Trump lawyer seeks $20m damages from porn star Stormy Daniels

Adult film actress Stormy Daniels allegedly an extramarital affair with Donald Trump before he became president. File picture: Matt Sayles/AP

Adult film actress Stormy Daniels allegedly an extramarital affair with Donald Trump before he became president. File picture: Matt Sayles/AP

Published Mar 17, 2018

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Washington - A law firm representing

US President Donald Trump and the corporation that paid porn

actress Stormy Daniels $130 000 in what she called hush money

over an alleged affair with Trump said in a court filing that it

was seeking at least $20 million in damages for multiple

violations of a nondisclosure agreement.

In a filing with the US District Court for the Central

District of California made public on Friday, the Blakely Law

Group also asked for a lawsuit by Daniels that seeks to nullify

the agreement to be moved to a federal district court from a

county court.

Brent Blakely, who filed the action on behalf of Essential

Consultants LLC and Trump, did not reply to a request for

comment.

Under the nondisclosure agreement, Daniels, whose legal name

is Stephanie Clifford, could be subjected to a $1 million

penalty each time the deal was broken.

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Daniels has alleged that she had an affair with Trump that

began in 2006 and lasted several months.

Michael Cohen, a private lawyer for Trump, has said he paid

Daniels $130 000 of his own money during the 2016 presidential

election campaign. Cohen has not explained why he made the

payment and has not said if Trump was aware of it.

Attorney Michael Avenatti, who represents Daniels, said on

Friday, "This is simply more of the same bullying tactics from

the president and Mr. Cohen. They are now attempting to remove

this case in order to increase their chances that the matter

will ultimately be decided in private arbitration, behind closed

doors, outside of public view and scrutiny.

"To put it simply - they want to hide the truth from the

American people. We will oppose this effort at every turn."

Avenatti has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles claiming Trump

never signed the nondisclosure agreement, rendering it null and

void.

"The fact that a sitting president is pursuing over $20

million in bogus 'damages' against a private citizen, who is

only trying to tell the public what really happened, is truly

remarkable," Avenatti said.

In a letter to Cohen on Monday, Daniels offered to return

the $130 000 to an account designated by Trump so she could be

released from the agreement, which she signed in October 2016.

Cohen ignored the offer.

Earlier on Friday, Avenatti told MSNBC and CNN that Daniels

had been physically threatened and warned to remain silent about

her relationship with Trump.

Avenatti would not provide details about the threat. He said

Clifford would elaborate on it during a CBS "60 Minutes"

interview due to be broadcast on March 25.

He told Reuters on Friday that six women had been in touch

with his law firm to describe relationships with Trump, and that

two had signed nondisclosure agreements.

Reuters

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