No show of unity for the Trumps before Stormy Daniels interview

Melania Trump boarded Air Force One separately from her husband Friday – meaning that she and the president avoided a public show of unity at the White House before Sunday’s interview with the porn star who claims to have been his lover.

Donald Trump instead walked alone across the South Lawn to Marine One and then used the lower, less showy, entrance to Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

The move was despite the couple being publicly affectionate during the week, with Trump helping her when she stumbled on the way to Marine One on Monday, and the First Lady posting a picture of them together during Wednesday’s nor’easter storm which had blanketed the White House grounds in snow.

That was before Thursday night’s series of claims from a Playboy model that she had unprotected sex with Trump ‘dozens of times’ during an extended affair and that she even showed him his wife’s Trump Tower bedroom.

Now the couple face the 60 Minutes interview with Stormy Daniels, and new hints from attorney that his client might have photos or videos backing up her claims that she was Trump’s lover.

A man alone: Trump set off for Mar-a-Lago with a walk across the White House south lawn to Marine One by himself

Off to Florida: Melania Trump was waiting on Air Force One for her husband, having boarded it alone before he landed on Marine One

Off to Florida: Melania Trump was waiting on Air Force One for her husband, having boarded it alone before he landed on Marine One

Out of the Oval: Trump made his way out of the West Wing towards Marine One after signing a government spending bill at the same time as railing against much of it

Out of the Oval: Trump made his way out of the West Wing towards Marine One after signing a government spending bill at the same time as railing against much of it

Supporters: Trump backers were gathered on the South Lawn to greet the president but did not get an encounter with the First Lady

Supporters: Trump backers were gathered on the South Lawn to greet the president but did not get an encounter with the First Lady

On his way: The chief executive faces more embarrassment this weekend as Stormy Daniels sits down with 60 Minutes

On his way: The chief executive faces more embarrassment this weekend as Stormy Daniels sits down with 60 Minutes

Hail to the chief: Trump is expected back at the White House on Sunday - while 60 Minutes' interview with Stormy Daniels will also air then

Hail to the chief: Trump is expected back at the White House on Sunday – while 60 Minutes’ interview with Stormy Daniels will also air then

On his way: Trump walked across the runway alone from Marine One to Air Force One

On his way: Trump walked across the runway alone from Marine One to Air Force One

Hail to the chief:An Air Force chief master sergeant (left) and technical sergeant (right) salute Trump as he prepares to board AF1

Hail to the chief:An Air Force chief master sergeant (left) and technical sergeant (right) salute Trump as he prepares to board AF1

Discreet entrance: Trump used the front stairs to the lower level of Air Force One which are self-contained, making for a more discreet entrance to his plane

Discreet entrance: Trump used the front stairs to the lower level of Air Force One which are self-contained, making for a more discreet entrance to his plane

On board: The president used the lower, less showy entrance, to the presidential plane, while Melania Trump had already boarded unseen

On board: The president used the lower, less showy entrance, to the presidential plane, while Melania Trump had already boarded unseen

Michael Avenatti posted a photo on Twitter showing a CD inside an opened safe.

‘If “a picture is worth a thousand words,” how many words is this worth?????#60minutes #pleasedenyit #basta,’ he wrote.

‘Basta’ is the Italian word for ‘enough.’ 

Whether the First Lady was feeling ‘basta’ herself was unclear. She appeared at the State Department early Friday afternoon to honor the ten winners of the International Women of Courage Award and also tweeted pictures of her cooing with children in the White House kitchen.

But Thursday night had offered an unpleasant prelude to the 60 Minutes interview.

Thursday saw Anderson Cooper – who has interviewed Daniels – sit down with Karen McDougal, the former Playboy Playmate who alleges she had an affair with President Donald Trump.

She told how she was in love with the then-reality television star with whom she ‘had unprotected sex dozens of times’ after they met in 2006.

She developed feelings for the then-Apprentice host during their 10-month relationship, she said.

McDougal, 46, also told CNN that she and Trump had sex on their first date and that she went home afterward ‘crying in the backseat of a car’ when he offered her cash after they made love. 

‘After we had been intimate, he tried to pay me, and I actually didn’t know how to take that,’ she said. 

She said she was hurt by the cash offer, which she turned down.  

Here she is: The first lady donned a pink suit and a bright yellow top to honor the 10 recipients of the International Women of Courage Award earlier in the day

Here she is: The first lady donned a pink suit and a bright yellow top to honor the 10 recipients of the International Women of Courage Award earlier in the day

In addition to the awards ceremony, Melania received a special White House visit from sisters Celia and Natalie and tweeted pictures of them cooking in the White House kitchen

In addition to the awards ceremony, Melania received a special White House visit from sisters Celia and Natalie and tweeted pictures of them cooking in the White House kitchen

First lady Melania Trump posted a photo smiling alongside President Donald Trump during the Wednesday storm which blanketed much of the north-east. It was a notable show of solidarity

First lady Melania Trump posted a photo smiling alongside President Donald Trump during the Wednesday storm which blanketed much of the north-east. It was a notable show of solidarity

Falling in love: President Trump, 70, yanked his third wife, 47, closer to his side as she put her arm around him when he saved her from stumbling on the White House lawn in a public display of affection

Falling in love: President Trump, 70, yanked his third wife, 47, closer to his side as she put her arm around him when he saved her from stumbling on the White House lawn in a public display of affection

‘I don’t even know how to describe the look on my face,’ she said. ‘It must have been so sad.’ 

