Trump Lawyer Claims Up To $20M In Damages
LOS ANGELES (CBSDFW.COM/AP) - Donald Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, wants a lawsuit brought by porn actress Stormy Daniels moved to federal court, and claims the woman could owe $20 million in damages for violating a non-disclosure agreement.
The Friday court filing seeks to move Daniels' case from a state-level court to federal court in Los Angeles.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is seeking to invalidate the non-disclosure agreement. She has offered to return the $130,000 she was paid.
The filing accuses Clifford of violating the agreement more than 20 times.
A separate filing says Trump would join a request to have the case heard by an arbitrator.
Clifford's lawyer says it's an attempt to have the matter decided in private arbitration, "thus hiding the truth from the public."
Meantime her lawyer says she has been threatened with physical harm.
Clifford's attorney, Michael Avenatti, tells The Associated Press his client had been "physically threatened," but he isn't providing details.
He won't comment on whether the threats came from anyone tied to the president, the Trump campaign or the Trump Organization.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
