Stormy Daniels Accused Of Libel, Told To Apologize To Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen After ‘60 Minutes’ Interview
The White House is calling for legal action to be taken against adult actress Stormy Daniels after her explosive interview in 60 Minutes.
Scared Into Silence
Brent Blakely, the attorney for Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen, claims his client never made threats to Daniels. In fact, Blakely denied his client's involvement in a letter on Sunday.
He argued that Daniels and her lawyer Michael Avenatti made false and defamatory statements during the show's episode, which aired on Sunday night.
Many anticipated the interview with the adult film star as Daniels was expected to reveal untold details regarding her relationship with President Trump.
During the interview, Daniels confessed that an unidentified man threatened her and told her to keep quiet about the alleged affair. The said incident took place in a parking lot, where she was instructed to leave Trump alone and forget about it.
"That's a beautiful little girl. It'd be a shame if something happened to her mom," the man then said, referring to Daniels's young daughter.
Nothing To See Here
According to Blakely, Cohen has nothing to do with the alleged incident. In fact, he insists that it didn't even happen in the first place.
He's accusing Daniels and her lawyer of libel against his client. He demands an immediate cease and desist and a public apology to Cohen.
Although the 60 Minutes interview with Daniel was highly publicized, she actually revealed little about her alleged affair with Trump that happened in 2006, that wasn't already widely known.
She did, however, admit to facing various intimidation tactics meant to ensure she kept her mouth shut back in 2011.
Regardless of whether or not anything new was gleaned, the episode was still the show's highest rating in 10 years, according to CBS.
Daniels reputedly received a $130,000 payout just days before the 2016 presidential election. She has since sought to invalidate an NDA that Trump never signed.
Everything Is 'Fake News'
The President has refuted the allegations, although he has curiously kept quiet about Daniels on social media. He did, however, complained on Twitter about the amount of fake news currently circulating the net.
Cohen claims the affair never happened and that the $130,000 was a personal payment out of his own funds. Avenatti told 60 Minutes that he has documents to prove Cohen used his Trump Organization e-mail address to set up the payment. He also claims that he has proof that the NDA was sent by FedEx to Cohen at his Trump Organization office in New York.
David Schwartz, one of Cohen's lawyers, appeared on Good Morning America and said Daniels is lying.
"The lying is all over that piece," he said.
Avenatti, on his part, told Today that Daniels will not divulge everything just yet, but promised that more information will be unveiled.
Daniels filed a defamation suit against Cohen's lawyer on Monday, just a day after her interview aired. The complaint alleged that Trump's lawyer stating on national television that Daniels was lying has damaged her reputation.
It also noted that the NDA is invalid not just because Trump didn't sign it, but the payment also violated campaign finance law.
Toeing The Party Line
Raj Shah, deputy press secretary, fielded several questions about the 60 Minutes interview at Monday's White House press briefing.
"With respect to that interview, the president strongly, clearly and has consistently denied these underlying claims, and the only person who's been inconsistent is the one making the claims," he responded to one journalist.
As for the all-important question of whether or not Trump himself watched the interview, Shah was tight-lipped.
