I was threatened to keep quiet, says Stormy Daniels on Trump affair

Adult star Stormy Daniels on Sunday claimed that she was 'threatened' publicly by a man, who told her - "Leave Trump alone."

Speaking to Anderson Cooper in a highly-anticipated broadcast on CBS's news magazine, "60 Minutes", Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, recalled an encounter she said took place in a Las Vegas parking lot in 2011, The Guardian reported.

Daniels was on her way to a fitness class with her infant daughter when she said she was approached by a man.

"A guy walked up on me and said to me, 'Leave Trump alone. Forget the story. It was then at that point that the alleged threat of physical violence was made, according to her account," Daniels recalled.

The adult star added that the man, whom she could not identify, leaned around and looked at my daughter and said, 'That's a beautiful little girl. It'd be a shame if something happened to her mom."

After such comments, the man dissappeared from the scene, according to Daniels.

The allegation that an individual threatened Daniels with "actual violence" while attempting to frighten her off going public about her alleged sexual encounter with US President Donald Trump took the dispute between them to an entirely new level.

With days to go before the November 2016 presidential election, Daniels signed the non-disclosure agreement in return for USD 130,000 in hush money arranged by the US President's attorney Michael Cohen.

Daniels told CBS that she agreed to the gagging contract because "I was concerned for my family and their safety."

"Then in January 2018, after the Wall Street Journal had revealed the existence of the non-disclosure agreement, she signed another document that denied that any affair had taken place - a statement that she now says was a lie," she added.

Asked by Cooper why she signed a false statement, Daniels replied: "Because they made it sound like I had no choice."

Cooper then asked Daniels if the latter thought there would be legal repercussions if there was no sign to which she answered that "they can make your life hell in many different ways." Asked who "they" were, Daniels named Cohen.

The Guardian noted that Daniels' lawyer Michael Avenatti complained in the course of the 60 Minutes film that the veiled threat that was allegedly made against his client in 2011 was effectively repeated in the filing of a lawsuit earlier this month by Trump's legal team claiming USD 20 million in damages against her with a further USD 1 million penalty for any further violation of the non-disclosure agreement.

Avenatti said the suit was a form of intimidation. "You threaten someone with a USD 20 million lawsuit, it's a thuggish tactic. It's no different than what happened in the parking lot in Las Vegas."

Daniels refused to answer a question from Cooper about whether she had handed over all digital images, email messages and text messages relating to Trump as part of the 2016 gagging contract. She then replied that her lawyer had advised her not to discuss "those things".

On Thursday, Avenatti posted a tweet that featured a picture of a digital disc in a safe deposit box with the words "If 'a picture is worth a thousand words', how many words is this worth?"

On March 6, Daniels filed a civil lawsuit against President Trump claiming the nondisclosure agreement, which contains details about her alleged nine-month affair with the latter is "invalid" because the US President had "never signed it."

In response, President Trump's team sued Daniels, claiming that "she violated the agreement."

On Friday, former Playboy model named Karen McDougal in a CNN interview claimed that President Trump had tried to offer her money after they allegedly went intimate.

Further, McDougal expressed regret and apologised to Melania for her alleged encounter with the US President.

Both McDougal and Daniels claim that President Trump had allegedly had a sexual encounter, when the latter's wife and First Lady Melania Trump, had given birth to his son, Barron.

Many women have in the past have alleged that they had allegedly gone intimate with the US President.

However, the White House has refuted claims that President Trump had affairs with so many women, including Daniels and McDougal.

--ANI

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