Sunday’s “60 Minutes” featuring an interview with adult film star Stormy Daniels was the most-watched episode of the show in a decade, bringing in more than 21 million views.
But the biggest takeaway for former prosecutor Jonna Spilbor was that Daniels poses no real legal threat to the president.
“There’s nothing that Donald Trump has done that’s been illegal in terms of his dealings with her...This is really [just] an embarrassment, and it’s a way for Stormy Daniels to profit off a consensual encounter,” said Spilbor.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Cliffords, claims she had a consensual affair with the president back in 2006.
In the interview, she said she was threatened into silence in 2011 after she initially sold her story to Bauer Publishing.
“[She] cannot back up any of her claims,” said Spilbor. “If she was truly threatened, she should have gone to the police.”
She also provided the salacious details of their time together, including spanking Trump with a Forbes magazine.
During the 2016 presidential election Michael Cohen, Trump’s lawyer at the time, paid Daniels $130,000 in hush money and made her sign a non-disclosure agreement.
She’s now suing to invalidate the NDA, since Trump himself never signed on the dotted line.
Daniels interview aired days after CNN correspondent Anderson Cooper caught up with Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model, who also claims to have had an affair with Trump more than a decade ago.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/why-former-prosecutor-jonna-spilbor-says-stormy-daniels-doesnt-have-a-case-against-president-trump).
President Trump escalated his war of words with Anthony Scaramucci on Monday, calling the Mooch "highly unstable" in an early morning tweet storm. Scaramucci joined Cheddar to unpack the string of insults and to discuss the coalition of former cabinet members he is assembling to stop Trump in 2020.
Nearly a thousand Twitter accounts were blocked and several Facebook pages taken down on Monday in a coordinated effort by the social media platforms to curb misinformation campaigns spread by the Chinese government against protesters in Hong Kong.
San Jose could become the first city in the U.S. to implement a novel ordinance aimed at curbing gun violence: requiring gun owners to carry liability insurance.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan said on Friday that she will not visit her family in the West Bank due to the conditions required by the Israeli government. The decision follows a reversal by Israel, which first barred her from the country and later granted her entry on humanitarian grounds.
In Srinagar, the capital city of Jammu and Kashmir, over one million people woke up last week to a complete telecommunications blackout. The blackout was mandated by the Indian government, which just hours later would unilaterally strip the disputed territory of its autonomy status.
Recently passed legislation in New York City will track commercial storefronts, giving the city a comprehensive database on building vacancies for the first time ever.
Former two-term Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper has officially dropped out of the 2020 race, slimming the Democratic field to just over two-dozen.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019.
An unofficial coalition of far-right extremist groups are set to descend on Portland, Oregon this weekend and the city’s mayor has a clear message for them: you are not welcome.
J.D. Durkin made his way to an Iowan raceway and watering hole as the Hawkeye State hosts the many candidates vying for the primary election.
