Trump Lawyer Told To File Statement To Slow Porn Star's Suit
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA/AP) — A federal judge told lawyers for President Donald Trump's attorney Michael Cohen that he needs to file a declaration in court in order to delay a lawsuit filed by porn actress Stormy Daniels aimed at dissolving a confidentiality agreement that prevents her from talking about an alleged affair with Trump.
Judge S. James Otero said Cohen needs to file a statement declaring that his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination might be jeopardized if the case filed in Los Angeles goes forward.
Otero said at the Friday morning hearing in Los Angeles that it was not enough for Cohen's attorney to file that statement on his behalf, and he gave Cohen until next Wednesday to do so.
Cohen sought to delay the civil case after FBI agents raided his office and residence, seeking records about the $130,000 agreement that Daniels signed days before the 2016 presidential election.
After the raids, Cohen asked the judge to grant a stay for at least 90 days and argued that because the allegations in the lawsuit overlap with the criminal investigation, Cohen's civil rights "may be adversely affected if this case proceeds."
Otero did not immediately rule on a request by attorneys for Cohen and Trump to put Daniels' lawsuit on hold for three months so Cohen can focus on the FBI investigation.
Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti, objected to the requested delay and said he was pleased with the outcome of the hearing.
Avenatti said outside court it was "clear to me Michael Cohen and the president do not want to publicly state" that Cohen intends to invoke the Fifth Amendment.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has been seeking to invalidate the agreement and has offered to return the $130,000 she was paid in order to publicly discuss the relationship and "set the record straight." She argues the agreement is legally invalid because it was only signed by Daniels and Cohen, but was not signed by Trump.
Cohen, who has denied there was ever an affair, said he paid the $130,000 out of his pocket using a home equity loan. He has said neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Daniels and he was not reimbursed for the payment.
Trump answered questions about Daniels for the first time earlier this month and said he had no knowledge of the payment made by Cohen and didn't know where Cohen had gotten the money. The White House has repeatedly said Trump denies the affair, and the president on Wednesday accused Daniels of engineering a "con job" by releasing a sketch of someone she claims threatened her to keep quiet about the alleged sexual encounter.
Along with his message, he retweeted a photo posted by a supporter showing Daniels with an ex-boyfriend, who bears a strong resemblance to the sketch Daniels and her attorney released Tuesday.
Daniels claims the man threatened her in Las Vegas in 2011 when reports first began to surface about her alleged affair with Trump. During a Tuesday appearance on ABC's "The View," she and Avenatti also announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to the man.
Responding to Trump's Twitter post, Avenatti tweeted that the reward offer was being increased to $131,000. He also referenced the recent FBI raid of Cohen's offices, and suggested that Cohen and Trump are the ones engineering a "con job."
Avenatti recently expanded Daniels' lawsuit, adding a defamation allegation against Cohen, who has accused Daniels of lying about the alleged affair and her allegation that she was threatened.
Cohen has filed papers alleging he could seek as much as $20 million from the actress for breaching the non-disclosure pact.
Cohen's attorneys have accused Daniels of violating the agreement's confidentiality clauses more than 20 times and said she could be liable for $1 million in damages for each violation.
The case took on new significance last week when FBI agents raided Cohen's office, hotel and residence.
The agents were seeking any information on payments made to Daniels and a former Playboy model, Karen McDougal, according to people familiar with the investigation but not authorized to discuss it publicly. The search warrants also sought bank records, records on Cohen's dealings in the taxi industry and his communications with the Trump campaign, the people said.
After the raids, Cohen asked a judge in Los Angeles to grant a stay for at least 90 days and argued that because the allegations in the lawsuit overlap with the criminal investigation, Cohen's civil rights "may be adversely affected if this case proceeds."
Avenatti has objected to the delay and pressed for the case to continue immediately. In court papers, he argued that the civil case should move ahead because Trump and Cohen have provided no evidence to bolster their claim that a jury trial would be unfair to them. He also argued that Cohen has already spoken publicly about the case and that a delay is unfair to his client.
"The American people deserve the truth as quickly as possible," he said.
Otero also did not rule on a pending motion by Trump and Cohen to force the Daniels case into private arbitration. They contend the agreement Daniels signed requires any disputes to be handled in closed-door proceedings.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)