Stormy Daniels Files Motion to Depose President Donald Trump

The lawyer representing adult-film actress Stephanie Clifford has filed a motion in a U.S. district court to depose President Donald Trump and his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, in Clifford’s case seeking to free herself from a nondisclosure agreement to discuss her alleged relationship with the president. Michael Avenatti, the attorney representing Clifford—better known by her professional name, Stormy Daniels—filed the motion seeking limited expedited discovery in response to a motion by Trump’s attorney to compel arbitration. “Specifically,” the motion reads, “Plaintiff requests: (1) a deposition of defendant Donald J. Trump of no greater than two (2) hours, (2) a deposition of defendant Michael Cohen of no greater than two (2) hour.” The motion additionally requests a maximum of 10 targeted requests for production of documents relating to the agreement Clifford signed in October 2016. At the end of March, the presiding judge put Avenatti’s efforts to depose Trump on hold, saying he had been “premature” in putting forward that motion. Upon Cohen’s petition to compel arbitration, however, Avenatti was free to file.