Stormy Daniels' lawyer files motion to depose Trump, lawyer Michael Cohen
The move comes days after a "60 Minutes" interview in which Daniels detailed the alleged affair
with Trump.The lawyer for adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who says she had sex with
Donald Trump in 2006, has filed a motion in federal court asking for permission to depose
the president and his lawyer, Michael Cohen.
The move comes amid a lawsuit against Trump, alleging that he never signed a nondisclosure
agreement that his lawyer had arranged with Daniels, and just days after a revealing interview
on CBS' "60 Minutes" in which she detailed an alleged affair with the married mogul and
claimed she was threatened in 2011 if she went public.
The request was filed late Tuesday in a Los Angeles court and will be heard on April 30,
Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, tweeted Wednesday morning.In the court filing, Avenatti
said each deposition would last for no more than two hours.
He also filed a motion seeking a jury trial in no more than 90 days.
"We expect to be placing the president and his fixer under oath in the coming months,"
Avenatti said in a statement.
The White House did not immediately comment about the motion.
David Schwartz, an attorney for Cohen, said in a statement that the filling is a "reckless
use of the legal system in order to continue to inflate Michael Avenatti�s deflated ego
and keep himself relevant."
"His statements are ludicrous when he asks where Michael Cohen and Donald Trump are?
He knows they are following the rules of the court," he added.
"They are handling the case in a court of competent jurisdiction and as a lawyer, he
needs to do the same.
This is politically motivated and people see through this charade.Daniels, whose real name
is Stephanie Clifford, has said that Cohen paid her $130,000 in October 2016 � just
days before the presidential election � not to talk about her encounter with Trump.
But Daniels said the "hush agreement," as it's referred to in her lawsuit this month,
is invalid because even though she and Cohen signed it, Trump never did.
Cohen earlier this year downplayed Daniels' claims as "rumors."
While he has acknowledged making the payment � allegedly out of his own pocket � he
has repeatedly declined to tell NBC News what it was for.
Avenatti said on the "Today" show earlier this week that ultimately, he wants Daniels
to have the right to "tell her story."
"If she's not telling the truth, let the president take to the podium and call her a liar," he
said Monday.
"Let the president come forward and say it never happened."
Trump himself has not publicly addressed the alleged relationship.
The White House has denied that Trump had an affair with Daniels, and White House Press
Secretary Sarah Sanders said this month that the president was unaware that Cohen paid
Daniels the $130,000.
source nbcnews
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