Donald Trump denies paying $130,000 to Stormy Daniels: Top 10 developments

Daniels has alleged that she and Trump once had unprotected sex in 2006, a year after he married Melania Trump

US President Donald Trump, in his first public remarks about the intimate relationship he has been accused of having with adult film star Stormy Daniels, on Thursday said he did not know about a $130,000 payment made by his lawyer to keep Daniels quiet. The White House has denied that Trump had sex with Daniels.

Asked why his lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid the money if the allegations were untrue, Trump told reporters on Air Force One, "You'll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael's my attorney." On being asked if he knew about the payment to Daniels, Trump said "No."

Asked if he knew where the money came from to pay Daniels, Trump told reporters, "No, I don't know." Cohen has said he paid Daniels out of his own pocket. Last month, Daniels sued Cohen to be released from the non-disclosure agreement she signed in October 2016 in exchange for the $130,000 payment received.

Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti, said Trump's admission that he did not know about the agreement bolstered his client's case to be released from the deal.
 

In an interview that aired a few days ago, Daniels told CBS's "60 Minutes" programme that she and Trump had sexual relations only once, but he had kept in touch with her. She said she was not attracted to Trump, who was 60 at the time. Daniels was 27 in 2006.

1. Trump cries foul, says 'unaware of payment made to Stormy Daniels': Asked why his lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid the money if the allegations were untrue, Trump told reporters, "You'll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael's my attorney." Asked if he knew about the payment to Daniels, Trump said "No." Asked if he knew where the money came from to pay Daniels, Trump said, "No, I don't know."

2. Trump's lawyer seeks Stormy Daniels case be resolved privately: Donald Trump and his attorney Michael Cohen have filed court papers asking a federal judge to demand porn star Stormy Daniels to raise her disputes through private arbitration. Cohen's own attorney, Brent Blakely, argued in Monday's filing that the agreement includes a provision that any disputes about it be settled through arbitration, as opposed to open court. Daniels's attorney, Michael Avenatti took to Twitter to state that he will "vigorously oppose" the request for private arbitration.

"This is a democracy and this matter should be decided in an open court of law owned by the people," Avenatti added.

3. Chelsea Handler supports Stormy Daniels, says she is not a bimbo: American talk show host Chelsea Handler has come to the fore in defence of porn star Stormy Daniels, who alleges a 2006 affair with President Trump, saying that the US should listen to her and she is not a "bimbo." 

Handler in an interview with Huff Post said, "She's relentless. She's destigmatizing porn stars in front of the entire world. She's not stupid. She's not an idiot. She's not a bimbo." "She's focused and she's relentless and she's honest and you know what? It's great. This is the year of the woman and she is that," Handler added.

4. Judge denies Daniels motion to depose Trump, Cohen: A federal judge in California denied the request of porn star Stormy Daniels' attorney to depose Trump and Michael Cohen as a part of the adult film star's lawsuit. US District judge James Otero denied the motion, stating that it was "procedurally premature", reportedly suggesting that her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, could refile the motion on a later date.

5. White House silent over porn star's payment question: The White House has denied that Trump had sex with Daniels. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders defended Trump's silence on allegations leveled against her. Sanders, while throwing light on Daniels branding Trump as a "counter-puncher", clarified that she didn't say he "punches back on every single topic". "If he did he would probably be addressing a lot of the stories that most of you write every single minute of every single day. He also has a country to run. And he is doing a great job with that. ... Sometimes he chooses to specifically engage and punch back and sometimes he doesn't," CNN reported Sanders, as saying to reporters.

6. Stormy Daniels' lawyer seeks Trump testimony: Daniels' lawyer filed a motion in a California court last week to take a deposition from Trump in a legal battle over an agreement to keep the porn star quiet about her allegation that they had a sexual relationship.

Avenatti said he wanted sworn testimony from Trump about the "hush" agreement she says she signed. He also sought a legal interview with the President's lawyer.

7. Stormy Daniels sues Trump's lawyer for defamation: Hours after the CBS interview revealed salacious details about the alleged Stormy Daniels-Donald Trump affair, Daniels on Monday accused Trump's attorney Michael Cohen of defamation. Daniels has amended her lawsuit against the US President. The lawsuit now claims that Cohen defamed Daniels by suggesting that she was lying about the alleged 2006 affair with Trump, The Hill reported.  

The suit specifically points to a statement Cohen made last month: "Just because something isn't true doesn't mean that it can't cause you harm or damage."

8. Cohen sends 'cease and desist' letter to Daniels: Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, is challenging Daniels' charge that someone tied to Trump threatened her with physical harm if she went public with her story about an affair with Trump years ago. 

Cohen's attorney, Brent H Blakely, demanded that Daniels or Avenatti apologise to his client for alleging intimidation. "In truth, Mr Cohen had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with any such person or incident, and does not even believe that any such person exists, or that such incident ever occurred," he said, asserting that Daniels and Avenatti should "cease and desist from making any further false and defamatory statements about my client".

A former Playboy model, Karen McDougal, has described having a 10-month affair with Trump, also starting in 2006, which the White House has said Trump denies.

9. 'Daniels threatened again': Avenatti complained in the course of the '60 Minutes' film that the veiled threat that was allegedly made against his client in 2011 was effectively repeated in the filing of a lawsuit earlier this month by Trump's legal team claiming $20 million in damages against Daniels with a further $1 million penalty for any further violation of the non-disclosure agreement.  

Avenatti said the suit was a form of intimidation. "You threaten someone with a $20 million lawsuit, it's a thuggish tactic. It's no different than what happened in the parking lot in Las Vegas." 

10. Alleged Stormy Daniels-Donald Trump affair took place in 2006: Daniels told CBS that she started her "intimate relationship" with Trump at Lake Tahoe in 2006 and continued it in 2007 as well. Daniels also claimed that she had a sexual encounter with the then future US President "just once with consent".