CNN
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The husband of adult film actress Stormy Daniels said Tuesday there is a “good chance” the couple will leave the country if former President Donald Trump is acquitted in a Manhattan criminal trial.
Barrett Blade spoke to CNN's Erin Burnett about the vitriol faced by his wife, who was at the center of a dispute over hush money payments allegedly made in 2016 to Daniels on Trump's behalf.
“I don't think things are going to get better for her anyway. If she's not guilty, I think she'll have to decide what to do, most likely to leave this country,” Blade told “Outfront.” , adding that he believes that if Trump is convicted, Daniels will still face hatred from supporters of the Republican presidential candidate.
“I don't see it as a win-win situation either way,” he said. “I know we want to move on with our lives. I know she wants to move on from this situation. We just want to be normal people in some ways. I just want to do what I think is the right thing to do, but I don't know if it's going to happen, and that breaks my heart.
Daniels claims she had a one-night stand with Trump in 2006 and was paid to keep quiet about it in 2016. Prosecutors allege that Trump violated the law by falsifying business records to cover up payments to former lawyer Michael Cohen and “hush money” he paid Daniels on Trump's behalf. ing. The dispute dates back to January 2018, when the Wall Street Journal reported on a $130,000 payment. Trump has maintained his innocence and denied that he had an extramarital affair.
On the witness stand last week, Daniels gave sordid details about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump, as well as describing meeting him at a celebrity golf tournament. She also testified that Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen appeared interested in buying her articles after the “Access Hollywood” tape was released just before the 2016 election.
During cross-examination, Trump's lawyers attacked Daniels' credibility. Her lawyer, Susan Necheres, accused her of fabricating allegations of sexual encounters to get her money. Ms. Daniels pushed back, insisting that she was telling her truth.
“If that story had been a lie, I would have written it better,” Daniels said of her encounter with Trump.
When asked by Barnett about the defense's claim that Daniels made up her story, Blade echoed his wife's comments, describing her as a “great writer” and saying that she “wouldn't have been able to tell the Trump story if she had.” I would have written something much better than what I said,” he added. ”
Blade also said Daniels just wants to “get on with his life.”
“It's boring for the media to keep hearing that over and over, but it's boring for her to have to keep saying the same thing over and over again,” Blade said. “It's wearing on her, but she's a warrior.”
Blade also said the hate his wife receives doesn't really matter to him because Daniels is “used to this kind of thing” and continues to receive a lot of vitriolic and negative comments on social media. He also said that he was prepared.
“This is all just about her fighting for what she believes is right and telling the truth, and I don't think a lot of people understand that,” he continued.
CNN’s Shania Shelton, Jeremy Herb, Lauren Del Valle and Kara Scannell contributed to this report.
