OCTOBER 18--In mid-July 2006, Donald Trump traveled to Stateline, Nevada to play in the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship, a three-round tournament at the Edgewood Tahoe links on the banks of Lake Tahoe.

Trump was among an 80-player field stocked with athletes like Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, and Mario Lemieux, as well as entertainers including Ray Romano and Cheech Marin. During one round, Trump’s threesome included NFL quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and skier Bode Miller. Of the two women who competed, one was Carolyn Kepcher, a Trump Organization executive who co-starred with her boss in “The Apprentice,” which a month earlier concluded its fifth season on NBC.

While Trump often bragged about his golfing prowess, he had a lousy showing at the tournament, which was broadcast by NBC. The real estate developer finished 62nd, 55 strokes behind the winner, actor Jack Wagner (Kepcher came in 78th, edging out Charles Barkley by a stroke).

Though Trump finished in the tournament’s lower reaches, the weekend was not a total loss. While the billionaire’s wife was at home with the couple’s four-month-old son, Trump struck up an acquaintance with a female celebrity who did not tee off, but rather worked the event.

In a gifting suite stocked with freebies for the celebrity golfers, Trump met Stephanie Clifford, a porn actress known professionally as “Stormy Daniels.” Clifford, 27 at the time, had appeared in scores of X-rated films and, owing to her status as a “contract girl” with Wicked Pictures, was a household name in the adult film industry.

As part of her deal with Wicked, Clifford would occasionally make promotional appearances on behalf of the film studio, which had launched the career of Jenna Jameson. At the Lake Tahoe tournament, Clifford (and fellow actress Jessica Drake) greeted players, sponsors, and tournament officials at a booth stocked with Wicked swag.

While some celebrities might have thought twice about taking a photo with the star of “Porking with Pride #2” and “Spreading My Seed,” comedians Kevin Nealon and Anthony Anderson had no such reservations.

Nor did Trump, who posed next to Clifford in front of a backdrop with a repeating Wicked logo. As seen above, the businessman wore khakis and a golf shirt and hat with the Trump National Golf Club logo. Clifford, not dressed for 18 holes, wore a tight black crop top.

The photo op between the married billionaire and the porn star would be the start of a relationship that would prompt whispers in the adult film community, according to TSG sources. In fact, Clifford confided to friends that she engaged in a sexual affair with Trump, whom she claimed had promised to help her get cast on “The Apprentice” or another TV show.

Clifford did not respond to TSG requests for comment on her dealings with Trump.

At the time Clifford met Trump, she was between marriages and living with Michael Mosny, who later became her second husband. In a series of interviews, Mosny recalled that after Clifford met Trump at the Nevada golf tournament--where she had dinner one night with the mogul and Roethlisberger--she maintained contact with the businessman.

Trump, Mosny said, would dial the couple’s Los Angeles home and chat with Clifford (who sometimes put the calls on speakerphone). Mosny recalled that Trump invited Clifford to the January 2007 launch of Trump Vodka. Paparazzi photos show that Trump, his son Donald Jr., Kim Kardashian, and Clifford (accompanied by fellow porn star Tera Patrick) attended the party at the Les Deux nightclub in L.A.. In March 2007, at Trump’s invitation, Clifford attended the Trump-owned Miss USA pageant at L.A.’s Kodak Theater (Mosny recalled driving Clifford to the venue, but he did not attend the pageant).

On another occasion, Mosny said, Clifford met with Trump one evening at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Additionally, during a trip to New York, Clifford stopped by Trump’s Manhattan office, Mosny recalled.

Asked about the nature of Clifford’s relationship with Trump, Mosny--who married Clifford in November 2007--said that he was “not under the impression” that she had an affair with the tycoon. “It would be surprising, but not shocking,” said Mosny, who added that Clifford had many celebrity fans, some of whom became friends with the porn star.

While Mosny knew of his girlfriend’s contacts with the New York billionaire, it seems unlikely that Melania Trump would have been aware that her husband of 18 months had struck up a friendship with an adult film actress who would later be inducted into the porn industry’s Hall of Fame.

Mosny said that Clifford told him that Trump had claimed that the porn star could potentially appear as a contestant on “The Apprentice.” “She was definitely under the impression that this could happen,” said Mosny, who added that he recalled Clifford mentioning “Dancing With The Stars” as another possible TV vehicle for her.

Mosny, who works in the porn industry, is divorced from Clifford. In July 2009, Clifford was arrested on a misdemeanor battery charge for allegedly striking Mosny during an argument in their residence. In late-2011, Clifford sought a restraining order against Mosny, from whom she was divorced. A judge, however, dismissed Clifford’s application a month after it was filed.

Following the Nevada golf tournament, Clifford uploaded a photo to MySpace showing her posing with Trump. The image was the only public reference to her contact with the billionaire.

Until October 2011.

