Donald Trump’s lawyers want a federal judge to direct porn star Stormy Daniels out of the spotlight and into private arbitration.
In a new court declaration signed and filed Monday, Trump lawyer Michael Cohen said Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, previously accepted arbitration as a means to handle any problems with their $130,000 hush agreement meant to put a lid on her claims she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.
Cohen said Daniels signed their October 2016 settlement, took the $130,000 and “performed all of her obligations” for “approximately sixteen months” — until she sued last month.
“At no time between Clifford’s execution of the settlement agreement and the filing of this lawsuit did Clifford or her attorney ever communicate any assertion to me that the settlement agreement was invalid or unenforceable for any reason, including because it was not signed by ‘David Dennison,’ or defendant Donald Trump, or make any attempt to return the $130,000,” Cohen said in the new paperwork.
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His statement was filed in federal court in Los Angeles along with his motion to compel arbitration and a two-page joinder filed on behalf of Trump by lawyer Charles Harder.
Daniels filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court last month claiming the agreement should be declared null and void because Trump never signed it.
A week later, Trump’s lawyers filed to move the action to federal court, likely to set the stage for Monday’s maneuver.
They want the federal court to enforce the Federal Arbitration Act in their favor and push the salacious case back behind closed doors.
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After Clifford filed her original complaint, she amended it to claim Trump (photo) defamed her.
(NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)
In a recent interview with “60 Minutes,” Clifford further described her alleged affair with Trump, claiming that during their hotel hookup, she spanked the future president with a magazine bearing his photo on the cover.
Clifford’s lawyer Michael Avenatti said Monday his side will continue to fight.
“We will vigorously oppose the just-filed motion by DJT and MC to have this case decided in a private arbitration, in a private conf room, hidden from the American public. This is a democracy and this matter should be decided in an open court of law owned by the people,” he said in a post on Twitter.
“And the Declaration Mr. Cohen just filed is more interesting for what it DOES NOT state — it does not state that he never discussed the agreement with DJT, that DJT did not know about the agreement, or that DJT did not ultimately pay the $130k,” Avenatti tweeted.
After Clifford filed her original complaint, she amended it to claim Trump defamed her.
Avenatti has argued the settlement was structured to help Trump’s bid for the White House and therefore constituted an illegal $130,000 campaign gift.
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