Stormy Daniels seeks Trump testimony on her sex claims

Long before Donald Trump became president, adult film star Stormy Daniels created a political storm almost a decade ago when she considered running for office.

Stormy Daniels’ attorney asked a federal judge this morning for permission to depose President Donald J. Trump about his knowledge of an agreement to pay the porn star $130,000 a week and a half before the 2016 election.

The suit, filed by Daniels’ lawyer Michael Avenatti in California, came a day after CBS aired a tell-all interview with Daniels regarding the affair she alleges she had with Trump more than a decade ago.

The amended complaint also said that the agreement is unenforceable because it was for the illegal goal of circumventing campaign finance laws because the money paid to Daniels was allegedly an illegal in-kind contribution to the Trump campaign. A lawyer for Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal attorney, demanded that Daniels publicly apologize to his client for suggesting he was involved in her intimidation.

She told Anderson Cooper, 50, a American journalist and CNN news anchor, that she had had sex with Donald in his hotel room during a golfing trip in 2006.

“The President has denied the allegations”, Sanders said. Forget the story.’ And then he leaned around and looked at my daughter and said, ‘That’s a handsome little girl. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders continues to maintain that the president denies having any relationship with Clifford and did not know about the payment or the non-disclosure agreement.

While no judge or court has ruled the agreement legally invalid, yet, it is hard to see how Trump could successfully sue to stop a woman from talking about their sexual encounter when he denies it ever occurred.

Did Stormy Daniels, whose affairs could have been legion, keep all the dresses she wore on the night she had sex with men in the hope that she could cash in should any of them go on to a future of political fame? “What I do care about is that the president is a bully who attempts to silence through money and intimidation anyone (but particularly women) who stands between him and what he wants”.

“He knows I’m telling the truth”, said Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford.

A hearing on the motion is set for April 30.

If his statement was found to be untrue, the payment could theoretically constitute an unreported – and therefore illegal – campaign contribution.

Daniels asked the court to nullify the agreement, claiming Mr. Trump never signed the document, and that it is null and void as a result.

Trump and Cohen’s legal teams are seeking to force Daniels to settle the case in arbitration, which is required under the terms of the agreement. “I think trying to use me to further someone else’s agenda does awful damage to people who are true victims”.

Ms Clifford’s sometimes-graphic retelling of the alleged sexual incident largely echoed a 2011 interview with “In Touch” magazine about the relationship.