Telling the press he knew nothing about the payout to his alleged mistress Stormy Daniels AKA Stephanie Clifford, 71-year-old President Donald Trump continued to deny any relationship with the 39-year-old porn queen with whom he’s rumored to have had a tryst. Daniel’s 47-year-old publicity-seeking attorney Michael Avenatti looks committed to entrapping Trump, before forcing him into a deposition or testimony. Asked about the $130 hush-money payout before the 2016 election by his attorney Michael Cohen, Trump said he knew nothing about it. “No,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One to questions if he knew anything about Cohen’s payout. “You’ll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney. You’ll have to ask Michael,” said Trump, about where Michael got the cash. Rumors have flown about Cohen siphoning off the cash from Trump’s 2016 campaign coffers.
Smartly avoiding questions about Stormy Daniels, Trump showed discipline not stepping into the media’s trap that could be used against him in some future legal proceeding. Recording his denial today gave Avenatti reason to hope that he could catch Trump in perjury trap. Daniels was under a non-disclosure agreement in exchange for accepting Cohen’s 130,000 payout. Avenatti contends that the non-disclosure agreement wasn’t valid because Trump failed to sign the document in 2016, only days before Election Day. “We very much look forward to testing the truthfulness of Mr. Trump’s feigned lack knowledge concerning the $130K payment as stated on Air Force One,” said Avenatti. Avenatti hopes to catch Trump in a lie, something more likely with every public remark and Tweet. Avenatti was an ambitious student of George Washington University’s constitutional law Prof. Jonathan Turley.
Avenatti hopes to set Trump up for a perjury conviction when he can pull a Bill Clinton on him, catching Trump in a lie on deposition. Former President Bill Clinton famously denied under oath in a deposition for Paula Corbin Jones he had “sexual relations” with “that women, Ms. Lewinsky.” Clinton’s response prompted the GOP-controlled House to file articles on impeachment against Clinton for perjuring himself under oath. “As history teaches us,” said Avenatti, “it is one thing to deceive the press and quite another to dos so under oath,” referring to what happened with Clinton. Whatever Daniels’ motivation, she seems like she’s spurred on by the mainstream press. When CNN’s Anderson Cooper joined “60 Minutes” in a blockbuster interview with Stormy March 26, it gave CBS some of its best ratings in years, attesting to the public’s fixation on Trump’s affairs.
Daniels told Cooper that she was with Trump once in 2006, in a relationship that went on for a year, about the same time Trump’s son Baron was born. Avenatti told “60 Minutes” that Cohen’s payout to Daniels was on Trump Organization letterhead, suggesting, at the very least, Trump knew about the payout, certainly knowing the Trump organization footed the bill. If Cohen paid Daniels out of Trump Organization funds or campaign funds it would breach federal campaign laws. Avenatti claims the nondisclosure agreement was on Trump Organization letterhead, but missed Trump’s signature. Avenatti contends that the non-disclosure agreement was sent by FedEx to Cohen at the Trump Organizations, demonstrating campaign involvement.. Only last week, federal District Court Judge Joe Frederick denied Avenatti’s petition March 29 for force Trump into deposition..
Tweeting denials or going on the record only makes Trump’s defense more problematic. Putting anything on the record, either with Twitter or battling with the press, leaves Trump vulnerable to potential lawsuits. Former Playboy centerfold Karen McDougal filed suit in Los Angeles District Court, alleging an affair with Trump in 2996. McDougal wants her confidentiality agreement voided, after paid $150 million by the National Enquirer, only to watch her story buried in the archives. Trump’s public payouts to Daniels and McDougal only lends credibility to the story that his denials lack plausible deniability. . Given the public’s voracious appetite for gossip about Trump, it’s unlikely the story will blow over soon. Talking to the press for the first time, Trump finds himself building Avenatti’s legal case against him, especially when it comes to ruling more cases against Trump.
Building track record against Trump, Avenatti and the media’s done a good job of setting up Trump to take a hard fall.. Whatever happens with Special Counsel Robert Mueller Russian collusion probe, Trump could very well hang himself with too many Tweets and press interviews. Less is more when it comes to dealing with the media. Many legal experts have warned Trump on putting too much out on Twitter, establishing a permanent record from which he can be attacked in the press. When it comes to private legal matters, Trump find himself making indefensible statements, something relished by Avenatti and other attorney representing Trump’s many alleged victims. Like playing around with tariffs, Trump would be better off not bantering with the press about his alleged affairs, especially about his alleged trysts with supermodels and Playboy centerfolds.
