Stormy Daniels' Lawyer Files Motion to Depose Trump

The last time a president was deposed was in 1998
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 28, 2018 7:54 AM CDT
Stormy Daniels' Lawyer Seeks to Depose Trump
In this image from video, Michael Avenatti, attorney and spokesperson for adult film star Stormy Daniels, listens to a reporters' question during an interview at The Associated Press, Wednesday, March 21, 2018, in New York.   (AP Photo/Joe Frederick)

An attorney for an adult film star claiming a sexual encounter with President Trump filed a motion Wednesday seeking to depose the president and his attorney. Michael Avenatti filed the papers in federal court in California. In the documents, he seeks to depose Trump and Trump attorney Michael Cohen about a $130,000 payment made to Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election. "We expect to be placing the president and his fixer under oath in the coming months," Avenatti said in a statement picked up by NBC News. Avenatti wants to question each for "no more than two hours."

In the filing, he says the depositions are needed to establish if Trump knew about the payment and if he consented to it. Cohen has said he paid the $130,000 out of his own pocket, while asserting Trump never had sex with the porn actress. It's rare for a president to be deposed: It happened most recently to then-President Clinton in 1998 during the Paula Jones sexual harassment suit, reports the AP. A hearing on Avenatti's motion is set for April 30. He tweeted, "We are confident that the Court will permit the requested discovery after applying Supreme Court precedent and the well established law in the Ninth Circuit." (Daniels detailed her alleged affair with Trump on Sunday.)

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