Trump lawyer denies intimidating porn star Stormy Daniels

allegations: Actress challenged over assertion she was threatened

Donald Trump’s personal lawyer has challenged porn actress Stormy Daniels’ claim that someone tied to the President threatened her with physical harm if she went public with her story about a tryst with Mr Trump years ago.

Daniels said in a TV interview broadcast on Sunday that a man approached her in a Las Vegas car park in 2011, when she was with her daughter, and said: “That’s a beautiful little girl. It’d be a shame if something happened to her mum.”

She said the man told her to “leave Trump alone. Forget the story”.

Michael Avenatti, her lawyer, acknowledged he has no direct evidence tying the threat to Mr Trump or his lawyer Michael Cohen, but said he was holding back certain details of the alleged affair, including the contents of a CD or DVD he tweeted a picture of last week.

“It would make no sense for us to play our hand as to this issue and we’re not going to do it right now,” he said on NBC.

Mr Cohen’s own lawyer, Brent H Blakely, demanded that Daniels or Mr Avenatti apologise to his client for alleging intimidation.

“In truth, Mr Cohen had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with any such person or incident, and does not even believe that any such person exists, or that such incident ever occurred,” he said, asserting that Daniels and Mr Avenatti should “cease and desist from making any further false and defamatory statements about my client”.

Daniels told the 60 Minutes show she had consensual sex once with the future President, providing a few salacious details but little new evidence.

She received a $130,000 (£91,000) payment days before the 2016 presidential election for her silence and has sought to invalidate a nondisclosure agreement.

Mr Cohen has said he paid the money out of his own pocket while asserting Mr Trump never had sex with Daniels.

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

Previously, Mr Cohen has said neither the Trump Organisation nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Daniels and he was not reimbursed for the payment.

However, Mr Avenatti told 60 Minutes he has documents showing Mr Cohen using his Trump Organisation email address in setting up the payment.

In truth, Mr Cohen had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with any such person or incident

Picture: AP Actress told the 60 Minutes show she had consensual sex once with Donald Trump.