On April 2, Trump and his personal attorney Michael Cohen filed papers in a Los Angeles federal court, asking to use arbitration instead of a jury to settle the row over the hush agreement, signed by Stephanie Clifford, known under her stage name Stormy Daniels.
READ MORE: Stormy Daniels' Lawyer Promises More Details to Come of Alleged Trump Affair
According to Cohen’s lawyer, Brent Blakely, the agreement stipulated that any disputes over it be settled through arbitration.
Federal law "dictates that this motion be granted, and that Clifford be compelled to arbitration, as she knowingly and voluntarily agreed to do," Blakely stated.
Meanwhile, Daniels’ lawyer, Michael Avenatti, insisted that the matter should be settled in open court.
We will vigorously oppose the just-filed motion by DJT and MC to have this case decided in a private arbitration, in a private conf room, hidden from the American public. This is a democracy and this matter should be decided in an open court of law owned by the people. #sunlight
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) 2 апреля 2018 г.
And the Declaration Mr. Cohen just filed is more interesting for what it DOES NOT state — it does not state that he never discussed the agreement with DJT, that DJT did not know about the agreement, or that DJT did not ultimately pay the $130k (all issues DJT is also silent on).
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) 2 апреля 2018 г.
Last month, Daniels sued Cohen in a bid to break the non-disclosure agreement, she had signed prior to the 2016 presidential election to keep quiet about the alleged affair with Trump in 2006 and 2007 in exchange for $130,000. The porn star has argued that the agreement is invalid because it was signed by Cohen, not Trump. Both the President and the White House have consistently denied the allegations.
