The nondisclosure agreement between Donald Trump and Stephanie Clifford, the adult film star better known as Stormy Daniels, contains a blank signature line above the alias used for Donald Trump. If Michael Avenatti, Daniels’ lawyer, has his way, this blank space could force Trump to testify about what he knew of the arrangement, writes The New York Times.
“Could Trump’s Missing Signature Force Him to Be Deposed?” by ALAN FEUER via NYT https://t.co/GWOY36STg0 pic.twitter.com/sVct6VG8c0
— Jabbadobba (@Jobbadooba) August 28, 2018
Last week, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to several charges in federal court. Cohen was the one who structured the hush-money payment. In admitting to the scheme, Cohen not only implicated himself, but also his former boss, in violation of federal campaign-finance law. It is unclear still whether Trump, as president, can be held accountable for that offense. This is where the blank signature comes in. Avenatti filed a civil lawsuit against Trump and Cohen earlier this year, saying the agreement between them and his client was “null and void” because of the missing signature. That lawsuit was put on hold when Cohen invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to avoid having to testify in the suit. Because of that, Avenatti promised to ask the judge to lift the stay to let him question Trump about Daniels.
The developments of today will permit us to have the stay lifted in the civil case & should also permit us to proceed with an expedited deposition of Trump under oath about what he knew, when he knew it, and what he did about it. We will disclose it all to the public.
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) August 21, 2018
Thanks for reading InsideHook. Sign up for our daily newsletter and be in the know.
