‘King has been dethroned’: Stormy Daniels speaks on Trump indictment

In her first major interview since Donald Trump’s indictment, Stormy Daniels has said although she wants the former president to be “held accountable” she doesn’t believe he should go to prison.

The adult film star is at the centre of a hush-money case against Mr Trump, who pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records at his company related to $130,000 (€119,000) he paid to buy her silence.

“I don’t think that his crimes against me are worthy of incarceration. I feel like the other things that he has done, if he is found guilty, absolutely,” Ms Daniels (44) said in an interview with Fox Nation’s Piers Morgan released on Thursday.

Ms Daniels sat down with Morgan for a 90-minute hour interview, which she called her most extensive yet. She thanked people for “love and support” in a tweet, saying that the segment “laid to rest a lot of misinformation”.

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When asked by Morgan how it felt to see Mr Trump appear in court, Ms Daniels said she was “shocked”. “I thought he was going to get away with not being accountable,” she said.

“The king has been dethroned – he’s no longer untouchable,” she said. “Nobody should be untouchable, doesn’t matter what your job description is – whether you’re the president – you should be held responsible for your actions.”

Ms Daniels, who postponed the original timing of her interview with Morgan last week citing “security concerns”, said she was also regularly receiving threats. She told Morgan that one in ten messages she gets now are death threats, and that the tone has become increasingly violent.

“It’s like a suicide bomber,” she said. “In the depths of their soul, they feel like they’re doing the right thing.”

The adult film star is one of two women Mr Trump is accused of making payments to in an alleged scheme that resulted in 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The former president turned himself in to court on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Mr Trump (76) also faces criminal investigations in Washington for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss and mishandling classified documents, and a separate criminal investigation in Georgia about his attempt to overturn his defeat in that state.

His historic indictment marks the first time a current or former US president has been charged with criminal activity. The front-runner in the race for the Republican nomination in 2024, Mr Trump denies having an affair with Ms Daniels but has acknowledged the payment.

The case is early in its proceedings – with the next hearing date not scheduled until December 4th. A trial could begin as early as January of next year, when Mr Trump would have already started campaigning for his 2024 run for president.

Ms Daniels said in her interview with Morgan that if she is called to testify she would “look forward to it”.

“I think having them call me in and put me on the stand legitimizes my story and who I am. And if they don’t, it almost feels like they’re hiding me,” she said. – Guardian, Reuters