In 2006, an alleged one-night sexual encounter took place between businessman and later U.S. President Donald Trump and pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels, followed by a conspiracy on the part of Trump to cover up the story in the month prior to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and Trump's falsification of business records as part of the conspiracy. The story broke in 2018, when The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump's attorney Michael Cohen paid US$130,000 to Daniels as hush money to buy her silence during the 2016 Trump campaign.
After the story broke, Cohen voluntarily cooperated with federal investigators and admitted the payment to Daniels was an illegal contribution to Trump's campaign intended to influence the election. Cohen pleaded guilty to this and other crimes and in December 2018 was sentenced to three years in prison. The scandal grew during 2018, as the public learned that Trump was alleged to have reimbursed Cohen via false business records designed to hide their true nature. The New York district attorney's office impaneled a grand jury to investigate Trump's involvement, and the grand jury voted to indict Trump on March 30, 2023.
Trump was prosecuted in New York for falsifying his business records in order to hide any one of three other crimes: Cohen's illegal campaign contribution, violations of tax laws, and/or Trump's alleged involvement in a conspiracy to unlawfully influence the 2016 presidential election. This marked the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president. A jury found him guilty on all 34 counts he was charged with, making him the first former U.S. president to become a convicted felon. Since The Wall Street Journal's initial report, Daniels and Trump have been outspoken about the scandal and have contested related claims in civil litigation.
Alleged 2006 encounter In July 2006, Stormy Daniels, an American pornographic film actress, met Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada. At the time, Trump was married to Melania Trump (who had given birth to their son Barron four months prior) and was the host of the reality TV series The Apprentice.
Daniels said, most recently under oath, that after briefly meeting Trump in 2006, she was invited to dinner and to meet him at his hotel room. Daniels testified that Trump asked her many questions about her life, and at some point Daniels said she had grown up poor. Trump also allegedly asked wide-ranging questions about the business model of pornographic video production, including but not limited to details about condom use and testing for sexually transmitted diseases. Daniels also said Trump talked about making Daniels a guest on The Apprentice. Daniels testified that she thought they would be going to a restaurant, and eventually used the bathroom in Trump's hotel room, but upon re-emerging was surprised to find Trump stripped to his underwear sitting on the bed. Daniels testified she said "I think we should go" and moved toward the door but Trump allegedly stood in her way saying in part, "This is the only way you're getting out of the trailer park." Daniels could not remember how she ended up on the bed, but testified that they had sex in the missionary position and Trump chose not to use a condom. Daniels insisted she was neither forced nor under the influence, but also said it was not something she wanted and that she "blacked out".
Daniels considered going public in 2011 In 2011, as Trump began exploring a potential presidential bid, Daniels considered selling the story to the celebrity magazine Life & Style for $15,000. As part of the negotiation, Daniels was interviewed and the magazine asked the Trump Organization for comment. In response, Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen threatened litigation and the magazine decided not to publish Daniels's story.
Daniels also talked about the alleged affair with the gossip magazine In Touch Weekly, whom Cohen also threatened to sue if the story were published.
In October 2011, Daniels's agent Gina Rodriguez leaked the story to Nik Richie, author of the gossip blog The Dirty. Daniels complained the blog changed facts of her story and the post was taken down the following day. Cohen testified in May 2024 that he undertook the effort to get the story removed after Trump took him up on his advice to do so.
Lead up to hush-money payment to Daniels Alleged catch-and-kill plan to help Trump's campaign In August 2015, about one month after Trump announced his 2016 campaign, a meeting allegedly took place between Trump, Cohen, and David Pecker, owner of American Media, Inc (AMI), which published the National Enquirer among other periodicals. In April 2024, Pecker testified under oath describing an alleged agreement at that meeting saying,
Pecker testified that after the meeting he immediately briefed National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard about the meeting's substance, i.e., that either Pecker or Howard were to alert Cohen if they learned of potential stories about Trump and that they were "going to try to help the campaign, and to do that, I want to keep this as quiet as possible."Transcript of Pecker Testimnony pg 1021
Over the next several months Pecker, through AMI, purchased two such stories, one from Dino Sajudin and the other from Playboy model Karen McDougal.
AMI buys Dino Sajudin's story In October, according to Pecker's 2024 testimony, Howard called Pecker to say Trump Tower doorman Dino Sajudin was trying to sell a different story about Trump, one involving an illegitimate child allegedly fathered by Trump. Pecker testified that he immediately informed Cohen per the August 2015 agreement. Pecker testified he had AMI investigate the story and eventually concluded it was not true, but Pecker testified he instructed AMI to purchase the story anyway so it would not be published elsewhere before the 2016 presidential election.
