A California judge has postponed adult film actress Stephanie Clifford's (aka Stormy Daniels) civil suit against President Trump for three months due to the likelihood Michael Cohen, the president's longtime personal attorney, faces indictment in the government's criminal investigation of him.
In granting a defense request for the postponement, the judge, S. James Otero of United States District Court in Los Angeles, sided with the president’s legal team that the unusual circumstances of the case warranted the stay of action. Judge Otero acknowledged in his order that complications might arise from an overlap with a criminal investigation into Mr. Cohen.
“This is no simple criminal investigation,” Judge Otero wrote. “It is an investigation into the personal attorney of a sitting president regarding documents that might be subject to the attorney-client privilege. Whether or not an indictment is forthcoming, and the court thinks it likely based on these facts alone, these unique circumstances counsel in favor of stay.”
Cohen asserted his fifth amendment rights in the Daniels' case last week, citing the April 9th FBI raid on his office, home, and hotel room and the government's current criminal investigation into him as the reason for his decision.
Ms. Clifford, who is better known as Stormy Daniels, was paid $130,000 by Mr. Cohen to keep quiet about claims that she had an affair with Mr. Trump after meeting him in 2006. She sued last month to get out of the nondisclosure agreement she signed in October 2016, claiming it is void because Mr. Trump had never signed it.
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“The court finds that there is a large potential factual overlap between the civil and criminal proceedings that would heavily implicate Mr. Cohen’s Fifth Amendment rights,” he wrote.
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Judge Otero set a hearing in the civil case for July 27.
Mr. Trump has recently made an effort to distance himself from Mr. Cohen and, in particular, his business dealings, which are believed to be the focus of the federal investigation. Still, the president said on Thursday that Mr. Cohen did represent him in “a tiny, tiny little fraction” of his legal work.
“He represents me, like with this crazy Stormy Daniels deal, he represented me,” Mr. Trump said in a freewheeling dial-in interview with the cable television show “Fox & Friends.”
Stormy Daniels Lawsuit Delayed as Judge Cites ‘Likely’ Indictment of Michael Cohen (NYT)