Daniels’ nondisclosure agreement not valid, Trump says
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump does not believe porn actress Stormy Daniels’ hush-money deal, which his former personal lawyer said was done to influence the 2016 presidential election, is valid and will not carry out threats to sue her for breaking the agreement by discussing the alleged affair, Trump’s attorney said in a court filing Saturday.
Hours earlier, an attorney for the company set up to handle the deal offered to rescind Daniels’ nondisclosure agreement. The company, Essential Consultants, also scrapped a threatened $20 million lawsuit against Daniels.
The two developments could kill efforts by Daniels’ attorney, Michael Avenatti, to force the president to give sworn testimony about what he and his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, might have known about the deal if a judge agrees to dismiss the case. The offers remove any legal risk to Daniels stemming from her public discussion of the alleged affair and the alleged efforts to hide it.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she had sex once with Trump in 2006 and carried on a platonic relationship with him for about a year. She was paid $130,000 as part of the agreement signed days before the 2016 election and is suing to dissolve the contract.
In Saturday’s court filing, Trump’s attorney, Charles Harder, said the president doesn’t dispute Daniels’ assertion that the contract isn’t valid and never considered himself as a party to the agreement. Both Trump and Cohen have asked Daniels to now drop her lawsuit.
Essential Consultants was set up by Cohen, who pleaded guilty in federal court last month to campaign-finance violations and other charges. Cohen told the court that he and Trump arranged payments to both Daniels and a former Playboy model.
The company wants Daniels to repay the $130,000 she was paid, Blakely wrote.
Avenatti said he did not have to accept the offer and would not settle the case without deposing Trump and Cohen.
He said he was still reviewing his options but wasn’t worried about the developments.