Stormy Daniels, the adult film star, has been ordered to pay just over $122,000 in legal fees to former US President Donald Trump in connection with her failed defamation lawsuit. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2018, after Daniels accused the then-President of making false and defamatory statements about her and the alleged affair they had in 2006. This brings the total amount in Trump’s legal fees that Daniels has been ordered to pay to an incredible $600,000.
Donald Trump is the only former US President to ever be charged with a crime. Facing a 34-count indictment for allegedly falsifying business records to cover up his extramarital affairs with Daniels and Playboy model, Karen McDougal, Trump entered a not guilty plea.
Stephanie Clifford, more widely known by her stage name, Stormy Daniels, brought the case against Trump after he referred to her allegations of being threatened to remain quiet about the affair as a ‘total con job’. The Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals decided that Trump’s attorneys had ‘reasonably spent’ on the appeal of the case, denying an additional $5,150 for what was deemed as extra and unitemized, which came to the overall $122,000.
Trump and his legal team, led by attorney Harmeet Kelly, were quick to take to Twitter to update followers about the victory, reinforcing this decision as a part of a lengthy legal process that Daniels has been embroiled in. Following a federal appeals court upholding the initial award of $300,000, Danielson has stated to the press that ‘she will go to jail before she’ll pay a penny’. Her Oklahoma-based attorney, Clark Brewster, has not yet commented the decision.
