By Victor Morton - The Washington Times - Updated: 6:03 p.m. on Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Stormy Daniels has been ordered to pay almost $300,000 to President Trump for filing a dismissed defamation suit against him.
U.S. District Judge S. James Otero ordered the porn star, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, to pay $292,052.33 to cover the president’s attorneys’ fees plus $1,000 in sanctions for filing the case at all.
“The court’s order, along with the court’s prior order dismissing Stormy Daniels’ defamation case against the President, together constitute a total victory for the President, and a total defeat for Stormy Daniels in this case,” Trump attorney Charles Harder said in a statement Tuesday.
Ms. Clifford’s dismissed lawsuit, which Mr. Harder called “meritless,” accused him of defaming her by calling her claims of a pre-presidential affair “a total con job.” Judge Otero ruled that such language is protected First Amendment political rhetoric.
However, Ms. Clifford also sued Mr. Trump over a non-disclosure agreement, which the judge didn’t dismiss. And Mr. Harder had asked for an $800,000 payment over the defamation — both facts that Ms. Clifford’s lawyer used to downplay Tuesday’s ruling.
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What a merry-go-round.
