Trump Org Tied to Stormy Daniels Gag Order as More Women Threaten to Sue
Trump’s inner circle appears to be putting in great effort to silence the porn star—and her lawyer says there are other women with stories to tell as well.
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast
Porn star Stormy Daniels may not be the only woman fighting to tell her story about an alleged affair with Donald Trump, a story whose cover-up has now reportedly been traced back directly to the Trump Organization.
Just hours after reports emerged that Trump Organization lawyer Jill A. Martin signed two legal documents linked to a gag order against Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election—an effort the White House insists the president himself was not aware of—Michael Avenatti, a lawyer for Daniels, dropped the bombshell that other women have approached him about legal cases against the president.
Avenatti, who is currently representing Daniels in her bid to have the $130,000 nondisclosure agreement dropped so she can spill her story, offered no details on how many women allegedly want to speak out. Speaking to BuzzFeed News, he said only that it was “confirmed” other women had approached him about potential legal action.
The news appeared to take the scandal surrounding Daniels’ claims up a notch, as it now appears it wasn’t only Trump lawyer Michael Cohen involved in efforts to sweep Daniels’ story under the rug, but the Trump Organization as well, according to NBC News.
BuzzFeed, meanwhile, is reportedly exploring a legal loophole that would allow Daniels to tell her story despite the gag order. The news outlet, hit with a libel suit by Cohen for its reporting on Trump’s alleged links to Russia, reportedly intends to use Cohen’s own libel allegations against him to make Daniels’ story public. The news outlet argues that Cohen’s $130,000 payment to Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election—a payment the attorney has publicly acknowledged making—is similar to allegations made against him in the so-called Steele dossier that he claims are libelous.
As such, Cohen’s dealings with Daniels are thought to be relevant to his libel case against the news outlet, which has already asked Daniels to preserve all documents related to her dealings not only with Cohen, but also her connections with Trump. “Mr. Cohen’s personal reputation, and his actions on Donald Trump’s behalf, are directly relevant to this case,” BuzzFeed spokesman Matt Mittenthal told Politico. “We look forward to defending our First Amendment rights in court.”