Stormy Daniels' lawyer files renewed motion to depose Trump

Stormy Daniels' lawyer has filed a renewed motion to depose Donald Trump and his personal attorney Michael Cohen over a $130,000 payment made to the porn star as part of a nondisclosure agreement over her alleged affair with the US President.

Michael Avenatti, the adult-film star's attorney, made the announcement on Twitter on Sunday, reports The Hill magazine.

"Here is the renewed motion we just filed seeking to depose Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen, as well as an expedited jury trial," Avenatti tweeted with a link to the motion.

A federal judge temporarily blocked Avenatti's attempt to depose Trump on April 5, ruling that the motion was "premature".

The new motion states that Daniels' case "centres on a dispute concerning whether a settlement agreement, containing a mutual release and terms of non-disclosure, was ever formed between the parties".

It calls for a deposition for both Trump and Cohen of no more than two hours and requests various documents concerning the non-disclosure agreement.

Daniels alleges she was paid the "hush money" in October 2016 to keep her quiet about the alleged affair that took place in 2006, The Hill reported.

The porn star argues in the motion that she was "not bound by any of the terms and conditions of the agreement, including the provision of the agreement providing for arbitration".

Avenatti is also seeking an expedited trial in Daniels' case to void the nondisclosure agreement between her and Trump, claiming that the agreement was null because the President did not sign it.

Daniels recently spoke on CBS New about her alleged affair with Trump.

In her interview, she claimed that someone threatened her to keep quiet about her affair.

Earlier on Sunday, Avenatti tweeted a photo of Daniels with a forensic expert who are believed to be working together to identify the individual that Daniels claims threatened her.

Last week, the President publicly addressed the controversy for the first time by denying knowledge of Cohen's $130,000 payment.

--IANS

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