In the landslide of news last week about guilty pleas, immunity deals and criminal convictions, you no doubt heard something astonishing: President Trump’s ex-lawyer said in open court that Mr. Trump directed him to pay a pornographic film star quite a bit of money not to tell the world that they had sex.

Other than that, you might be somewhat hazy on the details.

After all, the porn star in question, Stephanie Clifford, whose screen name is Stormy Daniels, is not the only figure from the adults-only section to have made a cameo appearance during President Trump’s time in office. (There has also been a onetime Playboy model and a former procuress, the Manhattan Madam.)

Moreover, Mr. Trump’s own statements about the arrangement with Ms. Clifford — a $130,000 payment given to her by the president’s former lawyer, Michael D. Cohen — have, shall we say, evolved over time.

On Tuesday, Mr. Cohen’s guilty plea in federal court in Manhattan brought to light new revelations about the payoff — and the efforts to conceal it.