Hush money: Porn star seeks Trump’s sworn testimony

A porn actress who says she had an affair with Donald Trump renewed an effort on Sunday to get the US president to answer her attorney’s questions under oath.

An attorney for Stormy Daniels filed the motion in federal court in Los Angeles. Michael Avenatti is seeking a jury trial and wants sworn testimony from Trump and his lawyer Michael Cohen about a $130,000 payment made to Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election as part of a non-disclosure agreement she is seeking to invalidate.

Trump answered questions about Daniels for the first time last week, saying he had no knowledge of the payment made by Cohen and adding that he didn’t know where Cohen had gotten the money. The White House has consistently said Trump denies the affair and Cohen has held that he made the payment out of his own pocket, without involvement from the Trump Organization or the Trump campaign.

Cohen did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment on Sunday.

WASHINGTON:

US NATIONAL SECURITY SPOKESMAN TO RESIGN

The spokesman for US President Donald Trump’s national security council plans to leave the administration, the White House said on Sunday, a day before Trump’s third national security adviser formally takes up his post.

Michael Anton, who also worked for former President George W Bush’s national security council and is a former BlackRock managing director, is leaving after serving under Trump for more than a year, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

Trump telephoned Anton on Sunday to thank him for his service, a White House official said.

The White House did not offer a reason for his departure or say when he would leave.AGENCIES