Porn star Stormy Daniels must pay President Donald Trump nearly $293,000 for his attorneys' fees and another $1,000 in sanctions after her defamation suit against him was dismissed, a federal judge in Los Angeles ordered Tuesday. Trump's attorney, Charles Harder, had requested nearly $390,000 in fees, but Judge S. James Otero cut the amount by 25%. Harder also wanted a nearly equal amount in sanctions, but only received $1,000. Attorney Michael Avenatti, who represents Daniels, tweeted the order "will never hold up on appeal," the AP reports. Daniels alleges she had an affair with Trump in 2006 and was paid $130,000 as part of a nondisclosure agreement days before the 2016 presidential election. She sued him after he dismissed her claims of being threatened to keep quiet about the tryst as a "total con job." The judge threw out that case in October.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, still has a case pending in Los Angeles challenging a non-disclosure agreement she signed with Trump's then-lawyer Michael Cohen to prevent her from discussing the alleged affair. Although the defamation lawsuit didn't get far before Otero tossed it, he said it was a "one of a kind" case that demanded a fair bit of legal work. Daniels has appealed Otero's decision and Avenatti said Monday he expects to prevail at a higher court. Avenatti also said he will be seeking attorney's fees against Trump in the ongoing hush money case and he anticipates being awarded a figure that "dwarfs exponentially" what Trump is seeking in the defamation case, possibly exceeding $2 million. "If Stormy has to pay $300k to Trump in the defamation case (which will never hold up on appeal) and Trump has to pay Stormy $1,500,000 in the NDA case (net $1,200,000 to Stormy), how is this a Trump win?" Avenatti tweeted. (Things have been tense between Avenatti and Daniels.)
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