Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters
Adult film star Stormy Daniels' lawsuit against President Donald Trump and Michael Cohen over her NDA was tossed out of federal court on Thursday, CNN reports. U.S. District Judge James Otero reportedly said the suit, which sought to invalidate the agreement that kept her from speaking publicly about her alleged affair with Trump, lacked “subject matter jurisdiction” and was sent back to California Superior Court—effectively ending the case. During the case, Trump and Cohen had reportedly agreed with Daniels that the NDA would not be enforced. But Daniels' lawyer—Michael Avenatti—said his client wanted the judge to deem Trump and Cohen's actions illegal. Avenatti described the ruling as a victory for Daniels even though the case was dismissed. “By dismissing the case, the judge essentially gave Daniels what she wanted all along—to be able to tell her story without the fear of being sued for millions of dollars,” he said.
Daniels signed an NDA as part of a $130,000 hush-money agreement that was paid by Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney, after she claimed to have an affair with Trump. The hush-money payment is now under scrutiny by Congress and investigators after Cohen claimed Trump reimbursed him for the payment while he was in office, allegedly breaking campaign finance laws while doing so.