Porn star Stormy Daniels keeps legal pressure on Donald Trump, sues him for defamation
At issue is a recent tweet by the president in which he dismissed a composite sketch that Daniels says depicted a man who threatened her in 2011
The adult film star alleging an affair with US President Donald Trump is escalating her legal fight, filing a defamation lawsuit against him on Monday.
Stormy Daniels filed the complaint in federal court in New York. At issue is a tweet Trump made in which he dismissed a composite sketch that Daniels says depicted a man who threatened her in 2011 to stay quiet about the sexual encounter she said she had with Trump.
In the tweet earlier in April, Trump said: “A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)!”
The filing says the tweet was “false and defamatory”, arguing that Trump was speaking about Daniels and that he “knew that his false, disparaging statement would be read by people around the world, as well as widely reported”. It also says Daniels has been “exposed to death threats and other threats of physical violence”.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages. Her lawyer Michael Avenatti said Monday: “We intend on teaching Mr. Trump that you cannot simply make things up about someone and disseminate them without serious consequences.”
