The husband of adult film actress Stormy Daniels said on Tuesday that there鈥檚 a 鈥済ood chance鈥� the couple will leave the country if former U.S president Donald Trump is acquitted in his Manhattan criminal trial.
Barrett Blade spoke to CNN鈥檚 Erin Burnett about the vitriol his wife, who is a key figure in the controversy over a 2016 hush money payment allegedly made to Daniels on Trump鈥檚 behalf, has faced.
鈥溾�嬧�婨ither way, I don鈥檛 think it gets better for her. I think if it鈥檚 not guilty, we got to decide what to do. Good chance we鈥檒l probably vacate this country,鈥� Blade said on 鈥淥utFront,鈥� adding that if Trump is found guilty, he believed Daniels would still face hate from the presumptive Republican presidential nominee鈥檚 supporters.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 see it as a win situation either way,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 know that we would like to get on with our lives. I know that she wants to move past this. We just want to do what I guess you鈥檇 say normal people get to do in some aspects but I don鈥檛 know if that ever will be, you know, and it breaks my heart.
Daniels claims she had a one-night stand with Trump in 2006 and was paid off in 2016 to keep silent about the affair. Prosecutors allege that Trump broke the law by falsifying business records to reimburse his former lawyer Michael Cohen and conceal a 鈥渉ush money鈥� payment made to Daniels on Trump鈥檚 behalf. The controversy dates back to January 2018, when the Wall Street Journal reported on the US$130,000 payment. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied the affair.
On the witness stand last week, Daniels described meeting Trump at a celebrity golf tournament, in addition to salacious details of her alleged sexual encounter with him. She also testified about the interest that Trump and Cohen seemed to have had in buying her story after the 鈥淎ccess Hollywood鈥� tape came out just before the 2016 election.
During cross examination, Trump鈥檚 lawyers attacked Daniels鈥� credibility. Attorney Susan Necheles accused her of fabricating the alleged sexual encounter in order to make money. Daniels pushed back and insisted that she was telling the truth.
鈥淚f that story was untrue, I would have written it to be a lot better,鈥� Daniels said of her encounter with Trump.
When asked by Burnett about the defense鈥檚 claim that Daniels made up her story, Blade echoed his wife鈥檚 comments, describing her as 鈥渁 brilliant writer,鈥� and adding that she would have written something 鈥渨ay better than what she said about the Trump story.鈥�
Blade also noted that Daniels just wants 鈥渢o get on with her life.鈥�
鈥淎s much as it鈥檚 boring for the media to keep hearing it over and over again, it sucks for her to have to keep saying the same thing over and over and over again,鈥� Blade said. 鈥淚t wears on her, but she鈥檚 a warrior.鈥�
Blade also said that the hate his wife receives doesn鈥檛 really matter to him because Daniels 鈥渋s used to all of this鈥� and that she was prepared because she continues to receive a lot of vitriol and negative comments on social media.
鈥淭his is all her fighting for what she believes is right and telling the truth, and I don鈥檛 think a lot of people realize that,鈥� he continued.
CNN鈥檚 Shania Shelton, Jeremy Herb, Lauren del Valle and Kara Scannell contributed to this report.
