President Trump has agreed to give up his right to pursue millions of dollars in damages against Stormy Daniels in a move to kill litigation over an illegal payoff to the adult-film star.
The maneuver marks a sharp reversal for Trump. His legal team sought earlier to pull Daniels into an arbitration that could have forced her to pay Trump more than $20 million for breaking a nondisclosure agreement over her claim of a sexual liaison with Trump in 2006.
The switch in tactics, disclosed yesterday by a Trump attorney, highlights the legal trouble faced by Trump and his private business, the Trump Organization, as federal prosecutors continue to investigate the $130,000 in hush money that Daniels received 12 days before the November 2016 election.
Michael Cohen, who was executive vice president of the Trump Organization when he orchestrated the deal, told a federal judge last month that Trump directed him to make the payoff in an attempt to influence the election. Cohen also agreed Friday to give up any right to damages against Daniels under the nondisclosure agreement.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is suing Trump and Cohen to void the nondisclosure pact, saying it’s invalid because Trump never signed it.
“Mr. Trump hereby stipulates that he does not, and will not, contest Ms. Clifford’s assertion that the Settlement Agreement was never formed, or in the alternative, should be rescinded,” the president’s lawyer, Charles Harder, told Daniels’ attorney Michael Avenatti in a letter.
As a result, Trump’s lawyer argued, Daniels should drop her lawsuit. Lawyers for Trump, Cohen and Daniels are set to gather Sept. 24 for a hearing on the case before District Judge S. James Otero in Los Angeles federal court.
Avenatti said Trump’s relinquishing of his rights under the confidentiality deal — and Cohen’s similar move – would not put a stop to her lawsuit.