Stormy Daniels case doesn’t sound right

[flowerseverywhere]

I watched the interview and read the news coverage but something does not compute. An adult has consensual sex with another adult. So he was married. Like that never happens. Why the payoff? Why bring it up now?

[Alan]

Attention, Fame, Book Deals, Radio/TV Appearances, etc. I think she's leveraging their relationship for the maximum payoff, and the timing is perfect. Our news infrastructure, which has devolved into mostly entertainment, is happy to feed the 50% or so of the country who want to see Trump fail spectacularly, and the 95% or so of the country who really enjoy any story involving sex.

[LDAHL]

I’m not sure. Sleaze was pretty much priced in from the start of the Trump campaign.

It may be filler until the Russian thing pans out. It may just be an aging porn actor looking to monetize whatever scandal we have left in us prior to retirement.

Meh.

[Chicken lady]

Presumably she was paid off because someone thought the story could be damaging to trump’s candidacy.

they underestimated the ability of the party of family values, moral rectitude, and fiscal responsibility to overlook conflicts with many of their espoused values in order to get restrictions on abortion and immigration and roll back supports for minorities and the poor.

[Tybee]

I don't like bullies and people who pay people to keep their mouths shut. Maybe if that was paid with campaign funds, it violates the law?

[Alan]

Presumably she was paid off because someone thought the story could be damaging to trump’s candidacy.

Maybe, but I think it's more likely she was paid off to keep the story from his wife.

[LDAHL]

Presumably she was paid off because someone thought the story could be damaging to trump’s candidacy.

they underestimated the ability of the party of family values, moral rectitude, and fiscal responsibility to overlook conflicts with many of their espoused values in order to get restrictions on abortion and immigration and roll back supports for minorities and the poor.

Or maybe, when confronted with a choice between two flavors of slime, they chose the one they found slightly less disgusting.

[Chicken lady]

LDAHL, I find your assessment of them more damning than mine.

[dado potato]

Stormy Daniels receives appearance fees... and while I wouldn't pay a nickel to have her appear, there are venues which would. The amount Daniels can charge goes up with her fame and notoriety. So, she has an incentive to tell her story, have her picture published, appear on news and talk-shows, give interviews ... basically do everything an author does when they have a new book to promote.

As others have commented, Trump has reason to prevent Daniels from obtaining more publicity. Also, it is in his interest to say nothing about his affair with her (so as to maintain, as much as he can, his position that a Non-Disclosure Agreement is in effect). There are reportedly many other NDAs with other associates of Trump, and thus Trump would have an incentive to sue Stormy, and perhaps cause her to suffer in other ways... "to encourage the rest" to observe the terms of their NDAs.

Further to Chicken lady's comment, Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council said in a CNN interview 1/23/18: "...Evangelicals and conservatives gave him a mulligan. They let him have a do-over. They said we'll start afresh with you, and we'll give you a second chance." Perkins explained that Trump has a relationship with Evangelicals, not built on his personal conduct, but upon his "constitutionally conservative" policies, including the appointing of judges who oppose abortion.

Trump's second line of defense is that any of his alleged peccadillos (which are other than "fake") happened a long time ago, before he became a changed man.

[Simplemind]

I'm sure Melania knows much worse and is happy to have his attention diverted elsewhere.

[flowerseverywhere]

Maybe, but I think it's more likely she was paid off to keep the story from his wife.

when you are wife #3 i’m Guessing you might have a little clue infidelity could be a problem. But who knows. Maybe he said “I have your back” which he has said to LGBT and Daca groups and we know how that is turning out.

It really seems much ado about nothing as the one the one who may be in the biggest trouble is the attorney who possibly made an illegal campaign contribution.

[Teacher Terry]

She is probably just waiting for him to die so she can inherit. I doubt they have a real marriage anymore and she is just sticking it out.

[CathyA]

I think one of the things going on is lots of people are trying all sorts of ways to prove that Trump shouldn't stay as president, and things may be out of proportion to help that happen.

I might find Ms. Daniels story less believable, if Trump hadn't constantly lied about so many other things. I wonder if Melania will eventually divorce him, or she's willing to put up with him to keep him as her sugar daddy. Yuk. I find it hard to think that all the money in the world would be worth being married to him. He's a total scoundrel.

[Rogar]

I watched the interview and just didn't believe everything. Just an intuitive feeling from her tone of voice and body language, though I'm no expert. I think only parts might be true. It doesn't take away from the mysterious 130,000 dollar pay off. One thing for sure, she has a very slick lawyer.

[CathyA]

Yeah.......he's VERY sure of himself and aggressive. I wonder if we can believe him??

[BikingLady]

One time someone said to me, If a man scre*s around on his wife, he would think nothing of Scre*ing a business (or fill in any title). That's How I feel on the topic, not that any of those people care I imagine.

[CathyA]

I think Trump has shown over and over, in all walks of his life, that he has no scruples.