That month, a post on The Dirty, a site run by blogger Nik Richie, alleged that Trump cheated on his wife with an unnamed woman who was “pretty well known.” In a communication sent to the site, a source claimed that

Trump met the woman “after one of his golfing events and he lured her to multiple hotel rooms after that.” The source claimed that Trump “ruined my girlfriend’s marriage.”

The “WORLD EXCLUSIVE” post also declared that if “Donald Trump or his people” were reading the item, “code word: 'Dancing With The Stars.'”

While the post itself did not identify the woman, Richie (real name: Hooman Karamian) directly addressed Trump in an appended comment. “Mr. Donald Trump, as a man please come forward with honesty. I know you cheated on your wife with Stephanie Gregory Clifford aka Stormy Daniels and now the world knows.” Karamian then warned, “I will be detailing the events and locations so choose your words wisely.”

Richie declared that he was confronting Trump since, “In media there are heroes and there are cowards. The cowards become friends with the enemy for personal gain and the heroes save others from the sickos of the world who hide behind their money and power.”

The Dirty's post, which received little traction in other gossip outlets, prompted immediate denials from Trump and Clifford. A Gossip Cop story reported that “Trump’s camp” called the story “totally untrue and ridiculous.” An E! Online story reported that Clifford said that she was “not commenting, but the story is ‘bulls--t.’”

In response to Clifford’s comment, Richie wrote on The Dirty, “Stormy if the story is ‘bullsh*t’...why did you hire attorney Keith Davidson.” The lawyer, Richie knew, was famous for representing individuals seeking to pursue legal claims against celebrities.

In a three-page letter to The Dirty, Davidson accused the site of the unauthorized use of his client’s “name and celebrity” in a post that “states my client had a sexual affair with a married man.” Davidson contended that “Ms. Daniels’ name is being used in order to lure potential customers to your commercial filth.”

Oddly, while accusing The Dirty of commercially exploiting the porn star’s “name and likeness,” Clifford’s attorney made no claim that the story itself was false. Asked why his takedown demand did not address the veracity of The Dirty’s report, Davidson said, “I have no comment on that question.”

Davidson said that “to the best of my recollection” he contacted a representative of the Trump Organization and that “they did not object to my attempts to remove the story.” He added that his work for Clifford was limited to the publication of The Dirty story and that he did not “take part in any negotiation with my client and Mr. Trump.” A photo of Clifford--captioned “Stormy Daniels. Actress”--is on the “Representative clients” page of Davidson’s web site.

While Clifford lawyered up in an apparent bid to distance herself from the Trump infidelity story, she had previously pursued the sale of that information to a gossip magazine, TSG learned.

Clifford’s attempt to cash in on her Trump relationship was largely orchestrated by Gina Rodriguez, a former porn actress who had transitioned into representing D-list reality TV and tabloid figures looking to monetize their fleeting fame via personal appearances, staged photo shoots, and stories sold to TMZ and other gossip outlets.

Rodriguez has represented Michael Lohan, Tila Tequila, and Nadya Suleman, who gave birth to octuplets in 2009. As part of her representation of the mother of 14, Rodriguez produced “Octomom Home Alone,” a 2012 porn film starring Suleman that was released by Wicked Pictures. Rodriguez, who is something of a mistress whisperer, signed up numerous women eager to detail their sexual encounters with Tiger Woods and Charlie Sheen. Rodriguez also represented Sydney Leathers, the original Anthony Weiner sexting partner. A 2014 New York Times story reported that Leathers “reached out to Ms. Rodriguez through Nik Richie of the gossip blog thedirty.com.”

So when Clifford wanted to sell her Trump story, she turned to Rodriguez (seen at right). The women had met years earlier, when Rodriguez was married to Randy Spears, a porn actor with whom Clifford performed.

To buttress Clifford’s own claims about Trump, Rodriguez asked Mosny to memorialize his recollections of his ex-wife’s contacts with the billionaire. Mosny agreed and sent Rodriguez a May 2011 e-mail detailing Clifford’s meetings and phone conversations with Trump. Mosny, who said he was not paid for his cooperation, even agreed to undergo a polygraph test administered by an examiner hired by the gossip magazine.

However, the story about Trump and Clifford never appeared.

Later that year, The Dirty published its communiqué from the source who claimed that Trump “ruined my girlfriend’s marriage.” While the tipster is not identified, Rodriguez’s fingerprints are all over the dropped dime. In addition to trying to broker the sale of Clifford’s story to a gossip rag, Rodriguez also referred the porn star to Davidson for legal representation, according to a source.

Rodriguez has not responded to numerous TSG e-mails and phone messages over the past six months.

Though Richie had brayed on The Dirty about his commitment to exposing “the sickos of the world who hide behind their money and power,” he yanked the Trump story soon after it appeared. But following a four-and-a-half-year hiatus, the post was republished without fanfare earlier this year, likely due to Trump’s successful march to the Republican presidential nomination. (4 pages)