Later that year she was also given an apartment in New York City as a Christmas gift, but lost it after the two split.  

The White House has denied the president had an affair with McDougal. 

McDougal also tearfully recalls feeling guilty when she went to Trump’s apartment in Trump Tower and he showed her Melania Trump’s bedroom.

McDougal thought it was odd that Trump’s wife slept in a separate bedroom.

‘I thought maybe they were having issues,’ she said. 

McDougal expressed regret over the affair, saying she felt guilty. Nonetheless, despite the guilt, she carried on with Trump for the better part of a year.

‘When I look back, I know it’s wrong,’ the 1998 Playmate of the Year said. 

‘I’m really sorry for that. I know it’s the wrong thing to do.  

‘There was a real relationship there, and I kind of out of sight, out of mind with everything else. 

‘And deep inside, I did have a lot of guilt. But I still continued.’ 

‘What can you say except I’m sorry?’ she said. ‘I’m sorry. I wouldn’t want it done to me.’    

Avoiding an awkward image: This picture of the Clintons on the South Lawn the day after Bill testified to a grand jury about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky summed up the froideur between the cheating president and his first lady - but the Trumps did not offer a parallel on Friday

Avoiding an awkward image: This picture of the Clintons on the South Lawn the day after Bill testified to a grand jury about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky summed up the froideur between the cheating president and his first lady – but the Trumps did not offer a parallel on Friday

Stormy Daniels' lawyer upped the ante on Donald Trump, tweeting a photo on Thursday that suggests there's photographic or video evidence of the president's affair with the porn star

Stormy Daniels’ lawyer upped the ante on Donald Trump, tweeting a photo on Thursday that suggests there’s photographic or video evidence of the president’s affair with the porn star

CBS will air a taped interview with the 39-year-old Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, on Sunday night

CBS will air a taped interview with the 39-year-old Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, on Sunday night

In her first television interview, McDougal told Anderson Cooper of CNN that she developed feelings for the then-real estate mogul during their 10-month relationship

In her first television interview, McDougal told Anderson Cooper of CNN that she developed feelings for the then-real estate mogul during their 10-month relationship

Karen McDougal (pictured with Donald Trump in 2006 above) says she met the future president at a Playboy Mansion party in 2006, shortly after his wife Melania had given birth to their son Barron

Karen McDougal (pictured with Donald Trump in 2006 above) says she met the future president at a Playboy Mansion party in 2006, shortly after his wife Melania had given birth to their son Barron

The interview with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is scheduled to air Sunday on the CBS ’60 Minutes’ program.

Earlier this month Avenatti refused to say whether Daniels has visual evidence of her claims.

But in a letter to Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, Avenatti wrote that Daniels wanted to be released from a 2016 nondisclosure agreement that she signed in exchange for $130,000.

Declaring the agreement null and void, he wrote, would permit her to ‘use and publish any text messages, photos and/or videos relating to the President that she may have in her possession.’ 

Avenatti demanded Thursday that the Trump Organization, the president’s real estate company, preserve all of its records relating to the $130,000 payment.

Citing ‘unmistakable links’ between Trump’s company and the confidentiality agreement, he said he intended to subpoena the firm for the same documents.

In his letter, Avenatti demanded they preserve all emails by Cohen that mention Daniels, as well as any emails and text messages related to the alleged relationship.

He sent similar demand letters to two banks, asking they preserve documents connected to the transaction.

Avenatti also enclosed an email showing Cohen used his Trump Organization email address in correspondence with a representative from one of the banks. In the e-mail, the representative said funds had been deposited in Cohen’s account.

Cohen has denied there was ever an affair and said he paid the $130,000 out of his pocket, using a Home equity Line of Credit to get the funds. He has said neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Clifford and he was not reimbursed for the payment.

‘We intend on using all legal means at our disposal to uncover the truth about the cover-up and what happened,’ Avenatti said Thursday. ‘When we are done, the truth will be laid bare for the American people.’

Clifford filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles earlier this month seeking to invalidate the agreement so she could ‘set the record straight’ and discuss her alleged relationship with Trump, which she said began in 2006 and continued for about a year. 

The lawsuit said their relationship included encounters in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and Beverly Hills, California. Trump married his current wife, Melania Trump, in 2005, and their son, Barron, was born in 2006.

Stormy Daniels says she had an affair with Trump around the time this photograph was taken; Barron his youngest son, was just four months old when it began

Stormy Daniels says she had an affair with Trump around the time this photograph was taken; Barron his youngest son, was just four months old when it began

Trump attorney Michael Cohen insists he took $130,000 from a Home Equity Line of Credit and paid Daniels her hush money out of his own pocket

Trump attorney Michael Cohen insists he took $130,000 from a Home Equity Line of Credit and paid Daniels her hush money out of his own pocket

Clifford has also offered to repay the $130,000 in hush money and argued in court documents that the agreement is legally invalid because Trump never personally signed it.

The letter also charged that Cohen ‘attempted to interfere’ with Clifford’s ability to hire Avenatti as her attorney, but provided no additional details. 

Avenatti also noted in his letter on Thursday that Jill Martin, another Trump Organization attorney, had initiated an arbitration proceeding in Clifford’s case, which the company said did in her ‘individual capacity.’



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