Shortly before Election Day 2016, Trump tried to silence Stormy Daniels.

Shortly before Election Day 2024, incredibly enough, the Republican did it again.

But as bizarre as this might seem, there’s fresh evidence that, eight years after Trump paid Daniels to be quiet shortly before Election Day 2016, the Republican candidate is also trying to pay Daniels to be quiet shortly before Election Day 2024. As NBC News summarized:

Former President Donald Trump this summer offered a financial incentive to adult film star Stormy Daniels if she agreed to keep quiet about Trump — including about the relationship that became the center of the hush money payments that ended up the subject of a New York criminal trial — ahead of this November’s election, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow reported on Wednesday.

.....Trump’s lawyer did not respond to requests for comment. In a statement to MSNBC, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung falsely asserted that the documents Maddow referenced “were attained as part of an illegal, foreign hacking attack against President Trump and his team.” The fact is, Daniels' lawyer provided the documents to Rachel.

Link to tweet

“We disagree that a payment of $620,000 would be in full satisfaction of the three judgments,” Trump’s lawyers said in a July letter obtained by Rachel. “However, we can agree to settle these matters for $620,000, provided that your client agrees in writing to make no public or private statements related to any alleged past interactions with President Trump, or defamatory or disparaging statements about him, his businesses and/or any affiliates or his suitability as a candidate for President.”

So to review, Trump wanted $650,000. He was prepared to accept $620,000 alongside a signed NDA.

When Daniels balked, Trump agreed to accept $635,000 — and he got $627,500, without an NDA.

So what’s the bottom line? As Rachel summarized on the show, “The Republican nominee for president, Donald Trump, is currently awaiting sentencing for crimes related to a secret hush-money payment he made to porn star Stormy Daniels, just before the 2016 election, to keep her from talking about him — and specifically about having sex with him.

“And now just before the 2024 election, Trump has once again demanded that Stormy Daniels sign on to an agreement not to talk about him, offering to knock thousands of dollars off her bill if she did. Maybe this time, Trump has learned his lesson about not laundering this through his business, but he really is basically trying to do the same thing again.”