Stormy Daniels' Lawyer: We Will Renew Our Motion to Depose Trump
President Donald Trump made his first public statements about the Stormy Daniels scandal Thursday, denying he knew anything about the $130,000 his personal lawyer paid the adult film star before the 2016 election.
It’s the latest development in what Daniels’ lawyer Michael Avenatti says is going to be a long game.
“We’re chess players, we’re not playing tic-tac-toe,” he told Cheddar in an interview Thursday. “We’re in it for the long haul.”
Avenatti said his next step will be to file a motion against private arbitration next week.
“We’re very confident that this matter is going to remain in an open court for the people to see the facts. We’re going to file our opposition on Monday,” said Avenatti.
He’s referring to President Trump’s motion from earlier this week to take the case out of the public sphere and into closed proceedings. On top of that, Avenatti wants to depose the president and his lawyer Michael Cohen.
“I’m highly confident that that’s going to be granted,” he said.
If he gets his wish, both Trump and Cohen would have to explain under oath who knew what, and at what point in the timeline of events leading up to now.
Daniels, an adult film star whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, claims she had a sexual relationship with the now-president in 2006.
Shortly before the 2016 election, Cohen allegedly paid her $130,000 in hush money to keep the affair under wraps and had her sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Last month, Clifford sued Trump to get out of the NDA, claiming it is invalid because the president never signed it.
Her case reached a fever pitch when she sat down with for an interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes” last month, drawing in the highest ratings for the news show in a decade. She revealed salacious details about her encounter with Trump and that his team threatened her to keep her quiet.
Before the episode aired, Avenatti tweeted out an image of a disc, hinting that it contained damaging information on Trump.
“It was a warning shot to Michael Cohen, and it was a warning shot to the President,” he explained.
“If they tried to come out after the ‘60 Minutes’ piece and claim that my client was lying about the affair, about the relationship etc., there were going to be serious consequences. And you know what? The warning shot worked.”
Avenatti is also currently vetting the claims of [eight other women](https://cheddar.com/videos/whats-next-for-stormy-daniels) who say they have NDAs with Trump over relationships.
“This isn’t politics, it’s about a search for the truth. It’s about the American public’s right to know.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re on the left, on the right, or in the center.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/stormy-daniels-lawyer-on-trump-administration-blunders).
David Nelson, Chief Strategist at Belpointe, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says that Wednesday's market movement shows a rotation back into the industries that were hit hard in January, but says his eyes are firmly fixed on the January CPI data set to be released Thursday.
Russia is preparing alongside Belarus for reportedly one of the largest joint military exercises ever held. Some analysts are concerned this could be a disguise for a real attack, while the Kremlin contends that the exercise is meant to confront potential "unprecedented security threats." Christian Whiton, a former State Department senior advisor, joined Cheddar News to break down the still tense situation. "While it could of course be a prelude to invasion, it seems like the Biden administration is signaling that if you look at Europeans, the Germans and Macron … who just met with Putin, they seem to be thinking that maybe this is a show of force by Russia intended at political intimidation, not actual invasion," said Whiton.
Truckers in Canada have blockaded the Ambassador Bridge, the busiest border crossing between Canada and the U.S. protesting a COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Cheddar News spoke with Samir Kapadia, head of trade practice at the Vogal Group, about how this impacts trade between the two countries.
New York City is not only dealing with the ongoing pandemic, it’s also facing a surge in crime. President Biden recently traveled to New York to meet with the city’s new mayor, Eric Adams, to discuss the rise in crime and gun violence.
The president praised Mayor Adams' crimefighting agenda and unveiled a new federal initiative to curb the flow of illegal weapons from the south. Josefa Velásquez, Senior Reporter for THE CITY, joined Cheddar's Fast Forward to talk about how the mayor is battling this increase in crime in his first weeks in office.
The Democratic governors of New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, and Oregon say they will lift mask requirements for schools in the coming weeks, reflecting a nationwide shift away from restrictions. Cheddar News speaks with internist Dr. Vivek Cherian whether it's safe to relax the regulation.
Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama are set to begin voting to unionize for a second time after workers at the facility in the town of Bessemer overwhelmingly voted against forming a union during an election early last year; but in November, the National Labor Relations Board overturned the vote, upholding a union challenge of the results which argued that Amazon undermined the conditions for a fair election. Another round of ballots will now be mailed out to works at the warehouse for a so-called re-run election. Director of Labor and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University John Logan and National Field Director for Our Revolution Mike Oles joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
David Daley, author of the book 'Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy,' joins Cheddar News to discuss redistricting battles taking place across the U.S.
