Extraordinary amount Stormy Daniels raised to pay Trump's legal bills

Stormy Daniels has raised a stunning seven-figure sum to pay off legal fees she owes to former President Donald Trump after a court dismissed her defamation case against him in 2018. The GoFundMe fundraiser was organized by her former manager and friend Dwayne Crawford just two weeks ago, but already 20,000 contributions from the [adult] star's supporters have now surpassed $1 million.

This comes months after Trump was convicted on all 34 felony counts in his blockbuster hush money trial, a Manhattan jury finding him guilty of falsifying business records. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, owes Trump $600,000 in legal fees in connection to her failed suit. 'For over 6 years, I have been fighting to speak the truth...and paying the price for it,' Daniels said in a statement to the page. 'Part of this battle resulted in attorney fees being automatically awarded after being denied my day in court.'

The lawsuit came about in April 2018 after Daniels released a sketch of a man she said threatened her in Las Vegas in 2011. According to her, he told her to 'leave Trump alone.'

This alleged threat would have occurred years after Daniels allegedly had an affair with Trump in 2006. Trump responded on Twitter, calling her claims a 'total con job' and saying the man was 'nonexistent' Weeks after he tweeted that rebuke, Daniels sued him in federal court.

In October 2018, the US District Judge S. James Otero threw out the suit, saying Trump's tweet amounted to a 'hyperbolic statement.' Otero also said Trump's statement was protected under the First Amendment. Daniels tried to appeal the decision in 2022, saying that her lawyer Michael Avenatti filed the suit 'without my permission and against my wishes.'

A judge ruled against her, leaving her on the hook for Trump's gargantuan legal fees associated with the case. Now, it appears her fans and her allies in politics will foot the bill for her. 'I have been given the greatest gift because those attorney fees are NOT coming from me!' Daniels wrote. 'Complete strangers have generously come together in a powerful stance and donated to cover it instead.'

She said once the judgment against her is paid, she'll use the remaining donated funds to relocate her family to a safe place. According to her, this needs to be done because she's received 'countless death threats' after Trump was found guilty on May 30. She also claimed the Trump defense team showed her address to the entire courtroom while she testified in the case.

In her testimony as the star witness for the prosecution, she described the lurid details of their alleged 2006 hotel encounter , which included mention of condoms, spanking and missionary sexual intercourse. She also told the court Michael Cohen, Trump's former 'fixer,' gave her $130,000 to keep her quiet about the alleged affair, which would happened while Melania Trump was pregnant with Baron.

Daniels claims she met Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, in 2006. Trump has denied the affair on dozens of occasions.

Crawford set the fundraising goal to $1.25 million, which the GoFundMe is rapidly closing in on as of Tuesday. 'Each dollar we raise will be a validation that we also care about Stormy and are willing to continue this fight,' he wrote. 'Trump may have a mega fundraising operation to keep him from facing consequences, but that shouldn’t mean that Stormy becomes the sacrificial lamb of a corrupt system.'

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