Trump’s Stormy History: The Seven-Year Battle Between the President and the Porn Star

Since 2011, Stormy Daniels and Trump lawyer Michael Cohen have battled over her allegations of an affair, a standoff that has now reached the White House

The turning point for Ms. Clifford—when she began to seriously consider speaking out—was a statement Mr. Cohen provided to news media on Feb. 13 acknowledging the deal with Ms. Clifford, people familiar with the matter said.

“Just because something isn’t true doesn’t mean that it can’t cause you harm or damage,” Mr. Cohen said.

Ms. Clifford viewed his comment as Mr. Cohen calling her a liar, and she questioned why Mr. Cohen could speak freely while she had to remain silent, according to people familiar with the matter.

 .. In the call soon after, Mr. Davidson told Mr. Cohen that Ms. Clifford believed he had breached the agreement. Mr. Cohen explained the FEC had sought his response to a complaint about the payment, according to people familiar with the call.

.. In late February, Ms. Clifford decided she wanted to blow up the deal and that Mr. Davidson wasn’t the man for a full-on confrontation, people familiar with the matter said.

She hired Mr. Avenatti, an aggressive, media-friendly Los Angeles lawyer who last year won a $454 million verdict in a lawsuit alleging fraud against Kimberly-Clark Corp. and its spinoff Halyard Health Inc.

.. Ms. Clifford, who has been drawing big crowds lately at strip clubs around the country, recently established a crowdfunding site to finance her legal battle. As of Tuesday morning, it had raised more than $268,000.