Stormy Daniels has said that Donald Trump’s indictment shows that he is “no longer untouchable” – but warned that the case could lead to violence.
The former president was on Thursday indicted by a grand jury in New York over an alleged hush money payment to the porn star during his 2016 campaign.
It is the first time that a former president has faced criminal charges and has raised doubts over whether Mr Trump will be able to run for the White House again in 2024. Mr Trump has claimed he is “completely innocent” and accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of trying to harm his electoral chances.
Speaking to The Times, Ms Daniels said the case was “monumental and epic” and that she was “proud” of the charges.
“He's done so much worse that he should have been taken down [for] before. I am fully aware of the insanity of it being a porn star. But it’s also poetic; this p*** grabbed back.”
But she added: “The other side of it is that it’s going to continue to divide people and bring them up in arms. He’s already gotten away with inciting a riot, and causing death and destruction.
“Whatever the outcome is, it’s going to cause violence, and there’s going to be injuries and death. There’s the potential for a lot of good to come from this. But either way, a lot of bad is going to come from it, too.”
Ms Daniels claimed she had received numerous death threats since speaking out against Mr Trump, but said it was “especially scary” as the former president himself was “inciting violence and encouraging it”.
Mr Trump will surrender to authorities in New York on Tuesday afternoon, with his lawyer Joe Tapocina confirming that he would not be handcuffed during the court hearing. He admitted that Mr Trump was shocked by news of the indictment.
The specific charges are not yet known, though CNN reported that Mr Trump is facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud.
Ms Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she received money in exchange for keeping silent about a sexual encounter she had with Mr Trump in 2006.
The former president’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen has said he coordinated with Mr Trump on the payments to Daniels and to a second woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also claimed she had a sexual relationship with him.
Mr Trump has denied having affairs with either woman and has disputed knowing anything about the payments.
However, he later acknowledged reimbursing Mr Cohen for what he called a “simple private transaction”. Federal prosecutors claimed that Mr Cohen acted on Mr Trump’s direction.
Mr Trump also faces several separate legal battles which could derail his bid for presidency.
In Atlanta, prosecutors are considering whether he committed any crimes when trying to get Georgia officials to overturn his 2020 election loss there to Joe Biden.
At the federal level, a Justice Department-appointed special counsel also is investigating Mr Trump's efforts to unravel the national election results.
But Mr Trump has sought to paint the legal investigations as a politically motivated “witch-hunt” and used them to rally his supporters.
“I am not afraid of what's to come,” he said in a fundraising email on Friday.
In a message to supporters on Thursday evening, he wrote: “They only brought this Fake, Corrupt, and Disgraceful Charge against me because I stand with the American People, and they know that I cannot get a fair trial in New York!”
Any potential trial is still at least more than a year away, legal experts said, meaning it could occur during or after the presidential campaign.
Some 44 per cent of Republicans said Mr Trump should drop out of the race if he is indicted, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week.
Mr Trump appealed earlier this month for nationwide protests, recalling his charged rhetoric ahead of the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by his supporters, and warned last week of potential “death and destruction” if he were charged.
President Biden has declined to comment on the case.
“I’m not going to talk about Trump’s indictment,” Mr Biden said firmly as he departed the White House on Friday.
