Some of the allegations are linked to the aftermath of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases starting in October 2017 amid the wider MeToo movement.
[4][5] The Wall Street Journal elaborated that the payment was done that month to a representative of Daniels via a private company established in Delaware by Cohen.
[9] The political watchdog group Common Cause filed a complaint on January 22, 2018, calling on the Federal Election Commission and U.S. Department of Justice to investigate if the reported payout violated campaign finance rules.
[11] On August 21, 2018, Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Cohen, pleaded guilty to eight counts of tax evasion, bank fraud and campaign finance violations.
[13] In 2023, Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury for his alleged role in securing hush money payments to Daniels during his campaign.
Farrow quotes the memoirs as stating that McDougal first met Trump in June 2006 at a party hosted by Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion.
[21][22] In March 2018, McDougal filed a lawsuit against American Media, Inc. in Los Angeles Superior Court, aiming to invalidate the non-disclosure agreement.
This appeared to contradict a previous claim by Trump's campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks days before the election when she responded to the report by The Wall Street Journal about AMI's payment to McDougal that "we have no knowledge of any of this.
"[26] Porter (R) resigned from the position of White House Staff Secretary on February 7, 2018, following public allegations of spousal abuse from his two ex-wives.
[30] The Republican White House Speechwriter, resigned as a result of allegations by his ex-wife, that he was violent and emotionally abusive during their turbulent 2½ year marriage.
Franken was also photographed appearing to grope her breasts while she was seated and sleeping on an aircraft wearing Interceptor Body Armor and a helmet.
[40] On November 20, 2017, Lindsay Menz accused Franken of touching her clothed buttocks while the two posed for a photo at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010.
[46] Republican Party (R) United States Representative Joe Barton from the Texas' 6th District and member of the conservative Freedom Caucus was found to have sent videos of himself masturbating to several women on the internet two years before divorcing from his second wife.
A week later, Tea Party organizer Kelly Canon corroborated the stories by revealing that Barton had once asked if she was wearing panties and made other sexual references while he was still married.
[47][48][49][50][51] Dean of the United States House of Representatives Congressman John Conyers (D) of Michigan was found to have allegedly paid a settlement of $27,000 to a former member of his staff, who had accused him of sexual assault.
[52] BuzzFeed reported on this settlement on November 20, 2017, based on documents from Mike Cernovich including accounts of other ethical concerns associated with Conyers's office such as sexual harassment of other female staffers.
It was reported on December 7, 2017, that Congressman Trent Franks (R) of Arizona was the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation over allegations of improper conduct.
[66] On January 20, 2018, it was revealed that Republican Congressman Pat Meehan of Pennsylvania used taxpayers money to settle a sexual harassment claim brought by a former member of staff.
[70][71] Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Alex Kozinski (R), facing multiple alleged accounts of sexual harassment against women[72] announced his immediate resignation.
[76] During the hearings preceding the confirmation vote to add Republican Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States, several women alleged sexual misconduct by the judge during his time in high school and college.