Trump lawyer secretly obtained order to muzzle porn star
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s lawyer secretly obtained a restraining order last week to prevent a pornographic film star from speaking out about her alleged affair with Trump.
The White House’s spokeswoman, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said on Wednesday that Trump’s lawyer won an arbitration proceeding against the actress, Stephanie Clifford. She had been paid $130,000 shortly before the 2016 election in what she calls a “hush agreement.” But in recent weeks, she had prepared to speak publicly about Trump, claiming his lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, had broken the agreement.
Sanders’ statement put the White House in the middle of a story that Trump and his lawyer had been trying to keep quiet for well over a year. The turn of events created the spectacle of a sitting president using legal maneuvers to avoid further scrutiny of particularly salacious accusations of an affair and a payoff involving the porn star, who goes by the name of Stormy Daniels.
Although Clifford said their relationship was consensual, the issue is particularly sensitive to Trump, whose campaign was dogged by allegations of groping and his boast of grabbing women’s crotches.
Clifford filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday asserting that the nondisclosure agreement that accompanied the $130,000 payment was void because Trump never signed it under the pseudonym David Dennison.
Sanders said that the president had denied having an affair with Clifford or making the payment himself. She added that she was not aware of whether Trump knew about the payment to Clifford at the time.
“I’ve had conversations with the president about this,” Sanders said. “This case has already been won in arbitration, and there was no knowledge of any payments from the president, and he has denied all these allegations.”
Lawrence Rosen, a lawyer representing Cohen, said in a statement on Wednesday that an arbitrator “found that Ms. Clifford had violated the agreement” and barred her from filing her lawsuit.
Clifford’s lawyer, Michael Avenatti, said that he did not consider the restraining order, dated Feb. 27, valid and that she would proceed with her lawsuit in open court. “This should be decided publicly,” he said.
Sanders declined Wednesday to provide additional details and deflected questions about the adult film actress.
“Look, the president has addressed these directly and made very well clear that none of these allegations are true,” Sanders said.
Trump has not publicly addressed the alleged illicit dalliance.
“This case has already been won in arbitration and anything beyond that I would refer you to the president’s outside counsel,” Sanders added.
Avenatti mocked the White House’s response to the suit, derisively making fun of the fact that Trump claims he “also won the popular vote.”
Avenatti said that Daniels and Trump had a sexual relationship that lasted months and she believes she is now free to talk because Trump never personally signed the nondisclosure agreement.
“Ms. Daniels wants the ability to speak openly and honestly about what transpired as well as the efforts aimed at intimidating her into silence,” Avenatti told the New York Daily News. “In the event that she’s ordered to return the money, she’s certainly willing to do so. We are waiting to see exactly how this plays out.”