The attorney representing adult film star Stormy Daniels was unequivocal on Wednesday morning when asked point-blank if his client and President Donald Trump had an extramarital sexual relationship.
"Yes," the attorney, Michael Avenatti, answered when asked by the "Today" show's Savannah Guthrie.
Watch:
Watch @savannahguthrie's full interview with Michael Avenatti, Stormy Daniels’ lawyer pic.twitter.com/8koWFXvYh1
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 7, 2018
The disclosure comes after Daniels, whose given name is Stephanie Clifford, filed suit against Trump this week, claiming that a non-disclosure agreement his attorney paid her to sign is not valid because the president never signed the document.
The agreement, which Daniels signed on October 28, 2016, just days before the presidential election, stipulated that she was "not to disclose any confidential information about Trump or his sexual partners to anyone beyond a short list of individuals she'd already told about the relationship, or share any texts or photos from Trump," according to NBC News—but Daniels and her lawyer says the agreement was never made official and therefore doesn't exist.
If Daniels's lawsuit is successful, Avenatti said, she plans to make her side of the story public.
"She believes it's important that the public learn the truth about what happened," he said. "I think it's time for her to tell her story and for the public to decide who is telling the truth."
Trump and Daniels were apparently referred to by the aliases Peggy Peterson and David Dennison throughout the agreement, and NBC reported that the signature page contained no signature for the latter.
In recent weeks, Cohen acknowledged that the six-figure payment was made to Daniels, but said he personally financed the transaction and was not reimbursed by the Trump Organization or the Trump campaign. Daniels's suit, however, alleges that the president was aware of the payment and on Monday the Wall Street Journal reported
that Cohen complained to the Trump campaign for not being reimbursed.
Reactions on Twitter offered insights and perspective:
Hush agreement & side letter attached to Stormy Daniels' filing essentially shows coordination between @realDonaldTrump, Cohen & Daniels. That means the $130k payment from Cohen to Daniels to silence her during the campaign violated federal election law. Penalty is 5 year felony. https://t.co/L4DdhNCpv3
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) March 7, 2018
1. The Stormy Daniels story is not about an affair or consensual sex.
It's about a candidate for President going to extreme lengths to buy a woman's silence in an apparent violation of campaign finance law and then lying about it https://t.co/wx4ogHkVkS— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) March 7, 2018
2. The case also suggests that, as a result of Trump's personal conduct, he is vulnerable to extortion and blackmail.
How many agreements has he pushed on women? If he's willing to pay $130K to keep this affair secret, what else is he willing to do? https://t.co/wx4ogHkVkS— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) March 7, 2018
Donald Trump cheated on his pregnant 3rd wife with a porn star, Stormy Daniels, who’s now suing him.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the man who won the Evangelical vote.— Emilia (@PoliticalEmilia) March 7, 2018
