EYE OF THE STORM
Who is Stormy Daniels? Porn star Stephanie Clifford who claimed that she had sex with Donald Trump
PORN legend Stormy Daniels shook the White House and the world with bombshell claims of an affair with Donald Trump.
The pair subsequently locked horns on Twitter just hours after her defamation case was thrown out of court. Here is everything we know.
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Who is Stormy Daniels?
Stephanie Clifford became famous under the porn star name Stormy Daniels.
She was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on March 17, 1979.
As a 17-year-old she began her career as a stripper before entering the porn industry.
Her adopted stage name is a combination of the Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx's daughter Storm, and Jack Daniels whiskey.
The 40-year-old has had a contract with the porn studio Wicked Pictures since 2002, and has directed for the company since 2004.
In the same year she won the Best New Starlet Award from Adult Video News, and was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame in 2014.
Clifford has made appearances in mainstream films such as The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up.
She also starred in Maroon 5's music video for Wake Up Call as a pole dancer.
Since the Donald Trump claims emerged, Stormy Daniels has become the world's most searched for adult entertainer, according to PornHub.
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What did Stormy Daniels claim and why did she sue Donald Trump?
Stormy Daniels sued Donald Trump over an alleged "hush-agreement" before the 2016 election.
She claimed Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen paid her $130,000 (£96,000) in exchange for her silence over the romp claims.
Daniels alleged she and Donald Trump had sex at the Edgewood Tahoe golf tournament in 2006, one year into his marriage with Melania Trump and four months after the birth of Barron Trump.
She was suing Trump for defamation after Trump said her claims that a man threatened her to keep quiet about their alleged affair was a "total con job."
Daniels' lawyers had shown in court a composite sketch of the man she claimed threatened her, but Trump described this as "fake news".
The US president tweeted that the man was "nonexistent" and that Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, was playing the "fake news media for fools."
He also retweeted a side-by-side photo comparing the sketch with a photo of Daniels' husband.
US District Judge S. James Otero ruled that Trump's statement was protected speech under the First Amendment.
A judgement released in the Central District of California court, referring to Ms Daniels as the plaintiff, stated: "The Court agrees with Mr Trump's argument because the tweet in question constitutes "rhetorical hyperbole" normally associated with politics and public discourse in the United States.
"The First Amendment protects this type of rhetorical statement."
The amount Ms Daniels will have to pay Mr Trump has not yet been decided, Charles Harder, the president's lawyer, said.
Her lawyer, Michael Avenatti tweeted to say his client would be appealing the judgement, adding he is "confident of a reversal".
She has since terminated her arrangement with Avenatti, who was arrested on charges of extorting $20million from Nike on 25 March 2019.
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What is the 'horseface' spat?
Daniels and Trump laid into each other in a shockingly personal Twitter spat after he branded her "Horseface".
The ex-porn star quickly bit back, saying in that case he must be into "bestiality" and calling him "Tiny" in a jibe about the size of his todger.
Daniels - who has stuck to her story that she and Trump had an affair - has previously compared Trump's penis to a small mushroom.
The spat came after her defamation lawsuit against the US president was thrown out.
Less than 24 hours after the judge’s decision, Trump tweeted: "Federal Judge throws out Stormy Danials (sic) lawsuit versus Trump.
"Trump is entitled to full legal fees. @FoxNews Great, now I can go after Horseface and her 3rd rate lawyer in the Great State of Texas."
The pair continued to spar over Twitter, with Daniels insulting Trump's reading speed and grasp of grammar.
Steamy details of Daniels' 'hotel tryst' with Trump
Stormy Daniels spelled out what she claims took place in the hotel room with Trump during an interview with US show 60 Minutes.
On the show she claimed:
- She ordered Donald to drop his trousers so she could spank his bum with a magazine that had his face on
- They only had sex once - at a charity golf event in Lake Tahoe, in 2006
- Trump did not wear a condom during their romp
- She did not find him physically attractive
- Trump told her he and wife Melania slept in separate rooms
- He compared Stormy to his "beautiful" daughter Ivanka
- Trump made her watch shark documentaries when they met up weeks later
- Stormy would not say if she had compromising pics or videos of Trump
Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump: A timeline
2006, July: Daniels and Trump have an alleged hotel romp at a charity golf tournament.
2011, March: Daniels reveals details of her affair with Trump in an interview with .
- She claims they had an "ongoing" relationship after they had “textbook generic sex”.
2018, January 12: President Trump "vehemently denies" claims of their affair.
- The Wall Street Journal claimed Cohen paid Ms Daniels as part of an agreement so she couldn't discuss the affair publicly.
- Cohen denied making the payment and said all allegations have been "consistently denied" for years.
January 17: In Touch Weekly interview published, and Cohen issues statement denying there had been an affair or payment.
February 13: Mr Cohen revealed he had paid Ms Daniels money from his own pocket, but said Trump and the Trump Organisation did not know about it.
February 14: Gina Rodriguez, Stormy Daniels manager, said her client was free to tell her story as she was no longer bound by the non-disclosure agreement, after Cohen's revelation.
March 7: Sarah Sanders, White House press secretary, said: "There was no knowledge of any payments from the president".
March 25: In a highly anticipated interview with 60 minutes, Ms Daniels said she was threatened to keep quite about her affair with Trump.
April 5: Mr Trump makes his first public comments about the affair, and said he did not know about the payment.
May 3: Trump's friend and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, told Fox News Trump repaid the hush money "over several months", but insisted it was not campaign money.
- Trump said the payment to Daniels had been made and said Cohen was reimbursed through a "monthly retainer".
May 4: Giuliani wanted to "clarify" his remarks and said: "There is no campaign violation.
- "The payment was made to resolve a personal and false allegation in order to protect the president's family. It would have been done in any event, whether he was a candidate or not."
May 17: Trump disclosed his reimbursement to his lawyer, who paid Daniels to hush her claims of an affair.
July 12: Daniels was arrested at a Ohio strip club, after she was accused of allowing a customer to touch her while performing. Mr Avenatti described the charges as a "politically motivated set up".
August 21: Trump's former lawyer pleads guilty to paying Stormy Daniels hush money "at the direction of the candidate" Mr Trump days before the election
August 25: Stormy to prove her story is true if Trump were to face impeachment
August 28: Stormy that it was "morbid curiosity" which led her to Trump's hotel suite on the night they allegedly had sex
September 19: Excerpts of her bombshell memoirs Full Disclosure are revealed in The Guardian. They spell out the full sordid details of Daniels' alleged romp with Trump
More on Stormy Daniels
How much was she offered to appear on Celebrity Big Brother?
Despite Stormy's former lawyer Michael Avenatti insisting she had "no interest" on appearing on the show, Stormy was booked to appear and landed in London on the day of the live launch - August 16, 2018.
But while in her hotel minutes before the live launch she had a furious bust-up with the producers and refused to take part.
A source told The Sun Online that she said she'd only go in if they gave her an extra £100,000 on top of her record £750,000 appearance fee.
She was due to be paid for just a week on the show.
CBB refused to stump up the extra cash so Stormy angrily told producers she wouldn’t go in — despite flying 4,900 miles from her home in Texas to appear.
Stormy Daniels explains why she did not appear on Celebrity Big Brother during an interview on Loose Women
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