Lawyer: Stormy Daniels had sexual relationship with Trump

The lawyer for adult film star Stormy Daniels told NBC’s “Today” on Wednesday that his client had a sexual relationship with President Trump and is looking to disclose the truth about the encounter.

In an interview with Savannah Guthrie, attorney Michael Avenatti succinctly responded “yes” when asked whether his client had a sexual relationship with Trump in 2006, whose youngest son, Barron Trump, was born the same year.

{mosads}

“She’s looking to disclose the truth about what happened,” Avenatti said. “At this point, in light of the amount of misinformation that Mr. Cohen has put out there to The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and others, I think it’s time for her to tell her story and for the public to decide who’s telling the truth.”

Avenatti went on to add that Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is free to talk about the encounter because Trump refused to sign a nondisclosure agreement orchestrated by his lawyer, Michael Cohen, in order to later claim deniability.

“Mr. Trump did not sign. We believe that that was so that he could later claim deniability, and therefore, from a legal perspective, we believe she’s free to talk,” he said, adding that it was “highly questionable” that Cohen himself paid the $130,000 agreed upon to Daniels.

“We think it’s highly questionable as to whether it came from his personal funds,” Avenatti said. “The idea that an attorney would go off on his own, without his client’s knowledge, engage in this type of negotiation, and enter in this type of agreement quite honestly I think is ludicrous.”

Daniels’s accusations have raised complaints from watchdog groups who say Cohen’s payment to the porn star violated campaign finance laws, claiming the funds came from Trump’s campaign. Republican lawyers have largely dismissed those claims.

Cohen previously acknowledged the $130,000 payout to Daniels but has claimed that the funds came entirely from his personal account.

The Wall Street Journal this week reported that Cohen has reportedly complained to friends that Trump did not reimburse him for the payment.