Stormy Daniels Sues Donald Trump For Defamation

WASHINGTON, DC — Michael Avenatti, attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels, said Monday he has filed a defamation suit against President Donald Trump on his client's behalf. The attorney wrote in a tweet Monday afternoon that the suit is in response to the president's "irresponsible and defamatory statements" about Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

"Moments ago, we filed this lawsuit against Mr. Trump for his recent irresponsible and defamatory statements about my client @stormydaniels," the attorney wrote. "He is well aware of what transpired and his complicity. We fully intend on bringing it to light. "

He ended the tweet with "#basta," which is Italian for "enough."

This is the second lawsuit Daniels has filed against Trump. Monday's lawsuit, filed in New York, follows an earlier one out of Los Angeles, which Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen successfully delayed last week. A federal judge granted a three-month delay in the Los Angeles lawsuit, which seeks to invalidate a non-disclosure agreement that barred Daniels from talking publicly about an alleged affair she had with Trump before he was president.

Daniels has maintained she had sex with Trump in 2006, shortly after his 12-year-old son Barron was born.

The latest lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in southern New York, centers on a threat that Daniels says was made against her in 2011 and Trump's response to her claim. She had decided to share her story about Trump with the gossip magazine In Touch, she said, when a man approached her in a Las Vegas parking lot and warned her to keep quiet.

The lawsuit maintains that Trump defamed Daniels when he dismissed her as a "liar" and called her story about the threat a lie.

On April 17, a sketch of the suspect who Daniels says threatened her was released publicly on Daniels' behalf. Monday's defamation lawsuit stems from a tweet on Trump's own verified Twitter account a day later, in which he characterized the sketch as a "total con job." Trump's tweet was in direct response to a tweet posted by @ShennaFoxMusic that showed side-by-side images of the sketch of Daniels' alleged harasser and her husband.

"A sketch years later about a nonexistent man," Trump's tweet said. "A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)!"

Daniels' suit says Trump falsely attacked the veracity of Clifford's account of the 2011 incident, and even accused her of breaking various laws governing false criminal accusations.

"In making the statement, Mr. Trump used his national and international audience of millions of people to make a false factual statement to denigrate and attack Ms. Clifford," the complaint says. "Mr. Trump knew that his false, disparaging statement would be read by people around the world as well as widely reported, and that Ms. Clifford would be subjected to threats of violence, economic harm, and reputational damage as a result."

Trump has more than 51 million Twitter followers.

The lawsuit says Daniels suffered more than $75,000 in damage as a result of Trump's comment. She has faced death threats and other threats of physical violence since Trump's tweet, and has gone so far as to employ bodyguards and take other security measures to ensure her personal safety.

Daniels seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as legal fees and anything else the court deems appropriate.

Trump's attorney had no immediate comment on the defamation claim, NBC News reported.

Moments ago, we filed this lawsuit against Mr. Trump for his recent irresponsible and defamatory statements about my client @stormydaniels. He is well aware of what transpired and his complicity. We fully intend on bringing it to light. #buckleup #bastahttps://t.co/ZuBjI1EY9z
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 30, 2018

See Also: Stormy Daniels 60 Minutes Interview: 5 Cringeworthy Moments

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