New York, Oct 16: A federal judge has dismissed pornstar Stormy Daniels’ defamation lawsuit against US President Donald Trump.
Daniels sued Trump after he said in a tweet in April that her story of a man threatening her not to come forward with her story of her alleged affair with Trump was “a total con job”, CNN reported.
She argued Trump’s tweet, posted April 18, “attacks the veracity of her account” of the incident and that Trump’s statement was “false and defamatory, and that the tweet was defamation … because it charged her with committing a serious crime”, District Judge S. James Otero wrote in his opinion on Monday. Trump had asked Otero to dismiss the lawsuit.
“The Court agrees with Trump’s argument because the tweet in question constitutes ‘rhetorical hyperbole’ normally associated with politics and public discourse in the US. The First Amendment protects this type of rhetorical statement,” Otero wrote. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has alleged that she Trump had an affair in 2006, after he married First Lady Melania Trump and she gave birth to their son, Barron.
Trump has denied the allegation. Daniels is also suing Trump and his former personal attorney Michael Cohen over the $130,000 payment made to her to keep silent about the alleged affair in the weeks leading up to the 2016 election. The ruling on Monday plays no role in that case, which continues to work its way through the court system.
Trump’s attorney Charles J. Harder said in a statement to CNN: “No amount of spin or commentary by Stormy Daniels or her lawyer, (Michael) Avenatti, can truthfully characterise today’s ruling in any way other than total victory for President Trump and total defeat for Stormy Daniels.” Avenatti, responded to the ruling on Twitter and said: “Daniels’ other claims against Trump and Cohen proceed unaffected. Trump’s contrary claims are as deceptive as his claims about the inauguration attendance.”
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