CALIFORNIA — A federal judge in California put a temporary stop Thursday to efforts by Stormy Daniels’ attorney to depose President Donald Trump and his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen over a $130,000 payout from Cohen to the porn star before the 2016 election.
Judge S. James Otero of the US District Court for the Central District of California denied the motion for an expedited trial and discovery process, saying Daniels’ attorney, Michael Avenatti, was “premature” in making the motion because Trump and Essential Consultants LLC, the company established by Cohen to pay Daniels the $130,000 to keep quiet about an alleged affair between her and President Trump, have not yet filed a petition to compel arbitration, which they have stated they’re going to do.
Avenatti tweeted that he intends to refile the motion as soon as President Trump, Cohen and the company “file their motion to compel arbitration seeking to hide the facts from public view. We expect this any day.”
In his decision, Otero admonished the parties, writing that “instant litigation is not the most important matter on the court’s docket.” He also vacated a hearing date previously set for April 30.
In the motion he filed earlier this week, Avenatti requested to depose both President Trump and Cohen, who was added this week as a defendant in the lawsuit, for “no greater than two hours.”
The request also asked for “targeted requests for the production of documents directed to Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen on various topics relating to the hush agreement.”
Avenatti laid out questions he’d like answered, including whether President Trump knew about the hush agreement and the scope of his involvement, where the payment came from, what Cohen’s role was, and whether President Trump consented to the agreement and was involved in efforts to silence Daniels “to benefit his presidential campaign by preventing voters from hearing Plaintiff speak publicly.”
The motion is the latest in the legal battle between Daniels, an adult film actress whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, and Cohen, President Trump, and the limited liability company Cohen created to pay her to keep quiet about the alleged affair more than a decade ago.
Daniels said she was pressed to sign the document, and her legal team now says the agreement is invalid because it was never signed by President Trump.
On Monday, Daniels’ legal team amended her lawsuit to include a defamation claim against Cohen. Daniels’ friend and fellow adult film actress Alana Evans, who has publicly tried to corroborate Daniels’ claims of an affair, also said she will file her own defamation claims by the end of the month.
President Trump continues to deny that he had an affair with Daniels, White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah said Monday afternoon.