One month before the 2016 presidential election, Fox News had a story ready to go about an alleged affair between adult film actress Stormy Daniels and President Trump, but never published it, four people familiar with the matter told CNN. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that in October 2016, Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, arranged a $130,000 payment to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, to keep quiet about the alleged sexual relationship. Fox News reporter Diana Falzone had a completed story about Daniels and Trump, which included a statement confirming the relationship from Daniels’ manager, but “Fox killed it,” one person familiar with the matter told CNN. Noah Kotch, who became editor-in-chief and vice president of Fox News digital in 2017, said “in doing our due diligence, we were unable to verify all of the facts and publish a story.” Cohen and Daniels have both denied WSJ’s report.
Fox News killed pre-election story on alleged Trump affair with porn star: report https://t.co/7Xkw3z3qNP pic.twitter.com/VmxGu4ItrO
— The Hill (@thehill) January 17, 2018