Some charged language going on here.
Another day, another Trump-related lawsuit. Adult actress Stormy Daniels, who is currently suing the president for defamation, now has another target in her sights: a man named Keith Davidson. Davidson was formerly Stormy’s lawyer and represented her when news of her and Trump’s affair hit the media cycle in 2006, however her lawsuit alleges that Davidson was a 'puppet' and colluded Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen against her best interests.
The lawsuit, filed in California, states that, ‘Mr Cohen immediately colluded with Mr. Davidson in an attempt to use an manipulate Ms. Clifford in a manner designed to benefit Mr. Cohen and Mr. Trump.’
Daniels claims that she and Donald Trump had a sexual encounter in 2006, while he was married to First Lady Melania Trump. It was a hot topic at the time, especially as an In Touch Magazine article was set to run and Daniels lawsuit alleges that both her own lawyer Davidson and Cohen worked together to protect Trump’s interests and minimise the public relations nightmare.
The suit states that Cohen ‘hatched a plan to have Ms. Clifford appear on Mr. Sean Hannity’s program to falsely deny the accuracy of the In Touch article’.
A text chain between both Cohen and Davidson was submitted as evidence, in which Cohen wrote, ‘I have tentatively scheduled for Hannity tonight. Call me after your trial.’
After Davidson messaged back that Stormy would be unavailable then due to her travel commitments, he responded, ‘I’m trying to get her to commit for tomorrow.’
Cohen then stressed how ‘important’ the interview was and seems to pressure Davidson into getting her to commit to Sean Hannity’s show on Fox News that evening. However, the plan quickly fell through.
Cohen said in the chain, ‘Let’s forget tonight. The wise men all believe the story is dying and don’t think it’s smart for her to do any interviews. Let her do her thing but no interviews at all with anyone.’
Stormy’s then lawyer responded, ‘100%.’
‘Thanks pal,’ Cohen finished.
Stormy and her new lawyer Michael Avenatti claim that the messages show that they were working to ‘provide a false interview and lie to the American people to serve the best interests of Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen’, to the ‘detriment of Ms. Clifford’. (Clifford refers to Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.)
In a statement to The Associated Press, Avenatti said, 'These texts show that the previous denials by Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen have been absolute lies. They’ve lied to the American people and they’ve lied to the first lady.'
Davidson's lawyer has also since issued a rebuttal to the lawsuit, claiming that it is a 'full and complete waiver of the attorney-client privilege' and a 'false narrative'.
Stormy currently has two lawsuits open open against President Donald Trump, both filed earlier this year. The first is in regards to the non-disclosure agreement she was asked to sign to keep quiet about her affair with Trump, in exchange for USD$130,000 that Cohen paid her out of his own pocket. However, that suit claims that because Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen signed the NDA it rendered it null and void - therefore, Stormy has the right to talk about their 2006 affair.
The other case is a defamation lawsuit, which revolves around her claims that she and her daughter were physically threatened by a man in a car park after word got out she was planning to sell her side of the Trump affair story for $15,000. The incident happened in 2011 and the story was recounted in a Stormy Daniels interview with 60 Minutes earlier this year.
She said of the encounter, ‘A guy walked up to me and said to me, “Leave Trump alone, forget the story” and then he leaned around and looked at my daughter and said “That’s a beautiful little girl – it would be a shame if something happened to her mom” and then he was gone.’
However Trump claimed the entire incident was ‘a total con job’ - leading her to issue the defamation lawsuit.
The White House currently takes the position that the affair between Stormy Daniels and the president never happened.
