Stormy Daniels' lawyer turns against attempts to dismiss his case against Trump

The lawyer for adult film actress Stormy Daniels pleaded Monday that her 2016 lawsuit over a confidentiality agreement should be allowed to proceed in federal court, as neither President Trump nor her former lawyer has had real consequences in the case.

In a new case, Michael Avenatti argued that recent attempts by Trump and his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to invalidate Daniels' lawsuit are intended to protect defendants from the obligation to pay money to the court. women in the lead at the 2016 presidential elections

Avenatti, who has pledged to file Trump and Cohen in the coming months, has called US District Court Judge S. James Otero for the Central District of California to reject arguments in favor of lifting the case. suspension to start.

"Mr. Cohen is a criminal, and Mr. Trump is a co-conspirator, they reached the settlement agreement and paid $ 130,000 for Mr. Trump's campaign and withheld information from constituents during elections in 2016, "wrote Avenatti.

"The public interest in pursuing this case is obvious. Putting an end to the case now after all the lies, deception and bafflement outlined above would be premature and would erode public confidence in the courts. It would not be legally appropriate either, "he wrote.

[Trump, Cohen do not plan to enforce Stormy Daniels’s nondisclosure agreement, court filings state]

Cohen said last month that he acted under Trump's leadership when he arranged cash payments for two women before the election, a statement that seemed to reinforce Daniels' case. Trump, who denied wrongdoing, said he did not have a relationship with Daniels and did not learn the payments until later.

Requests for comments from Trump lawyer Charles Harder and Cohen lawyer Brent Blakely were not immediately returned.

Trump is waging a legal battle as he faces the threat of being filed in several civil cases brought by women. Although these cases attracted less attention than the investigation conducted by the special lawyer Robert S. Mueller III, legal experts say they still represent a risk because the president could face charges of perjury s' he makes a statement.

Mueller recently told Trump's lawyers that he would accept written answers from the president on coordinating his campaign with Russia to gain an advantage in the 2016 elections. Mueller did not exclude from questioning Trump about the activities of Russia during the campaign or the fact that the president tried to obstruct the special advocate's investigation.

As Avenatti fights to advance the Daniels case into the discovery phase, which would open the door to possible testimony, Trump prepares to provide sworn testimony in a defamation suit filed by former competitor Apprentice Summer Zervos in the state of New York.

Trump's lawyers decided Friday to provide "written answers and objections" to formal written questions in his case by September 28. Interrogations in New York must be sworn or verified, which means that false answers could open Trump to perjury charges.

Zervos claims that Trump kissed her in 2007 and filed a lawsuit last year after accusing him of lying. Trump denies any wrongdoing in the case.

Daniels, whose name is Stephanie Clifford, also sued Trump for defamation after describing her claim that she had been threatened with not talking about their relationship as "work".

Daniels filed a lawsuit in March in his main case, which seeks to overturn the non-disclosure agreement that forbids him from talking about an alleged sexual relationship with Trump in 2006. The president denies that he has not been released. a meeting was held and the case is pending for months after a federal investigation into Cohen's business activities.

Cohen and Trump's lawyers said in two statements on Friday and Saturday that they did not plan to enforce the deal with Daniels or sue him for alleged violations. Both accused suggested that this rendered the trial of Daniels unfounded and that there was no need to continue the trial.

These measures raised questions about the future of the Daniels case and whether the court continues to have jurisdiction. Avenatti, who is having fun as president in 2020, has promised to fire Trump and Cohen in order to reveal more information about the efforts made during the 2016 campaign so that articles on Trump are not broadcast. .

[Trump to provide written answers under oath in Summer Zervos defamation lawsuit]

In a telephone interview with the Washington Post, Avenatti said that the documents filed by the defendants did not change "nothing" of his plan to pursue depositions.

"This effort will lead nowhere," he said of attempts to dismiss Daniels' case. "We will respond accordingly. . . . We move forward. "

Avenatti argued on Monday that Trump and Cohen had to declare the confidentiality agreement void "because it was illegal on the grounds that it had been introduced into the illegal purpose, design and purpose of circumventing the federal law. the financing of the campaigns ". removing the speech on a subject of concern about a presidential candidate from the United States, just weeks before the election. "

"The accused did not admit their responsibility, nor the veracity of the allegations of the complainant," he wrote.