An attorney for porn star Stormy Daniels mocked White House press secretary Sarah Sanders’ claim Wednesday that President Trump prevailed over Daniels in private arbitration.
Sanders made the claim during the daily White House press briefing, but referred follow-up questions to Trump’s personal attorneys.
“Yeah. And he also won the popular vote,” said attorney Michael Avenatti, who sued Trump on the adult performer’s behalf Tuesday to unshackle her from a nondisclosure deal.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Trump’s longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen in October 2016, in exchange for her silence. Daniels had previously shared details of an alleged affair with Trump shortly after his marriage to first lady Melania Trump.
In her lawsuit, Daniels argues Trump didn't sign the nondisclosure deal, making it invalid. The lawsuit says Cohen attempted to "shut her up" with a "bogus arbitration proceeding" on Feb. 27.
NBC News reported Wednesday afternoon that Cohen's request for a temporary restraining order was granted the same day by a retired judge acting as a private arbiter, ordering Clifford not to discuss the nondisclosure agreement.
NBC did not report the duration of the temporary order issued last month, but reported that Trump was not listed as a party to the proceedings. "President Trump hasn't won anything relating to Ms. Clifford," Avenatti told the outlet.
Sanders was peppered with questions about the alleged affair and resulting payoff during the Wednesday press briefing. The deal has opened debate on whether the payoff was an illegal campaign contribution, and generated significant press speculation on Trump's marriage, his third.
“Look, the president has addressed these directly and made very well clear that none of these allegations are true. This case has already been won in arbitration and anything beyond that I would refer you to the president’s outside counsel,” Sanders said.
“The president has denied the allegations against him and again this case has already been won in arbitration and anything beyond that I would refer you to outside counsel,” she added.
When pressed for details, Sanders said: “I can share that the arbitration was won in the president’s favor.”
Cohen did not respond to an email requesting additional information.
John Dowd, one of Trump’s personal attorneys, said in an email the matter was “not my lane.” Another of Trump’s current attorneys, Jay Sekulow, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sanders also said Wednesday that Trump told her that he didn't know about the payment when it was made.
“Not that I’m aware of,” she said in response to one question about whether Trump knew.
Later, Sanders clarified she had spoken to Trump about the payment and that he said he was unaware at the time of the payoff.
“Yeah, I’ve had conversations with the president about this, and as I outlined earlier the case had already been won in arbitration and that there was no knowledge of any payments from the president, and he’s denied all of these allegations,” she said.
