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Judge orders porn star Stormy Daniels to Pay Trump $293,000 in Legal Fees
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A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels to pay President Trump about $293,000 in legal fees and sanctions after her defamation suit against him was dismissed.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers had requested about $389,000 in legal fees, but the judge, S. James Otero of United States District Court in California, said the number of billable hours was “excessive” and cut the amount by 25 percent to about $292,000. Writing that Ms. Daniels “is already being deterred from filing meritless defamation claims,” Judge Otero ordered her to pay $1,000 in sanctions.
In a statement, one of Mr. Trump’s lawyers, Charles J. Harder, said, “The court’s order, along with the court’s prior order dismissing Stormy Daniels’ defamation case against the president, together constitute a total victory for the president, and a total defeat for Stormy Daniels in this case.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Ms. Daniels’s lawyer, Michael Avenatti, wrote on Twitter that Mr. Trump and his lawyer sought to “fool the public about the importance of the attorneys’ fees” — an effort he called “an absolute joke.”
About two hours later, he added that “Stormy will never have to pay” Mr. Trump or his former personal lawyer Michael D. Cohen “a single dime in attorney’s fees, costs or sanctions.” But the tweet containing the second statement was later deleted.
According to court documents released on Tuesday, Mr. Trump’s team claimed that five lawyers worked on the case, charging anywhere from $307.60 per hour to $841.64 per hour — rates that the court concluded were reasonable.
As recently as last month, the case was a source of tension between Ms. Daniels and Mr. Avenatti, who rose to fame by positioning themselves as critics of Mr. Trump. In a statement provided to The Daily Beast, which was published Nov. 28, Ms. Daniels accused Mr. Avenatti of having filed the defamation suit against Mr. Trump against her wishes. Four days later, Ms. Daniels tweeted that she and Mr. Avenatti had sorted things out.
Mr. Avenatti has filed two other lawsuits against the president and Mr. Cohen this year.
One seeks to void a 2016 nondisclosure agreement that prevented Ms. Clifford from discussing what she said was an affair she had with Mr. Trump in 2006. The second claims that Ms. Clifford’s previous lawyer, Keith Davidson, conspired with Mr. Cohen and Mr. Trump to keep Ms. Clifford quiet. SOURCE : The New York Times