Trump Breaks Silence On Stormy Daniels, And Her Attorney Rejoices

LOS ANGELES, CA — Things are getting heated between the president and the porn star. For the first time, President Donald Trump took aim at adult-film actress Stormy Daniels directly on Twitter Wednesday, and her fiery attorney took the shot as a declaration of war.

"In my experience, there is nothing better in litigation than having a completely unhinged, undisciplined opponent who is prone to shooting himself in the foot," tweeted her attorney Michael Avenatti. "Always leads to BIGLY problems, like new claims, i.e. defamation. LOL."

For months, Daniels, the adult film actress who claims to have had an affair with the president shortly after his son was born, has been goading the president to respond to her allegations about the affair as well as the $130,000 his attorney paid her to keep quiet about it. The president was uncharacteristically quiet about the allegations until Wednesday, the day after Daniels' legal team released a sketch of a man she claims threatened to harm her if she went public with the alleged affair.

Naturally, the battlefield was Twitter, and the war of words started with a tweet from the president: "A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)!"

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 "The View," she and Avenatti, also announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to the man.

Responding to Trump's Twitter post, Avenatti wrote on Twitter that the reward offer was being increased to $131,000. He also referenced the recent FBI raid of the New York offices of Trump's attorney, Michael Cohen, and suggested that Cohen and Trump are the ones engineering a "con job."

"FBI search warrants uncovering EXISTING documents and recordings showing con job after con job on REAL people and very REAL American citizens, who didn't know it. Welcome to the playing field," Avenatti said.

He added, "As the walls close and reality sets in that the most damaging witnesses, secrets and evidence are no longer protected, fully expect the following: sheer panic, personal attacks, tirades and distraction. But none of it will change the outcome in the end."

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is suing Trump and Cohen in federal court in Los Angeles, seeking to invalidate a non-disclosure agreement prepared by Cohen in 2016 to prevent her from discussing her claims of an affair with Trump. The agreement was signed just weeks before the presidential election.

Trump has never directly responded to Daniels' allegation of an affair, although White House press officials have repeatedly said that the president denies it. Cohen has acknowledged paying Daniels $130,000 as part of the non-disclosure agreement he negotiated, but said it was paid with his own money without Trump's knowledge.

Trump has publicly said he was unaware of the payment and did not know why Cohen paid her.

Days after Trump made that public assertion, the FBI raided Cohen's office and home as part of a criminal investigation. Media reports out of Washington have suggested that federal agents are investigating potential crimes such as wire fraud and campaign finance violations.

Cohen and Trump have both blasted the FBI raid as a violation of attorney-client privilege. They have also filed court papers in Los Angeles seeking to have Daniels' lawsuit put on hold while Cohen deals with the FBI investigation.

City News Service contributed to this report:

Photos: NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 16: (L to R) Adult film actress Stormy Daniels (Stephanie Clifford) and Michael Avenatti, attorney for Stormy Daniels, speak to the media as they exit the United States District Court Southern District of New York for a hearing related to Michael Cohen, President Trump's longtime personal attorney and confidante, April 16, 2018 in New York City. Cohen and lawyers representing President Trump are asking the court to block Justice Department officials from reading documents and materials related to Cohen's relationship with President Trump that they believe should be protected by attorney-client privilege. Officials with the FBI, armed with a search warrant, raided Cohen's office and two private residences last week. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)