In early 2018 the world was rocked by allegations of a sexual affair between adult film actress Stormy Daniels and then-US President Donald Trump.
The scandal quickly became a political firestorm and has now culminated in the first criminal indictment of a former president of the United States with Trump due to be fingerprinted and have his mugshot taken as he is arraigned in New York City, today, Tuesday 4 April.
The Stormy Daniels-Donald Trump affair allegedly took place in 2006, shortly after Trump's wife Melania gave birth to their son Barron.
Trump denied the affair and claimed that he had never even met Daniels, but his lawyer Michael Cohen later admitted to paying her $130,000 (R2,318,667.00) in hush money just days before the 2016 presidential election.
The scandal first gained public attention in January 2018, when The Wall Street Journal reported that Cohen had paid Daniels the money as part of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) designed to keep her silent about the affair. Daniels, who had been shopping her story around to various media outlets, had reportedly signed the NDA in October 2016 but claimed that it was invalid because Trump had never personally signed it. The story gained further traction when Daniels appeared on CBS's 60 Minutes in March 2018, giving a detailed account of her alleged affair with Trump and the subsequent attempts to silence her.
That same year Daniels released the tell-all book Full Disclosure, recounting her fateful meeting with Trump, who was 60 at the time, and Daniels, 33 years his junior at 27.
Trump himself has remained largely silent on the matter, other than to deny the affair and attack Daniels on Twitter.
The scandal also had a significant impact on the media landscape, with many news outlets dedicating extensive coverage to the story.
Some critics accused the media of focusing too much on the salacious details of the affair and not enough on more pressing political issues, while others argued that the story was important because it shed light on Trump's character and how he had used his power and influence to silence his critics.
Daniels, now 44 is married to her fourth husband, pictured below, fellow porn star Barrett Blade.
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