Porn star Stormy Daniels filed a lawsuit for defamation on Monday against President Donald Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen.
The suit, filed by her lawyer Michael Avenatti in California, came a day after CBS aired a tell-all interview with Daniels regarding an affair she alleges she had with Trump more than a decade ago, and which the White House continues to deny.
Monday's legal maneuver is an additional move in an ongoing suit by Daniels against Cohen, Trump and the limited liability company Cohen has said he established to facilitate a payment to Daniels ahead of the presidential election.
Cohen has denied Daniels' claims but admitted to making the payment. The additional claim that Daniels filed Monday states that Cohen's denial is a defamatory statement.
"It was reasonably understood Mr. Cohen meant to convey that Ms. (Stephanie) Clifford is a liar," the complaint reads, referencing Daniels' real name.
Avenatti added, "Mr. Cohen made the statement knowing it was false or had serious doubts about the truth of the statements."
Reacting to the latest development, CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said it is another attempt to compel Cohen, or perhaps even the President, into a deposition under oath.
Toobin said key questions would include whether Cohen actually used his own money to pay Daniels and whether Trump knew about it.
"Those are, I think, the key political issues here, and filing this lawsuit gives Avenatti another opportunity perhaps to get Cohen and perhaps Trump under oath," he said.
