Stormy Daniels' motion to depose Trump, Cohen denied
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A federal judge in Los Angeles denied Stormy Daniels’ motion seeking to depose President Trump and his attorney Michael Cohen over a $130,000 payment made to the adult film star days before the 2016 presidential election.
U.S. District Judge James Otero on Thursday denied the motion, stating that it was “procedurally premature.”
Daniels has publicly claimed a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump. She recently appeared on CBS' "60 Minutes" and claimed Cohen orchestrated a payment to keep her quiet during the election.
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The White House has repeatedly denied the claims. At issue is whether the non-disclosure agreement that was signed by Daniels –but not by Trump—is valid.
Otero ruled Friday that “such a demand is untimely.”
“The parties are advised that the instant litigation is not the most important matter on the Court’s docket,” Otero wrote. “Requests for expedited proceedings, hearings, and discovery not clearly supported by the record and law are discouraged.”
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The judge, a former President George W. Bush appointee, has set a hearing for April 30.
Daniels’ attorney Michael Avenatti said he would refile the motion.
“We will refile the motion as soon as DT, MC and EC, LLC file their motion to compel arbitration seeking to hide the facts from public view. We expect this any day,” Avenatti tweeted Thursday.
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If the motion had been approved, it would have been the first deposition of a sitting U.S. president since former President Bill Clinton in 1998 when he had to answer questions about his encounter with Paula Jones.
The White House blasted Daniels earlier this week as being “inconsistent.”
"The president has spoken about it previously, Sarah [Sanders] has addressed this multiple times at the podium and we do not have further comment at this time," a White House spokesman said Thursday afternoon.
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Fox News’ Lee Ross and The Associated Press contributed to this report.