Of all the analysis from the press Sunday evening, Fox News‘ Howard Kurtz has the most clear-eyed take on the Stormy Daniels-’60 Minutes’ interview. Simply put, the porn star’s claims about hush money and an alleged Trump threat, weren’t adequately backed up in her sit-down with Anderson Cooper.
Stormy Daniels says she was threatened to keep quiet about her affair with Trump by someone in a parking lot in 2011. Referencing her daughter, the person allegedly said: "That’s a beautiful little girl. It'd be a shame if something happened to her mom." pic.twitter.com/0DumtchXZn
— Axios (@axios) March 25, 2018
Mediaite reports:
The former porn star — whose real name in Stephanie Clifford — told Cooper that in 2011, five years after the alleged affair, she agreed to tell the story to a sister publication of In Touch magazine for $15,000. Two former employees of the magazine told CBS News that the piece never ran because Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, threatened to sue.
A few weeks after the story was spiked, Daniels said she was approached by a man in Las Vegas.
“I was in a parking lot, going to a fitness class with my infant daughter,” she said. “And a guy walked up on me and said to me, “Leave Trump alone. Forget the story.” And then he 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.” And then he was gone.”
“You took it as a direct threat?” Cooper asked.
“Absolutely,” Stormy replied. “I was rattled. I remember going into the workout class. And my hands are shaking so much, I was afraid I was gonna drop her.”
Cooper asked Daniels if she went to the police, and she said she did not, “Because I was scared.” Daniels added that if she saw the man today, she would instantly recognize him.
Below is Kurtz’s take on the interview:
The threat: Stormy says unknown man looked at her daughter & said it’d be a shame if anything happened to her mom. But DUNNO WHO HE IS. This is why lawyer’s tease of 60 Minutes can be out of context. Even if she was threatened, we’ll never know if alleged thug connected to Trump World. Stormy says she took the 130K in hush money, didn’t negotiate, because she was scared for family’s safety. Denies she just wanted the money. Stormy said she denied affair after told “they can make your life hell in many different ways.” BUT NOT SURE WHO ‘THEY’ IS. Stormy *assumes* pressure to deny came from Trump lawyer Michael Cohen (who denies is) but doesn’t know. Oh, and Stormy Daniels didn’t produce any photos or other documentation regarding Trump, as he lawyer implied she would.
The threat: Stormy says unknown man looked at her daughter & said it'd be a shame if anything happened to her mom. But DUNNO WHO HE IS
— HowardKurtz (@HowardKurtz) March 25, 2018
This is why lawyer's tease of 60 Minutes can be out of context. Even if she was threatened, we'll never know if alleged thug connected to Trump World
— HowardKurtz (@HowardKurtz) March 25, 2018
Stormy says she took the 130K in hush money, didn't negotiate, because she was scared for family's safety. Denies she just wanted the money
— HowardKurtz (@HowardKurtz) March 25, 2018
Stormy said she denied affair after told "they can make your life hell in many different ways." BUT NOT SURE WHO 'THEY' IS
— HowardKurtz (@HowardKurtz) March 25, 2018
Stormy *assumes* pressure to deny came from Trump lawyer Michael Cohen (who denies is) but doesn't know.
— HowardKurtz (@HowardKurtz) March 25, 2018
So Stormy's 2 key allegations, involving hush money & alleged threat, can't be proven. She says she doesn't know who's behind them
— HowardKurtz (@HowardKurtz) March 25, 2018
Oh, and Stormy Daniels didn't produce any photos or other documentation regarding Trump, as he lawyer implied she would
— HowardKurtz (@HowardKurtz) March 25, 2018
