Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen said on Friday that Stormy Daniels’ violations of the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) she signed with the president in October of 2016 result in her owing him $20 million in damages.
His legal filings in Los Angeles accuse Daniels of more than 20 violations of the contract allegedly signed by her in exchange for her receiving from Cohen a $130,000 payment of “hush money.” Under the terms of the NDA she agreed to refrain from discussing her sexual relationship with President Trump in 2006 and 2007.
Daniels’ attorney angrily lashed out at the Trump legal team and accused them of using what he called “bullying tactics.”
“To put it simply, they want to hide the truth from the American people. We will oppose this effort at every turn,” said Michael Avenatti, the lawyer representing Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford.
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A separate filing says Trump would join a request to have the case heard by an arbitrator. Avenatti said that this move was nothing more than an attempt by Trump to have the matter removed from a public trial which would be “hiding the truth from the public.”
Cohen, who has been Trump’s personal attorney for decades and is known for his aggressive tactics, said the legal filings in Los Angeles were done with the consent of the president. He filed a “notice of removal” on Friday asking the judge to remove Daniels’ lawsuit against Trump from California state court so it could be tried in federal court. In the filings, Cohen gave the rationale that the case should be in federal court because Daniels and Trump live in different states.
The new filings in California court say that Trump has added lawyer Charles Harder to his team. Harder is considered a top attorney and has represented some very high-profile clients such as Hulk Hogan and Harvey Weinstein. He also was the attorney Melania Trump in her defamation lawsuit in which she prevailed against the Daily Mail, a British tabloid newspaper.
I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.
