Attorney Michael D. Cohen, right, has admitted to making a $130,000 payment to a woman who alleged an affair with Trump.

Adult film star Stormy Daniels has offered to return a $130,000 payment she received from President Trump’s lawyer in 2016, in a bid to speak freely about a months-long affair she alleges she and the president began having in 2006.

Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, offered to return the sum, which she received from lawyer Michael D. Cohen, via a direct wire transfer to Trump or “an account designated by the President.” She’d accepted the cash, of course, in exchange for acquiescing to a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) surrounding her interactions with Trump.

The settlement letter offered by Daniels on Monday is a particularly theatrical piece of lawyering meant to make it more difficult for Trump to distance himself from the proceedings. It also aims to force Cohen and Trump to either release her from the NDA or admit they’re still hellbent on keeping Clifford quiet.

How’d we get here?

This latest, most salacious scandal arises from an alleged 2006-07 affair between Trump and Clifford. Although it’s been percolating for years, not months, as recent observers might think, the denouement appears to be fast approaching.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on the $130,000 payment to Clifford in January. Cohen, after weeks of denials, admitted on Feb. 13 that he’d made the payment from personal funds without the knowledge of Trump or his campaign in another effort to protect Trump.

At that point, Clifford became vocal about her intention to fight the NDA. She announced that Cohen’s disclosure and reported intent to publish a book including the topic constituted breaches of the NDA, releasing her from its terms as well. On Valentine’s Day, In Touch published a 2011 interview with Clifford about the alleged affair.

Shortly thereafter, Cohen initiated arbitration proceedings against Clifford in secret, relying on the NDA’s arbitration clause and California’s bias toward arbitration. Forcing Clifford to submit to a private arbiter and a closed-door proceeding instead of open court would be a huge, perhaps game-ending defeat for her.

That’s one reason why Clifford filed a civil complaint challenging the non-disclosure agreement last Tuesday. She argues that neither the NDA as a whole nor the arbitration clause stands because Trump (“DD” in the documents) never signed. A day later, an arbiter granted Cohen’s request for a restraining order to keep Clifford from speaking, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a vague victory, confirming Trump’s involvement.

Sanders’s statement was not only unapproved by Trump but incorrect. The arbiter characterized the order as tentative (putting the brakes on a conflict until the threshold legal questions can be resolved is Law 101) and Clifford’s lawyer says the Feb. 27 order is invalid. She intends to proceed with the civil complaint—or to settle on terms that allow her to speak.

Even if Clifford fails, the series of events, agreements, and payments she’s exposed guarantee Trump and Cohen ongoing legal struggles.