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It was quite a sequence on Morning Joe yesterday.
Mica: has she ever been threatened:
Attorney Michael Avenatti: yes
Mica: has she ever been physically threatened?
Avenatti: yes.
Avenatti, however, would not say who made the threat-for that, stay tuned for her 60 minutes interview that is reportedly going to happen Sunday, March 25.
The lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels said Friday that his client had been “physically threatened” to remain silent over her alleged affair with Donald Trump.
Lawyer Michael Avenatti, appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe program and CNN’s New Day, did not elaborate on who made the alleged threat or whether it occurred before or after she signed a non-disclosure agreement with Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, not to discuss her alleged relationship with Trump.
If it happened before that could make the NDA null and void as it would be done under physical duress.
“Trump has denied any sexual relationship with Daniels.”
Which when you think about it makes no sense. If there’s wasn’t one then why did Cohen make the payment? Aside from on who’s behalf the payment was made.
“Stormy Daniels’s lawyer said on Thursday that he has been approached by six other women with stories about President Trump similar to that of the adult-film actress.”
“Michael Avenatti cautioned in an appearance on CNN that he had not yet vetted the cases “to any great degree,” but said that at least two of the women have nondisclosure agreements.”
“The initial consultations, the initial information that we’re receiving indicates that there are some striking similarities between their stories and that of my client, Ms. Clifford,” Avenatti said.
FN: We never would hear anything more about these other women Avenatti claimed to have heard from and his reputation has since taken quite a beating-Daniels herself has broken with him. She did, confirm, however, that she was threatened.
End of FN.
In any case, Trump and Cohen seem to be feeling the heat. They’re going into overdrive attempting to intimidate her by claiming that she’s already violated the NDA 20 times and owes $20 million dollars.
“Michael Cohen, President Trump’s personal attorney, claims he has the right to seek at least $20 million in damages from porn star Stormy Daniels for allegedly violating a nondisclosure agreement 20 times.”
“A lawyer for Cohen’s limited liability corporation, Essential Consultants, made the claim in papers filed in federal court Friday.
“Cohen also intends to force the dispute with Daniels, who alleges she was secretly paid to keep quiet about an affair with the president, out of the public eye and back into private arbitration, according to the court filing.”
This despite the fact that Cohen himself has spoken a great deal about the case. Evidently only she is muzzled he can speak very freely-and graphically about it.
“In a separate document also filed Friday, a lawyer representing Trump said he intends to join the push to return the proceedings to arbitration, in which all proceedings are confidential.”
But why would Trump’s lawyer be involved considering that Trump is still holding on to the not so plausible cover story that ‘He did not have sex with that woman, Stormy Daniels’, and what’s more was in no way involved and knew nothing about the payment?
“Michael Avenatti, a lawyer for Daniels, said the threat by Cohen and Trump to pursue millions of dollars in damages, and their efforts to take the matter behind closed doors, amounted to bullying of his client.”
But it’s becoming clear that Stormy Daniels is not one to be easily intimidated.
“To put it simply — they want to hide the truth from the American people. We will oppose this effort at every turn,” Avenatti wrote in an email. “The fact that a sitting president is pursuing over $20 million in bogus ‘damages’ against a private citizen, who is only trying to tell the public what really happened, is truly remarkable. Likely unprecedented in our history. We are not going away and we will not be intimidated by these threats.”
Again, the basic fact pattern if you believe both Trump and Cohen never has added up. Cohen’s claim that he paid it out of his own funds was never very plausible and is contradicted by stories he complained to friends after the election that Trump didn’t pay him back; regarding this you have to ask: how long has he known Trump?
But Trump claims there was no affair so why then make any payment? But if you believe Cohen paid it out of his own funds that may violate campaign laws:
“The $130,000 payment to Daniels has become a matter of keen interest for government watchdog groups. At least two complaints to the Federal Election Commission allege that the money was meant to influence the presidential election and therefore amounted to an illegal in-kind contribution to the Trump campaign
As if Trump hasn’t faced enough accusations of trying to illegitimately influence the 2016 election.
UPDATE: In her subsequent 60 Minutes interview she stated she was threatened but doesn’t ID who it was
Trump later dropped his NDA against Daniels. Cohen dropped his own against Daniels and had demanded his $130,000 grand back.
Daniels did lose her defamation suit against Trump.
But it was a rather curious ruling:
A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit from adult-film actress Stormy Daniels that claimed President Trump defamed her when he suggested she had lied about being threatened to keep quiet about their alleged relationship.
U.S. District Judge S. James Otero in Los Angeles ruled that Trump’s speech was protected by the First Amendment as the kind of “rhetorical hyperbole” normally associated with politics and public discourse in the United States.” He ordered Daniels, whose given name is Stephanie Clifford, to pay Trump’s legal fees.
So you can lie with impunity if you’re in politics? How does Judge Otero differentiate ‘a kind of rhetorical hyperbole’ and lying? and isn’t making her pay the so-called ‘President’ and so-called ‘billionaire’ $293,000 rather steep? I guess he can use another golf simulator in the Russia House-great ruling judge-justice was served I tell ya!
Just over a week ago Daniels dropped her defamation suit against Cohen.
UPDATE: As covered in other chapters Cohen soon dropped his suit against Daniels and Buzzfeed and then flipped on Trump. He is currently serving a three year prison sentence for committing crimes at Trump’s direction and benefit-Trump himself is an un-indicted co–conspirator.