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).
President Donald Trump says “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry. The Republican president suggested Friday he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves. Trump says one of the policies the U.S. is calculating is "a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States." A monthslong calm on Wall Street was shattered, with U.S. stocks falling on the news. The Chinese Embassy in Washington hasn't responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
Most members of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, minutes from last month’s meeting showed.
From Wall Street trading floors to the Federal Reserve to economists sipping coffee in their home offices, the first Friday morning of the month typically brings a quiet hush around 8:30 a.m. eastern, as everyone awaits the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report.
The Supreme Court is allowing Lisa Cook to remain as a Federal Reserve governor for now.
Rep. John Moolenaar has requested an urgent briefing from the White House after Trump supported a deal giving Americans a majority stake in TikTok.
A new report finds the Department of Government Efficiency’s remaking of the federal workforce has battered the Washington job market and put more households in the metropolitan area in financial distress.
A new poll finds U.S. adults are more likely than they were a year ago to think immigrants in the country legally benefit the economy. That comes as President Donald Trump's administration imposes new restrictions targeting legal pathways into the country. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey finds Americans are more likely than they were in March 2024 to say it’s a “major benefit” that people who come to the U.S. legally contribute to the economy and help American companies get the expertise of skilled workers. At the same time, perceptions of illegal immigration haven’t shifted meaningfully. Americans still see fewer benefits from people who come to the U.S. illegally.
Shares of Tylenol maker Kenvue are bouncing back sharply before the opening bell a day after President Donald Trump promoted unproven and in some cases discredited ties between Tylenol, vaccines and autism. Trump told pregnant women not to use the painkiller around a dozen times during the White House news conference Monday. The drugmaker tumbled 7.5%. Shares have regained most of those losses early Tuesday in premarket trading.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday signaled a cautious approach to future interest rate cuts, in sharp contrast with other Fed officials who have called for a more urgent approach. In remarks in Providence, Rhode Island, Powell noted that there are risks to both of the Fed’s goals of seeking maximum employment and stable prices. His approach is in sharp contrast to some members of the Fed’s rate-setting committee who are pushing for faster cuts.
President Donald Trump’s efforts to reshape the American media landscape have led to the suspension of late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel.
