Trump offered money to Stormy Daniels Hush in 2024

Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Days before the 2016 election, Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former fixer, made a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about her alleged affair with the Republican presidential candidate. It didn’t exactly go as planned. When Trump was in the White House, Daniels’ claims about their relationship (which Trump denies) still became public. Years later, in May 2024, a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records related to the payment.

Trump has been trying to overturn his conviction, or at least delay his sentencing (perhaps for good). But we’ve already learned a lot of sinister details about the alleged relationship. So why would Trump make a second attempt to silence Daniels before the 2024 elections?

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow reported Wednesday that Trump’s lawyer recently made another offer to Daniels. In 2018, years before the Manhattan district attorney brought charges against Trump, Daniels filed a defamation lawsuit over a Trump tweet attacking her for claiming she was threatened by a stranger to keep quiet about their affair. A federal judge dismissed the suit months later, and Daniels was ordered to pay Trump’s legal fees. This summer, the two camps were still negotiating the final figure: The Trump team had asked for $652,000 at one point, while the Daniels team said it should be closer to $600,000, per Maddow. Then, in July, Trump’s lawyer sent a letter to Daniels’ representative saying that a $620,000 payment was too low, but that they would agree to it if Daniels signed a confidentiality agreement. According to MSNBC, the letter said:

We disagree that a payment of $620,000.00 would be a full satisfaction of all three judgments. However, we may agree to resolve these matters for $620,000.00, provided that your client agrees in writing not to make public or private statements regarding any alleged past interactions with President Trump, or defamatory or disparaging statements about him, his business and/or any affiliates or your suitability as a candidate for President.

Daniels’ lawyer rejected the offer. Ultimately, Trump’s lawyer said that after speaking with “my client and co-counsel,” they would agree to $635,000 — with no mention of Daniels’ silence. Daniels’ attorney said they eventually reached a settlement on $627,500, with no NDA.

The Trump team responded to the story by claiming it was based on materials obtained in the Iranian hack of the campaign. Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung told MSNBC:

These alleged documents were obtained as part of an illegal foreign hacker attack against President Trump and his team. We are working with law enforcement to determine legal repercussions for those likely to commit federal crimes by posting and using material stolen by opponents of terrorist regimes. Daniels was held responsible for having to pay President Trump on top of the money she owed him as a result of his mistakes.

However, Maddow said the documents were provided by Daniels’ attorney.

It’s unclear why Team Trump would try to silence Daniels a second time. Do they think there are undecided voters who haven’t heard about Trump’s alleged affair with a porn star, six years after the story broke? Were they worried that Daniels was about to make even more outrageous claims about Trump’s penis by beating him with his own penis? Forbes cover, or his absurd phobia of sharks? Does Trump’s legal team have a habit of asking everyone they interact with to sign NDAs?

Whatever the motivation, the plan backfired once again; all Team Trump managed to do was put the names “Stormy Daniels” and “Donald Trump” together in the headlines, 19 days before another election.