Washington: Adult film star Stormy Daniels’ lawsuit against US President Donald Trump over a non-disparagement agreement has been tossed out of federal court.
On Thursday, US District Judge James Otero said the suit, which sought to invalidate the $130,000 agreement that kept Daniels from speaking publicly about her allegations of an affair with Trump ahead of the 2016 election, “lacks subject matter jurisdiction”, CNN reported. By saying that the lawsuit should be sent back to the California Superior Court, where it was first filed, Otero made it clear the case was over.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has claimed that she and Trump had an affair in 2006, after he married First Lady Melania Trump and she gave birth to their son, Barron. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels. Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, arranged the agreement and paid Daniels $130,000. He admitted in federal court that “in coordination and at the direction of a candidate for federal office”, he kept information that would have harmed Trump from becoming public during the 2016 election cycle.
He has since said that the candidate was Trump. Cohen has been sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to nine charges, including campaign-finance violations related to payments he arranged to silence women who claimed affairs with Trump — including Daniels. Trump has also denied having affairs with the women.
Daniels’ attorney Michael Avenatti told CNN on Thursday night that by dismissing the case, the judge essentially gave Daniels what she wanted all along — to be able to tell her story without the fear of being sued for millions of dollars. Meanwhile, Trump’s attorney, Charles Harder, told CNN: “The US District Court confirmed today that the claim against the President has no basis in law. “Combined with the attorneys’ fees and sanctions award in the President’s favour totalling $293,000, the President has achieved total victory.”