WASHINGTON – Amid allegations that Donald Trump’s personal lawyer arrangedfor a payout to a porn star to hush up her sexual encounter with the USPresident, American tabloid In Touch on Wednesday published a 2011interview in which adult film actress Stephanie Clifford confirmed theaffair and said it had happened just four months after Melania Trump gavebirth.
Clifford told In Touch that she had sex with Trump at his Lake Tahoe, NV,hotel suite in 2006. Clifford also said that Trump had allegedly offered tocast her on The Apprentice, a reality show he hosted at that time. Trumpallegedly repeated the promise several times during their brief fling.
“We had really good banter,” Clifford said. “He told me once that I wassomeone to be reckoned with, beautiful, smart, just like his daughter,” shetold In Touch adding that the sex with Trump was “textbook generic.”
In Touch also claimed that they had corroborated the story with Clifford’sfriend Greg Deuschle, who goes by the name of Randy Spears in pornographicfilms, and her ex-husband, Mike Mosny. The tabloid added thatClifford “took and passed a polygraph test at the time of the interview.”
The story comes close on the heels of The Wall Street Journal’s report lastweek which alleged that Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen brokereda $130,000 deal with Clifford, who is popularly known by her screen nameStormy Daniels, to prevent her from going public before the 2016 USPresidential elections.
According to the WSJ report published on January 12, Trump met Clifford ata golf event in 2006 — a year after he got married to Melania. Cliffordreportedly began talking with ABC News in the fall of 2016 for a storyinvolving an alleged relationship with Trump but agreed to a $130,000 dealto stay silent. Cohen arranged for the payment through Clifford’s lawyer,Keith Davidson, a month before the election, WSJ reported.
Without addressing his role in the negotiations, Cohen said Trump deniesany such relationship with Clifford. The porn star has also previouslydenied the alleged relationship with Trump. Cohen also sent WSJ a statement— signed as “Stormy Daniels” — in which the actress denied receiving “hushmoney” from Trump. On Friday, the New York Times reported that Clifford hadalso been in touch with the online magazine Slate. Jacob Weisberg,editor-in-chief of the Slate Group, told the Times that Clifford had toldhim she had an affair with Trump.
This is not the first time Trump is facing allegations of “hush money.”Days before the 2016 election, WSJ had published a story stating that theNational Enquirer — run by Trump-supporter David Pecker — had paid $150,000to silence former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal about a sexual encountershe allegedly had with Trump a decade ago.