On Tuesday, Stormy Daniels, the porn star who says she had an affair with Donald Trump in 2006, released a composite sketch of the man she says threatened her (and her then infant daughter) in 2011. The sketch was released on The View in another contentious move by Daniel’s attorney, Michael Avenatti.
This morning, President Trump tweeted about the sketch. Just to be clear: The President of the United States tweeted about the sketch describing a man who threatened a porn star who the POTUS is alleged to have had an affair with and who was eventually paid $130,000 to keep quiet about it 11 days before the 2016 election.
A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)! https://t.co/9Is7mHBFda
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 18, 2018
From CNN:
The tweet marks the first time Trump has commented about the matter on Twitter, though he didn’t explicitly refer to Daniels. He broke his months-long silence about her allegations earlier this month when he told reporters on Air Force One he didn’t know about a $130,000 payment made by his lawyer, Michael Cohen, to the adult film actress shortly before the 2016 election.
In my experience, there is nothing better in litigation than having a completely unhinged, undisciplined opponent who is prone to shooting himself in the foot. Always leads to BIGLY problems…like new claims (i.e. defamation). LOL. #xmas #hanukkah #basta
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 18, 2018
Regardless of the truth of Daniel’s claim, Trump tweeting that it is a sketch of a ” nonexistent man” and “a total con job” is perplexing.
First, the fact that the President is even embroiled in a scandal of this nature is bad enough but for him to acknowledge it with a tweet is beneath the office he holds.
Second, how does he know it is a sketch of a non-existent man?
How does he know it is a con job? He claims that he knows nothing about the $130,000 payment made to Stormy by his attorney, Michael Cohen, so why would he know anything about someone threatening her if he wasn’t involved?
If Stormy Daniels and Michael Avenatti are running a con job, the President helped them by taking the bait and making a public statement about the sketch and about Stormy.
Avenatti successfully baited the President of the United States into making a public statement about his client and her sketch. If this was a “con job,” it was a successful one. https://t.co/Gkpwfr88uC
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) April 18, 2018
It bears mentioning that Daniels is in an ongoing legal battle to invalidate the NDA, negotiated by Michael Cohen, requiring her silence regarding the affair. The last time time Donald Trump mentioned the case in public, Michael Cohen’s office was raided a few days later.
Why it Matters:
Trump’s tweets are his official Presidential statements and will be recorded for history. They also may be admissible as evidence, which Avenatti seems to allude to when he mentions defamation being a new claim.
In addition, the Stormy saga raises important questions. How many women have signed NDAs with Trump? If Stormy was threatened, who threatened her and who told him to do so? How safe are we as a nation if the POTUS can be so easily baited into action?
