--- title: Stormy Daniels' Lawyer Files Motion to Depose Donald Trump description: Porn star Stormy Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, filed a motion to depose President Donald Trump and attorney, Michael Cohen, under oath. canonical: https://time.com/5218425/stormy-daniels-motion-depose-donald-trump/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-28T12:46:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:04:24.319Z article:section: Politics og:title: Stormy Daniels' Lawyer Files Motion to Force Trump to Talk About Porn Star Payoff Under Oath og:description: President Trump has not publicly address the scandal og:url: https://time.com/5218425/stormy-daniels-motion-depose-donald-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe387029a5a2d01b/69892bf0656a3fc476bd3fa1/gettyimages-936613792.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1920 og:image:height: 1080 og:image:alt: 60 Minutes og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Stormy Daniels' Lawyer Files Motion to Force Trump to Talk About Porn Star Payoff Under Oath twitter:description: President Trump has not publicly address the scandal twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe387029a5a2d01b/69892bf0656a3fc476bd3fa1/gettyimages-936613792.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Stormy Daniels' Lawyer Files Motion to Force President Trump to Talk About Porn Star Payoff Under Oath > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=45d94b74-fc7b-44e9-aa83-7dc87cc88bf9&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Stormy Daniels Sues Trump Attorney Michael Cohen for Defamation [Watch (HLS stream): Stormy Daniels Sues Trump Attorney Michael Cohen for Defamation](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dh5odRbm.m3u8) (1:54)  _Published 2018-03-27. Stormy Daniels has expanded her lawsuit against Donald Trump to include the President’s attorney Michael Cohen, who she alleges is defaming her by questioning the veracity of her claims on her affair with Trump._  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Mar 28, 2018 12:46 PM UTC  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Mar 28, 2018 12:46 PM UTC The lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels has filed a motion that would require President Donald Trump and his lawyer, Michael Cohen, to testify under oath about a “hush agreement” pertaining to an alleged affair between Daniels and the president. Daniels [claims that she had a sexual relationship with a married Trump in 2006.](http://time.com/5189218/stormy-daniels-porn-star-donald-trump-affair-confirmed/) She is currently suing Trump to break an agreement meant to prevent her from discussing their alleged affair, [claiming that the document is invalid because Trump never signed it](http://time.com/5188928/stormy-daniels-suing-donald-trump-over-nondisclosure/). Daniels has also said [she will return the $130,000](http://time.com/5195786/stormy-daniels-hush-money/) paid to her by Cohen days before the presidential election, if she needs to. Daniels’ lawyer, Michael Avenatti, tweeted that the motion was filed late Monday and is set to be [heard on April 30](https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/978922771924254720). The motion also requests that a jury trial begin within 90 days of its hearing. > [](https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/978638084937080832) Trump [has not publicly addressed](http://time.com/5217712/white-house-donald-trump-stormy-daniels/) the alleged relationship, and the White House has not commented on the motion. The White House has repeatedly denied the affair, but did acknowledge the ongoing legal battle. But David Schwartz, an attorney for Cohen, [told NBC in a statement](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/stormy-daniels-lawyer-files-motion-depose-trump-lawyer-michael-cohen-n860656) that the filing is a “reckless use of the legal system in order to continue to inflate Michael Avenatti’s deflated ego and keep himself relevant.” Avenatti fired back on Twitter Wednesday morning. > [](https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/978959791706996736) Daniels [also appeared on ](http://time.com/5215421/stormy-daniels-60-minutes-ratings/)_60 Minutes_ to discuss her charges against the president, claiming during the interview that [she and her child were threatened over the alleged affair](http://time.com/5215078/stormy-daniels-donald-trump-threat/) in 2011, in an effort to keep her silence. ## Transcript You have amended the lawsuit to now include Michael Cowen. Previously, it was the LLC he had set up and it was also President Trump. Why amend it now to include Michael Cowen and what's the acquisition of defamation? Well, Anderson, what we have done is, we have brought in Michael Cowen individually. Previously, it was the limited liability company that he had set up strictly to facilitate the payment. We've named Michael Cohen individually as it relates to what we allege are defamatory statements that he made. Mainly, he made some statements earlier this year where by he basically said that the affair never happened in not so many words and made my client out to be a liar. So we're gonna test the voracity of his Statements against those of my client. You've played the interview of my client over the last 45 minutes or so. We think that 90 % of America, if not more, found her very, very credible. And Michael Cohen has a lot of explaining to do, relating to his statements to the American people. What does, as part of the amendment you're also asking for monetary damages. All along, though, I thought you said this wasn't about money, this was about validating this NDA. Well, I think that we're gonna be able to show that there's been some monitary damages that she's suffered by way of his defamatory statements and, Above all else Anderson, she wants her name cleared. She doesn't appreciate the misstatements and the half truths that Michael Cohen and others have spread to the American people. She's gonna prove that what she said to you on 60 Minutes, was a 100 % accurate and that she's credible and we're gonna show That what she told you and what she told the American people was the truth. And that what Michael Cohen, the spin that he's been trying to sell to the American people, is a bunch of rubbish. Whether it be about my client, the $ 130, 000, the fact that Mr. Trump supposedly knew nothing about this. It just doesn't add up. 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