigns.

Based on a report from the Rolling Stone 2024-10-21