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Priceless: Anti-Trumpers' Contributions to Stormy's Legal Fund Will Go to Trump

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“A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.” — Proverbs 13:22.

Now that we’ve done our Bible reading for the day, I have good news for everyone who donated to Stormy Daniels during her crowdfunding campaign:

Your money just went to Donald Trump!

Let me explain. Stormy Daniels — or Stephanie Clifford, depending if you want to use her nom de pornographie or not — was in the middle of a libel suit against Trump. That lawsuit was based around a tweet (so seldom a good augury for the litigious) from the president which cast doubt upon her claim that a man intimidated her in a parking lot in 2011 after she went public with claims she had slept with the billionaire real estate mogul.

This is what she (or at least her attorney Michael Avenatti) thought was legally actionable:

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The legal system, you may not be surprised to learn, disagreed with Daniels (and Avenatti).

“The court agrees with Mr. Trump’s argument because the tweet in question constitutes ‘rhetorical hyperbole’ normally associated with politics and public discourse in the U.S.,” U.S. District Judge S. James Otero’s ruling Monday, according to Insurance Journal.

“The First Amendment protects this type of rhetorical statement.”

Will this stop Stormy Daniels' supporters from giving her more money?

Otero thusly tossed the libel lawsuit. But here’s the important part, at least for this story: The judge awarded legal fees to Donald Trump.

And how is Stormy Daniels paying her legal fees? Well, part of it is through crowdfunding. In fact, via a campaign on the website CrowdJustice, she’s managed to raise over $586,000.

Now, some of that money is probably going to go to Donald Trump. Conservatives on Twitter, you can imagine, are feeling very bad for Daniels’ supporters.

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Oh well — it could have happened to a better group of people.

“No amount of spin or commentary by Stormy Daniels or her lawyer, Mr. Avenatti, can truthfully characterize today’s ruling in any way other than total victory for President Trump and total defeat for Stormy Daniels,” Charles Harder, Trump’s lawyer, said in a statement after Otero’s verdict, according to The Washington Post.

Avenatti, meanwhile, still tried to spin.

“We will appeal the dismissal of the defamation cause of action and are confident in a reversal,” the creepy porn lawyer said.

“There is something really rich in Trump relying on the First Amendment to justify defaming a woman.”

Avenatti has every reason to be upset, after all. Some of that money that was supposed to go to him is going to Donald Trump.

At least he has other irons in the fire. Whither Julie Swetnick?

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C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he's written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014.
C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he's written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014. Aside from politics, he enjoys spending time with his wife, literature (especially British comic novels and modern Japanese lit), indie rock, coffee, Formula One and football (of both American and world varieties).
Birthplace
Morristown, New Jersey
Education
Catholic University of America
Languages Spoken
English, Spanish
Topics of Expertise
American Politics, World Politics, Culture




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