Former President Donald Trump this summer offered a financial incentive to adult film star Stormy Daniels if she agreed to keep quiet about Trump — including about the relationship that became the center of the hush money payments that were ultimately the subject of a criminal trial in New York — Prior to the November election, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow reported Wednesday.
Daniels gave bombshell testimony earlier this year about hush money payments she received from Trump ahead of the 2016 election, in which she was paid to keep quiet about an affair between the two, a relationship he has denied. The jury convicted Trump of 34 crimes for falsifying company records related to the payments.
In a separate case from the hush money lawsuit, Daniels was ordered to pay Trump’s legal fees after losing a defamation lawsuit she filed against him. About two months after the hush money trial, Trump’s attorney told Daniels’ representative that the former president would agree to a lower payment if she agreed not to make disparaging comments about Trump.
“We do not agree that a $620,000 payment would fully satisfy the three judgments,” Trump’s lawyers said in a July letter obtained by Maddow from Daniels’ attorney.
“We may, however, agree to settle these matters for $620,000 provided that your client agrees in writing not to make any public or private statements regarding alleged prior interactions with President Trump, or any defamatory or disparaging statements about him, his companies and/or any affiliates or his suitability as a candidate for president,” the letter continued.
Daniels’ attorney rejected the proposal, Maddow reports. Daniels’ attorney told MSNBC they eventually settled on $627,500, but she did not agree to remain silent.
In a statement to MSNBC, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung falsely claimed that the documents Maddow referred to “were obtained as part of an illegal, foreign hacking attack on President Trump and his team.”
“We are working with authorities to determine legal consequences for those likely to commit federal violations by posting and using stolen material from opponents of the terrorist regime,” he continued. “Ms. Daniels has been held accountable for paying President Trump on top of the money she owes him as a result of her wrongdoing.”
MSNBC obtained the documents from Daniels’ attorney, not through a hack.
In May, Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying company records related to hush money paid to Daniels. This historic conviction marked the first time a former president was found guilty of a crime.
Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen made payments to Daniels in the latter part of the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump then reimbursed Cohen for the payments and listed them as legal fees in company documents. Trump is expected to be sentenced in the case next month.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
