The Stormy Daniels Story Finally Has a Newsworthy Allegation

by | Mar 26, 2018

The Stormy Daniels Story Finally Has a Newsworthy Allegation

by | Mar 26, 2018

Stormy Daniels | Credit: Glenn Francis of www.PacificProDigital.com

After the interview with 60 Minutes, the story surrounding Stormy Daniels finally has something newsworthy about it.

In the discussion, Daniels said she was threatened to keep silent about her alleged affair with Donald Trump. The threat allegedly occurred in 2011, shortly after In Touch Magazine had offered her $15,000 for the story. In Touch ultimately declined to pursue the story.

Daniels said she was with her infant daughter at the time of the threat. This is how she described it in the interview:

“And a guy walked up on me and said to me, ‘Leave Trump alone. Forget the story,'” she said. “And then he 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.’

“And then he was gone,” she said.

If true and ordered by Trump, this threat is the first aspect of the story that would rise to the level of criminality. It’s also the first element of the plot that could begin to justify the sustained media attention this case has received.

Until now, it was an extramarital affair and a non-disclosure agreement. If Trump had run as an exemplar of virtue and good moral character, the story would have been relevant. He did not.

Indeed, compared to the infamous  “grab ’em by the p****” line in the Access Hollywood tape, an extramarital affair would be quite bland for President Trump.

Trump’s voters preferred him in spite of his moral standing, not because of it.

There’s little doubt that the Stormy Daniels story will continue to dominate headlines and displace coverage of more important problems in the Trump administration–like the appointment of John Bolton, the ongoing US-backed onslaught in Yemen, or the apparent plan to withdraw from the Iran Deal, just to name a few.

Obviously, the media’s priorities are not ideal. But with the new allegation, at least there’s finally something in this story worth covering.

Eric Schuler

Eric Schuler is a contributor to The Libertarian Institute, with a focus on economics and US foreign policy. Follow his work here and on Twitter.

View all posts

Our Books

Shop books published by the Libertarian Institute.

libetarian institute longsleeve shirt

Our Books

cb0cb1ef 3fcb 417d 80d8 4eef7bbd8290

Recent Articles

Recent

TGIF: More on Menger and Value

TGIF: More on Menger and Value

Consumer goods are also called finished goods. The products we buy at the supermarket and other retail stores have, in less finished form, passed through many stages (including distribution), reaching back to the original factors of production: land and labor. Land...

read more
A Federal Reserve Unbound

A Federal Reserve Unbound

For more than three decades, the Federal Reserve has steadily expanded its role in the American economy. From a relatively narrow mandate as a lender of last resort to commercial banks, to inflation and employment targeting, it now operates as a systemic backstop for...

read more
Europe Must Stop Playing Pawn to American Power

Europe Must Stop Playing Pawn to American Power

As the world experiences significant geopolitical changes, political blocs like the European Union have a unique opportunity to chart a new path. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the European Union and its twenty-seven member states have delivered...

read more

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This