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Donald Trump denies affair with porn star Stormy Daniels, White House says

Ms Daniels claimed she was threatened to 'drop' the story about Mr Trump

Samuel Osborne,Jeremy B. White
Monday 26 March 2018 19:25 BST
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Stormy Daniels claims she was threatened to 'leave Trump alone' over alleged affair

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Donald Trump has denied having a consensual affair with the porn star Stormy Daniels in 2006, the White House has said.

Its spokesman, Raj Shah, said the US President has repeatedly denied the claims and said he is the only one who has been consistent in his story.

He deflected a question about whether the Trump presidential campaign, the Trump Organization or Mr Trump himself may have violated federal campaign finance law in dealings with Ms Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

“I can say, categorically, and obviously, the White House didn't engage in any wrongdoing”, Mr Shah said.

In a 60 Minutes interview, Ms Daniels claimed she was threatened by an unidentified man in Las Vegas to keep quiet about the alleged affair.

Mr Shah said Mr Trump does not believe Ms Daniels' claim she was threatened over the alleged affair. "There's nothing to corroborate her claim," he said.

Who is Stormy Daniels?

While Mr Trump has habitually lashed out at perceived foes or denounced damaging stories as “fake news”, he has so far remained publicly silent on Daniels’ allegations.

The White House has in the past deflected questions about Daniels’ allegations, with Mr Shah repeatedly telling reporters questions about the matter had been “asked and answered” during the presidential campaign.

Michael Cohen, an attorney for Mr Trump, has said he paid Daniels $130,000 (£91,000) out of his own pocket in 2016 but has denied any connection to the campaign.

Mr Cohen has said neither the Trump campaign or the Trump Organisation were involved with arranging the payment and that they did not not reimburse him. He has also said it was not a campaign expenditure, which would mean it did not need to be reported.

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