Stormy Daniels claims she was threatened to 'leave Trump alone' over alleged affair

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Adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, who claims she had sex with Donald Trump before he was president, has said she was threatened in 2011 while in a car park with her infant daughter to discourage her from discussing the alleged relationship.

Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, told CBS News' 60 Minutes that she was on her way to a fitness class with her child when an unknown man approached her, according to an interview broadcast on Sunday.

“And a guy walked up on me and said to me, 'Leave Trump alone. Forget the story.' And then he leaned around and looked at my daughter and said, 'That’s a beautiful little girl. It'd be a shame if something happened to her mom.' And then he was gone,” Ms Daniels said.

Ms Daniels sued the president on March 6, stating Mr Trump never signed an agreement for her to keep quiet about an “intimate” relationship between them.

White House and Mr Trump have both denied the affair occurred. Mr Trump did not respond to reporters' shouted questions about whether he would watch the interview when he returned to the White House from Florida on Sunday evening.

Ms Daniels' appearance represented back to back trouble for Mr Trump after an interview broadcast last week on CNN with former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who described a 10-month long affair with Mr Trump starting in 2006. The White House and Mr Trump has denied those allegations too.

Mr Trump would have been married to his wife, Melania, during both the alleged extramarital relationships. The first lady accompanied him this weekend to his Florida golf club. A White House spokeswoman said Melania stayed behind as is her custom during their son's school holiday.

Ms Daniels told 60 Minutes that she and Mr Trump had had sexual relations only once in 2006, but that she had seen him other occasions and he had kept in touch with her. She said she was not attracted to Mr Trump, who was 60, to Ms Daniels' 27, in 2006.

Mr Trump lawyer Michael Cohen said he paid her $130,000 of his own money during the 2016 presidential election campaign. Ms Daniels told Anderson Cooper that the agreement was appealing because it meant she would receive some money but also not have to worry about the effect the revelation of the alleged affair would have on her child. She signed the agreement 11 days before the election.

The payment could pose a legal problem. Watchdog groups have filed complaints with the Department of Justice and Federal Election Commission, saying that it may have violated campaign finance law by exceeding the limit on the size of a contribution.

Mr Cohen, who has also denied that there was an affair, has not explained why he made the payment. Mr Cohen did not respond to requests for comment after the interview aired.

Ms Daniels and her attorney, Michael Avenatti would not discuss in the interview whether they had text messages or other materials that might verify her story.

In reaction to the story, Mr Avenatti later tweeted: "Any claim that 'There was nothing new other than the details of the threat' is not only false but is also similar to asking 'Other than the short interruption Mrs. Lincoln, what did you think of the play?'" appearing to reference the assassination of President Lincoln.

In the interview, Ms Daniels was asked why she repeatedly signed statements denying the relationship with Mr Trump, and acknowledged that there could be questions about her credibility.

“I felt intimidated and ... honestly bullied. And I didn't know what to do. And so I signed it,” Ms Daniels said.

Asked why viewers could be confident now that she was telling the truth, she said, “Cause I have no reason to lie. I'm opening myself up for, you know, possible danger, and definitely a whole lot of s***,” she said.

Reuters