Adult film actress and stripper Stormy Daniels, whose alleged hush money payments are likely at epicenter of Donald J. Trump’s indictment, has publicly volunteered to “take the stand” in the prosecution of the former president.
“Fingers crossed that I do,” she said in an interview on Times Radio.
“I have nothing to hide. I look forward to telling everybody what I know–but at this very moment, I have not officially been called,” added Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
She also told the interviewer she wasn’t afraid of squaring off with Trump in court.
The indictment was handed down by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on March 30.
It concerns payments to Daniels made by Trump’s then-lawyer, Michael Cohen.
She alleges the money was paid as part of a non-disclosure agreement meant to keep her quiet about a one-time consensual romantic encounter between the two in 2006.
Trump has maintained that the supposed affair never took place.
In 2018, Daniels signed a statement denying any sexual relations with Trump.
In March 2018, she agreed with Anderson Cooper on “60 Minutes” that the statement was, in his words, “a lie.”
“If it was untruthful, why did you sign it?” he asked.
“Because they made it sound like I had no choice,” she responded, later clarifying that she did not mean she was threatened with physical violence.
In her Times Radio interview, Daniels said she had participated in a video conference with Trump’s prosecutors at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
She said she “told them what I did and made it clear that I was willing to go on the stand and tell my story if they needed me.”
Daniels also criticized her former attorney, Michael Avenatti.
Avenatti, who once considered running for president as a Democrat, was given a four-year prison term in June 2022 after stealing almost $300,000 in book sale proceeds from Daniels–one of a string of convictions he has recently faced.
In December 2022, Avenatti received a 14-year sentence for defrauding clients out of millions and for obstructing and impeding the Internal Revenue Service.
The celebrity lawyer “has done great evil for which he must answer,” said U.S. District Judge James Selna, who sentenced Avenatti.
Daniels’ Ideal Outcome
The Times Radio interviewer asked Daniels, “What would a win look like for you–what would you like the outcome to be?”
“I can only speak from a selfish and personal opinion on that, and that’s that it is revealed that I was telling the truth,” she said, adding that she hoped to show that “a person in power is not exempt from the law, not matter what your job is or your bank account says.”
“From a broader perspective, if somebody gets away with bad behavior, then it encourages other people to do that as well. And it scares people from, you know, coming forward and feeling safe–and that’s not okay,” Daniels continued.
She added that she hopes “justice is served.”
