Judge Throws Out Stormy Daniels' Lawsuit Against Trump
A federal judge on Thursday tossed out a lawsuit against President Donald Trump filed by porn star Stormy Daniels.
U.S. District Judge S. James Otero said the suit was moot because she had already “received exactly what she wanted” after Trump and his former lawyer Michael Cohen agreed not to enforce a nondisclosure agreement signed by Daniels.
Daniels has insisted she had an affair with Trump in 2006. Trump has denied the liaison.
Cohen, acting as Trump’s attorney, paid Daniels $130,000 not to talk about her claims of an affair. The payment by Cohen to Daniels emerged as a critical feature in the federal investigation of Cohen, after which he pleaded guilty to multiple campaign violations.
Otero declined the request by Daniels, whose real named is Stephanie Clifford, to declare the nondisclosure agreement invalid, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The Los Angeles newspaper speculated that the ruling could open the door to Daniels being forced to repay $130,000 she was paid to keep silent.
Charles Harder, Trump’s attorney, said the ruling was a victory for Trump.
“Combined with the attorneys’ fees and sanctions award in the president’s favor totaling $293,000, the president has achieved total victory,” Harder said, citing a past decision by Otero ordering Daniels to pay Trump $293,000 in legal fees after he dismissed a defamation suit Daniels filed against Trump. As reported by The Western Journal, Trump’s legal team had at one time sought almost $800,000 in damages from Daniels.
Harder said Daniels had not yet paid the money.
Correction: Judge tosses out NDA!
More than a year ago when I was being threatened with a 20 million lawsuit, I asked a judge to toss out this illegal NDA. Glad I stood my ground & kept fighting. https://t.co/Ra5iQerx9e— Stormy Daniels (@StormyDaniels) March 8, 2019
Attorney Michael Avenatti, who represented Daniels, said his client was the winner.
“The court found that Ms. Daniels received everything she asked for by way of the lawsuit — she won,” Avenatti said, according to CNN.
“How people can claim this is a ‘loss’ after we forced Trump and Cohen to cave and Cohen has been convicted, etc. is a mystery,” he tweeted.
Yet again, lots of misreporting going on. Be clear: The Court specifically found that Stormy received everything she asked for in the lawsuit – she won. How people can claim this is a “loss” after we forced Trump and Cohen to cave and Cohen has been convicted, etc. is a mystery.
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) March 8, 2019
“Clifford’s attorney would claim victory if he got run over by a bus,” added Brent Blakely, Cohen’s attorney. “Clifford has lost every argument in these lawsuits since day one …”
The suit was dismissed as Daniels was preparing to promote her new book, “Full Disclosure,” The New York Times reported.
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