Trump Faces Trial Over Charges Linked to Alleged Hush-Money Payments to Adult Film Actress
On April 14, 2024, Roger Stone, a former adviser to Donald Trump's presidential campaign, posted an image on social media purporting to be a letter signed by adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The letter denies any involvement in an affair with Trump. Currently, Trump is undergoing a criminal trial for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush-money payments to Daniels before the 2016 elections. The letter, dated Jan. 30, 2018, states, "I am denying this affair [with Trump] because it never happened." Some conservative figures on social media shared this letter as evidence against the affair allegations. Trump's official Truth Social account also shared the letter in April 2024, questioning whether mainstream media would report on it.
All of the above posts disregard that this letter was reported on and addressed in 2018, and Daniels has discussed it in depth since. While the letter is indeed a signed statement from Daniels — by her own admission — she maintains she signed it under pressure and its contents were false.
The full text of the letter reads:
To Whom It May Concern:
Over the past few weeks I have been asked countless times to comment on reports of an alleged sexual relationship I had with Donald Trump many, many, many years ago.
The fact of the matter is that each party to this alleged affair denied its existence in 2006, 20011 [sic], 2016, 2017 and now again in 2018. I am not denying this affair because I was paid "hush money" as has been reported in overseas owned tabloids. I am denying this affair because it never happened.
I will have no further comment on this matter. Please feel free to check me out on Instagram at @thestormydaniels.
Thank you,
Stormy Daniels
On April 15, 2024, the criminal trial against former U.S. President Donald Trump commenced, focusing on allegations that he falsified records to facilitate hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, allegedly to keep quiet about their supposed affair in 2006. According to Reuters, Trump stands accused of authorizing a $130,000 payment to Daniels during the final stages of his 2016 presidential campaign. Testimony from Trump's former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, asserts that he orchestrated the payments to ensure Daniels' silence. Cohen himself pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations in 2018, though Trump has vehemently denounced him as a "serial liar."
The letter purportedly signed by Daniels resurfaced in 2023 when it circulated widely on social media, particularly among conservative accounts on X. The Washington Post had previously reported on the letter in 2018, confirming its authenticity with Daniels' representative.
However, Daniels addressed the letter's authenticity in a post on X and during subsequent television interviews. Initially evading the topic, she later admitted feeling coerced into signing it. During a January 2018 appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," Daniels denied knowledge of the letter's origin and avoided directly addressing whether she signed it. Photographs of two distinct statements supposedly signed by Daniels, both disavowing the alleged affair, were shared by Kimmel, revealing inconsistencies in her signatures.
