Stormy Daniels is crowdfunding to prepare for legal battle with Trump
Anyone who's ever wanted to help a porn star take down a president now has their shot to chip in.
Adult film star Stormy Daniels, who says she had an affair with President Trump in 2006 and received $130,000 at the height of his presidential campaign to stay silent about it, is raising money for her legal fees in anticipation of a lengthy court battle to speak freely about the allegations.
The actress, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, launched an online crowdfunding campaign on Wednesday and promptly raised more than $30,000. The fundraising effort will help fund "attorneys' fees; out-of-pocket costs associated with the lawsuit, arbitration, and my right to speak openly," Daniels says.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Daniels is seeking freedom from the nondisclosure agreement she signed with Trump’s attorney in October 2016. Trump has denied that the affair occurred. His attorney, Michael Cohen, at first denied her allegations, then later said he helped "facilitate" the payment. Daniels offered to return the money in exchange for freedom to speak of the alleged affair, but Cohen did not respond before the offer’s Tuesday deadline. The fundraising campaign itself has a longer-term deadline: Donations will be accepted for another 29 days.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
-
Rothermere’s Telegraph takeover: ‘a right-leaning media powerhouse’Talking Point Deal gives Daily Mail and General Trust more than 50% of circulation in the UK newspaper market
-
The US-Saudi relationship: too big to fail?Talking Point With the Saudis investing $1 trillion into the US, and Trump granting them ‘major non-Nato ally’ status, for now the two countries need each other
-
Sudoku medium: November 30, 2025The daily medium sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
