Stormy Daniels threatened on ‘near-hourly basis’: lawyer
Porn actress fears for her safety after claiming she slept with President Trump
WASHINGTON Porn actress Stormy Daniels's lawyer said yesterday that his client receives threats on a "near-hourly basis" - the morning after she broke her silence on an alleged affair with US President Donald Trump.
Ms Daniels told CBS' "60 Minutes" on Sunday evening (yesterday morning, Singapore time) that she was approached by a man in a Las Vegas parking lot after she agreed to sell her story for US$15,000 (S$19,700) in 2011.
She said: "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 mum.'"
Interviewer Anderson Cooper asked: "You took it as a direct threat?"
Ms Daniels said: "Absolutely. I was rattled, I remember going into the workout class and my hands were shaking so much."
When asked by CBS yesterday if he is worried for her safety, her lawyer Michael Avenatti replied: "Absolutely. She receives threats on a near-hourly basis.
"Now, we don't have anything tying those to (Trump lawyer) Mr Cohen or Mr Trump, to be clear, but she's certainly scared."
Mr Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen, who paid Ms Daniels US$130,000 as part of a non-disclosure agreement signed in 2016, reportedly sent Mr Avenatti and Ms Daniels a cease and desist order late on Sunday.
Asked about the letter, Mr Avenatti later told NBC: "This is a man who has a history of thuggish behaviour using intimidation tactics trying to step on little people.
"If she's not telling the truth, let the president take to the podium and call her a liar."
Fox News reported that Mr Cohen's lawyer demanded in a letter that Ms Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, apologise for implying in the interview that Mr Cohen was behind the threat.
During the interview, Ms Daniels recounted an encounter with Mr Trump at his hotel suite in 2006 that she said was the only time they had sex.
The conversation "started off all about him, just talking about himself", with Mr Trump asking if Ms Daniels had seen his picture on the cover of a magazine, she said.
"I was like, does this, does this normally work for you? And he looked very taken back," she added.
"Someone should take that magazine and spank you with it."
She took the magazine and told Mr Trump to drop his pants, which he did - with underwear still on - "and I just gave him a couple swats," she said.
Mr Trump told her: "Wow, you, you are special. You remind me of my daughter.' You know, he's like, 'You're smart, beautiful and a woman to be reckoned with'."
Ms Daniels said she and Mr Trump had unprotected sex, despite the fact that she was not attracted to a man who was over 30 years her senior.
Asked why viewers could be confident 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***."
- REUTERS, AFP
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