Daniels’ offer to repay money expires as Trump seeks advice
NEW YORK — Stormy Daniels’ latest attempt to break her silence appears to have expired, while President Donald Trump is reportedly seeking advice on how to handle the adult film star’s claims.
Longtime Trump attorney Michael Cohen didn’t respond to the offer from Daniels — whose real name is Stephanie Clifford — to give back her $130,000 hush settlement.
“The President and Mr. Cohen have purposely ignored our settlement offer, thus doubling down on their efforts to muzzle Ms. Clifford and prevent her from telling the American people what happened,” her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, tweeted Tuesday. “Time to buckle up.”
Doing so would have let Daniels speak and release any “text messages, photos and/or videos related to the President,” according to an offer letter to Cohen sent Monday.
The expiration comes as CBS News confirms Daniels gave an interview with “60 Minutes” and one of her close pals recounts moments from the fling.
Trump has personally stayed quiet about the alleged affair, which court documents say took place between 2006 and 2007.
That’s because aides have warned responding to reports and legal action is going to make him appear guilty, CNN reported, citing a source close to the president.
Earlier in the day, Daniels’ lawyer said they’ve heard “crickets” from Cohen and his legal team about the proposal.
“If the deadline passes, then the offer is going to be automatically withdrawn,” Avenatti said on “Good Morning America.”
Daniels sued Trump in Los Angeles court last week to nullify their 2016 “hush agreement” because he didn’t sign it under the fake name David Dennison.
Cohen previously got a temporary restraining order that threatened to hit Daniels with a $1 million penalty every time she talked about the claimed affair.
“We don’t believe that there is a court in California, anywhere, that will ever, ever enforce” the hefty fines, Avenatti said on “GMA.”
The next likely move, he continued, was that the case would go to discovery — at which point Trump might be forced to give a deposition.
The White House has dismissed reports of Trump’s affair with Daniels, which she hasn’t publicly discussed.
Keith Munyan, a photographer who is close friends with Daniels, confirmed the affair to the Washington Post on Monday night.
The 56-year-old photographer confirmed several details that Daniels gave to In Touch magazine seven years ago but did not publish until earlier this year.
Trump called Daniels while she was staying at the Los Angeles house she rented from Munyan from 2006 to 2008, he said.
“She checked her phone and goes, ‘Look who’s calling,’ ” he told the Post. “She thought it was so fun. She wanted to be on ‘The Apprentice.’ Wouldn’t you?”
Munyan is one of four people listed on her nondisclosure agreement, the Post said, but is reportedly free to talk.
He heard some of the conversations Trump had with her, which he said were “just babble.”
One that stood out, however, was Trump’s offer to give her a condominium at a proposed Tampa tower.
“I heard her say, ‘I don’t want that. That’s not what I want,’” he told the Post.