Remember That $600,000 Stormy Raised with Crowdfunding? Trump's About To Take It All and Then Some
Things are not looking good for Stormy Daniels and her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, in the wake of their failed lawsuit against President Donald Trump.
On Monday, Trump’s attorneys, led by Charles Harder, asked a court for nearly $800,000 in lawyers’ fees and penalties from Daniels after her devastating legal defeat against Trump, according to CBS News.
The adult film actress claims to have had a one-night affair with Trump and accused him of using hired thugs to silence her. Daniels then sued him for defamation after he called her allegations a “total con job.”
In October, Judge S. James Otero dismissed her lawsuit, ruling that Trump’s statements were “rhetorical hyperbole” protected under the First Amendment. Otero ruled that Daniels would have to pay the president’s legal fees.
Now, the president is seeking $390,000 in legal fees from Daniels and an equal amount in penalties as a deterrent against a “repeat filer of frivolous defamation cases.”
The requested penalties also would serve to deter cases from others who seek to attack Trump in the courtroom for political or monetary gain.
If the judge approves the monetary sanctions, Daniels would lose every cent gained from her crowdfunding campaign.
She received nearly $600,000 from individual donors. In total, 16,862 losers donated to Daniels’ legal fund, and it was all for nothing.
Of course, Avenatti is disputing the monetary sanctions.
“You can’t just pick a number out of thin air in an effort to put my client under Donald Trump’s thumb and intimidate her,” he said.
However, Trump’s lawyer believes the penalties are justified considering the publicity Daniels and Avenatti gained from the case.
“This action is virtually unprecedented in American legal history,” Harder wrote in court papers, citing that Daniels “not only brought a meritless claim for defamation against the sitting president of the United States, but she also has engaged, along with her attorney, in massive national publicity.”
Shady lawyers should think twice before filing frivolous lawsuits against the president.
This is only the most recent bit of turmoil for Daniels stemming from her failed defamation suit against the president.
Last week, she admitted that the defamation suit was filed by Avenatti without her permission.
“He has spoken on my behalf without my approval. He filed a defamation case against Donald Trump against my wishes,” she said.
Daniels must be livid with Avenatti for squandering her money on a case that she didn’t want to pursue.
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