On November 15, AMI and Sajudin allegedly signed a "Source Agreement".AMI-Sajudin Source Agreement of Nov 15, 2015
On December 17, AMI and Sajudin allegedly signed an "Amendment" to the Source Agreement.Amendment to AMI-Sajudin source agreement In his 2024 testimony, Pecker said the amendment to the source agreement was made at Cohen's request for purposes of further reducing the chance the story might leak before the election.Pecker testimony pg 1072 According to the Associated Press, Cohen admitted that "as a Trump spokesman" he had "discussed" the Sajudin story with AMI while AMI was "working on it".
The following day AMI had the National Enquirer pay Sajudin the agreed-upon $30,000. According to Pecker's 2024 testimony Cohen told Pecker "The Boss will be very pleased" and that Pecker understood "The Boss" to be a reference to Trump. Pecker also testified there came a time that Pecker wanted to release Sajudin, since the story was not true and Pecker wanted to avoid "problems", but Cohen insisted the release be delayed until after the election.Pecker testimony, pg 1080
AMI buys Karen McDougal's story On August 5, AMI allegedly signed a "Name and Rights License Agreement" with Karen McDougal, who claimed to have had a months-long relationship with Trump several years earlier. In part the agreement assigned McDougal's rights to the story to AMI.McDougal-AMI "Name and Rights License Agreement"
On August 9, AMI allegedly paid McDougal the agreed-upon $150,000.AMI General Ledger Detail
On September 6, Cohen allegedly made a secret recording of a conversation between himself and Trump, during which Cohen allegedly told Trump that Trump would have to pay $150,000 for "all that info regarding our friend David", that Cohen had talked to Weisselberg about "how to set the whole thing up", and the deal included "All the stuff. Because -- here, you never know where that company, you never know what he's..." and Trump allegedly can be heard worrying about having a single point of failure to the plan, saying "Maybe he gets hit by a truck."Transcript of alleged Trump-Cohen recording on September 9, 2016 (People's Exhibit 248)
Sometime in September, according to Pecker's testimony, Cohen called Pecker to say Trump allegedly wanted to buy the rights to McDougal's story and boxes of Trump-related info in AMI's possession. Asked if Pecker knew why Trump allegedly wanted these materials, Pecker said Cohen told him "The Boss said that if [Pecker] got hit by a bus and/or the company was sold, he did not want for someone else to potentially publish those stories."Pecker testimony, pg 1148
On September 21, AMI allegedly caused a third party limited liability company (LLC) to invoice Cohen's LLC for $125,000, the agreed-upon price for Cohen's LLC to acquire AMI's rights to the McDougal story, according to Pecker's 2024 testimony.Invoice from Investor Advisory Services LLC to Resolution Consultants LLCPecker testimony, pg 1153Pecker testimony, pg 1154
On September 30, AMI allegedly agreed to assign its rights to McDougal's story to Cohen's "Resolution Consultants LLC" for "good and valuable consideration".Assignment of License Agreement
Sometime in the first week of October, according to Pecker's 2024 testimony, Pecker consulted with counsel, decided to cancel the sale of McDougal's story to Cohen's LLC, and communicated that decision to Cohen, who allegedly replied "The Boss will be very angry with you." AMI was never reimbursed for purchasing the McDougal story, according to Pecker.Pecker testimony, pg 1159Pecker testimony, pg 1160
Access Hollywood Tape becomes public On October 7, 2016—only one month before the 2016 election—the Access Hollywood tape was released. In it, then-Republican candidate Donald Trump described his approach to seducing women: I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. ... Grab 'em by the pussy. You can do anything. When the tape became public, multiple Republican leaders wanted Trump to drop out of the race, and House speaker Paul Ryan canceled an event with Trump.
Trump's attorney pays hush money to Stormy Daniels On October 8, 2016, Pecker allegedly learned that Daniels was trying to sell the story of her alleged 2006 affair with Trump.
On October 9, Cohen allegedly learned that Pecker had instructed AMI to not purchase Daniels's story.
On October 17, Cohen submitted paperwork to create a Delaware-registered limited liability company named "Essential Consultants, LLC".
On October 25, Pecker again allegedly told Cohen that AMI would not buy Daniels's story and that Pecker believed Cohen should buy her story.David Pecker testimony on April 26, 2024 in People of New York v Donald J. Trump, pg 1483.
On October 26, Cohen opened a bank account for the LLC and on October 27 used his personal home equity line of credit to wire $130,000 into the LLC's account. Cohen corresponded with the bank using his Trump Organization email account and representing himself as "Special Counsel to Donald J. Trump".Email used as exhibit in trial
Investigations On January 12, 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported that in October 2016, just before the 2016 United States presidential election, Michael Cohen, executive vice president at the Trump Organization and special counsel to then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, arranged a payment of US$130,000 to pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels to stop her disclosing an affair she and Trump allegedly had in July 2006. Daniels had signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). At first, Cohen denied Trump had the alleged affair and sought to suppress the allegation based on the NDA, but a month later publicly acknowledged making the payment.