Pornographic film star Stormy Daniels has settled with the state of Ohio for $450,000 in a lawsuit she filed following her arrest at a strip club last year.
Daniels, 40, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, became famous for an alleged sexual encounter with President Trump in 2006. She made headlines after receiving a $130,000 payment from disgraced Trump attorney Michael Cohen that she claimed was meant to keep her quiet about the affair in order to boost Trump’s chances of being elected.
She recently floated a possible 2020 presidential run if her disgraced former attorney Michael Avenatti enters the race. “If he decides to run, I’m going to run just so I can start a GoFundMe for the sheer purpose of making smear campaign videos against him,” she said. “Just for fun. I bet people would actually be into it.”
Daniels claims her arrest at Sirens Gentleman’s Club in July 2018, in which she was charged with inappropriately touching customers, was a “politically motivated” attempt by local government to protect Trump. The charges were dropped shortly after the arrest, but Daniels maintained that she was setup. Five police offers were disciplined as a direct result of the incident.
Her lawyer Chase Mallory said that his client could have received more from the state. “That’s the only reason she agreed to settle the case for what she did,” Mallory said. “Her main goal was to make sure people weren’t going to be treated like she was going forward.”
“All parties agreed that a settlement of $450,000 was fair, given the facts and circumstances involved,” a spokeswoman for the city attorney Zach Klein said. The Columbus City Council still must formally approve the settlement next month.
