Stormy Daniels says Trump shouldn't go to prison over a hush money payment: 'I don't think that his crimes against me are worthy of incarceration'
Matt Sayles/AP
- Stormy Daniels says Trump should be held accountable for his crimes.
- But she also thinks Trump shouldn't go to prison over hush money payment-related charges.
- "I don't think that his crimes against me are worthy of incarceration," Daniels told Piers Morgan.
Adult film actress Stormy Daniels says she doesn't think former President Donald Trump should be imprisoned over hush money-related charges in New York.
"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," Daniels told TV show host Piers Morgan.
Daniels was speaking with Morgan for a one-and-a-half-hour-long interview on Fox Nation released on Thursday. The interview was filmed after Trump's Tuesday arrest and arraignment hearing in New York.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, added that the charges brought against Trump signal that he has been "dethroned" and is "no longer untouchable."
"It doesn't matter if you are the president, you should be held accountable for your actions," Daniels said.
She also said she would be willing to testify in court if called to the stand.
"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," Daniels said.
On Tuesday, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The crimes Trump was charged with are connected to an election-eve hush money payment of $130,000 made to Daniels in 2016 by Trump's former fixer and personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.
Trump became the first ex-president to be charged with a crime after the arrest and arraignment hearing. But the chances that he'll serve prison time over the charges in New York are slim to none.
Trump is, however, currently facing a full slate of legal cases and criminal investigations. This includes an investigation from Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis into whether he attempted to overturn the 2020 election in the state.
The Department of Justice is also probing whether Trump mishandled classified documents and brought top-secret files to his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
Daniels has been highly vocal about her distaste for Trump, who she says she had an affair with back in 2006.
Last month, Daniels tweeted to celebrate that orders for her #teamstormy merchandise poured in after his indictment.
She also mocked Trump for being arrested, and separately accused him of being obsessed with her.
Trump has denied the affair.
Separately on Tuesday, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Trump and ordered Daniels to pay Trump more than $120,000 in legal fees, on top of the more than $500,000 worth of court-ordered payments that she was earlier asked to make to Trump's lawyers.
This was after Daniels lost a 2018 defamation lawsuit.
The appeals court ruling was not legally connected to the charges brought by the Manhattan district attorney last week.