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Stormy Daniels' claims absolutely 'inaccurate', says White House

ANI
DelhiUpdated: Mar 27, 2018, 01:22 PM IST
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Photograph:(Reuters)

The White House on Monday dismissed adult star Stormy Daniels' claims of having an alleged sexual affair with US President Donald Trump and being threatened to keep quiet in a TV interview on Sunday as "absolutely inaccurate and incoherent".

White House spokesman Raj Shah dismissed the entirety of Daniels' story, aired Sunday on CBS's "60 Minutes."

"The President strongly, clearly and has consistently denied these underlying claims. The only person who has been inconsistent is the one making the claims," Shah said in a statement.

"President Trump doesn't believe that any of the claims that Ms Daniels made are accurate. There is nothing to corroborate her claim," he added.

In a highly-anticipated interview on CBS's news magazine, hosted by American journalist Anderson Cooper, ླྀ Minutes', Daniels on Sunday claimed that she was 'threatened' publicly by a man, who told her - "Leave Trump alone."

The adult star, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, recalled an encounter she said took place in a Las Vegas parking lot in 2011.

Daniels was on her way to a fitness class with her infant daughter when she said she was approached by a man.

"A guy walked up on me and said to me, 'Leave Trump alone. Forget the story. It was then at that point that the alleged threat of physical violence was made," Daniels recalled.

The adult star added that the man, whom she could not identify, 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."

After such comments, the man disappeared from the scene, according to Daniels.

That alleged altercation occurred months after Daniels agreed to tell a sister publication of 'In Touch magazine' her story about the alleged affair in exchange for USD 15,000, The Hill reported.

When pressed specifically on the alleged threat, Shah clarified that President Trump "doesn't believe any of her claims are accurate."

The "60 Minutes" interview breathed new life into Daniels's story, which has dogged the US president for months. It drew 22 million viewers on Sunday night, the program's highest ratings in a decade.

She acknowledged that she started her "intimate relationship" with President Trump at Lake Tahoe in 2006 and continued it in 2007 as well. Further, Daniels claimed that she had a sexual encounter with the US President "just once with consent".

With days to go before the November 2016 presidential election, Daniels signed the non-disclosure agreement in return for USD 130,000 in hush money arranged by the US President's attorney Michael Cohen.

Daniels told CBS that she agreed to the gagging contract because "I was concerned for my family and their safety".

Daniels' lawyer Michael Avenatti complained in the course of the 60 Minutes film that the veiled threat that was allegedly made against his client in 2011 was effectively repeated in the filing of a lawsuit earlier this month by Trump's legal team claiming USD 20 million in damages against her with a further USD 1 million penalties for any further violation of the non-disclosure agreement.

Avenatti said the suit was a form of intimidation. "You threaten someone with a USD 20 million lawsuit, it's a thuggish tactic. It's no different than what happened in the parking lot in Las Vegas."

Daniels refused to answer a question from Cooper about whether she had handed over all digital images, email messages and text messages relating to Trump as part of the 2016 gagging contract. She then replied that her lawyer had advised her not to discuss "those things".

On Thursday, Avenatti posted a tweet that featured a picture of a digital disc in a safe deposit box with the words "If 'a picture is worth a thousand words', how many words is this worth?"

On March 6, Daniels filed a civil lawsuit against President Trump claiming the nondisclosure agreement, which contains details about her alleged nine-month affair with the latter is "invalid" because the US President had "never signed it."

In response, President Trump's team sued Daniels, claiming that "she violated the agreement."

On Friday, former Playboy model named Karen McDougal in a CNN interview claimed that President Trump had tried to offer her money after they allegedly went intimate.

Further, McDougal expressed regret and apologised to Melania for her alleged encounter with the US President.

Both McDougal and Daniels claim that President Trump had allegedly had a sexual encounter, when the latter's wife and First Lady Melania Trump, had given birth to his son, Barron.

Many women have in the past have alleged that they had allegedly gone intimate with the US President.

However, the White House has refuted claims that President Trump had affairs with other women, including Daniels and McDougal. (ANI)