Did Trump Pay Hush Money to Porn Stars to Hide Affairs?
UPDATE: February 2018 - Many women have come forward describing how Donald Trump had made advances to them in the past, but it appears the only ones willing to take him up on his offers have been those with a history of taking their clothes off for money.
Our original story below, plus an update to it at the bottom, describe one such encounter; since that story broke in January, a former Playboy model, Karen McDougal, also admits to having had an affair with Mr. Trump. Like the first, this second relationship began shortly after son Barron was born and, in both cases, the women claim they were paid large sums of money (well over $100,000) not to speak publicly about the affair. In each case Mr. Trump continues to deny both the affair and knowledge of any payoff.
For the most part, we don't believe in digging into politicians' private lives, but when a politician courts the religious voter and/or proclaims that the country is in a moral decline, we're willing to point out if that politician is behaving in a hypocritical manner.
We also look forward to discussing Mr. Trump's relationships and payoffs with some of our Trump-supporting evangelical friends to see how long they will continue to rationalize Mr. Trump's ongoing breaking of the Ten Commandments.
 (McDougal cover photo)
January 2018 - In another example that shows how Donald Trump believes his money or his bullying will let him get away with just about anything, the Wall Street Journal reports that Mr. Trump paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about a fling the two of them engaged in. The activity in question began in 2006, shortly after Mr. Trump's wife Melania gave birth to their son, Barron.
Stories of this affair go back to at least 2011, when Torch magazine quoted Ms. Daniels' description of her relationship with Mr. Trump. The details included the fact that Donald insisted on not wearing a condom and that the entire experience was rather on the boring side.
The Journal reports that Ms. Daniels (whose real name is Stephanie Clifford) was ready to come public with the affair during last fall's Presidential campaign, but was dissuaded by the monetary payment. The paper also claims that Fox News was made aware of the story at the time, but Fox refused to run it, claiming they did not have enough evidence.
Since the Journal story ran, Ms. Daniels, her attorney, and the White House have denied that an affair or a payment took place, but many of Ms. Daniels' statements have been made with a wink and a smile, leading many to believe the stories are true.
 (Daniels image from cnn.com)
Recent news reports also state that Melania Trump believes the stories are true, that she has been deeply hurt by Mr. Trump's behavior, and that she is furious at her husband. (Was her having arrived at the recent State of the Union address separately from Mr. Trump and wearing a white pants suit a not-so-subtle indication of this?)
Subsequent to the story's release, a second adult actress, herself a friend of Stormy Daniels, appeared on Meghan Kelly's television talk show and claimed that Mr. Trump tried to entice her and another friend to "party" with him.
At least one other report states that there was a $130,000 transfer of funds from the Trump campaign to a private bank account shortly after the election. If this is true, and it cannot be shown to be campaign related, the Trump team may at least have to pay the money back, if not face more severe penalties.
UPDATE: February 2018 - Trump attorney Michael Cohen has announced that he did, indeed, pay Ms. Daniels $130,000 last fall, but that the money came out of his own pocket, not out of any Trump campaign funds. He stated that he did this to "protect Mr. Trump" and that he has not been compensated for the payment, nor does he expect to be.
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