President Trump’s Stormy Daniels problem is getting worse.
The porn star, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, says she is ready to spill the beans about a 2006 extramarital sexual encounter with the president now that Michael Cohen, the president’s personal attorney, has acknowledged he paid her $130,000 to not discuss the allegations publicly.
Cohen, who spent years leading the legal team at the Trump Organization, has in the past described himself as the president’s “fix-it guy.”
A lawyer for Clifford says Cohen violated their nondisclosure agreement and that she’s preparing to tell the story in full. “Everything is off now and Stormy is going to tell her story,” said Gina Rodriguez, an attorney for Clifford.
Clifford’s accusations bring unwanted scrutiny to the Trump’s private life, and could also have legal ramifications.
A liberal watchdog group has filed complaints with the Department of Justice and the Federal Election Commission alleging that Cohen’s payment to Clifford runs afoul of campaign finance laws, although GOP lawyers are dismissive of the claims.
It’s another political headache for the White House at a time when the administration is dealing with the enduring controversy over a senior aide who resigned amid accusations he abused his ex-wives.
Republicans are worried that the White House’s stumbling response to that controversy will further erode their standing with women ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
As a result, more news about a possible presidential affair with a porn star, which allegedly took place shortly after first lady Melania Trump gave birth, is unwelcome.
“It’s one more example of Trump disrespecting women, both his wife and the woman he had an affair with and then tried to buy her silence,” said Jennifer Lawless, who leads American University’s Women & Politics Institute.
“Trump’s level of support among women voters has gone down and these issues have a lot to do with it. But more importantly for Republicans, it drives up Democratic turnout that leads to the kinds of outcomes we saw recently in Virginia.”
Rumors of Clifford’s allegations had been bubbling under the surface for some time at celebrity gossip magazines.
