Political | Process

Former porn star Stormy Daniels was ordered by a federal court to pay Donald Trump $300,000 in attorney fees after it rejected her appeal to another’s court ruling in her defamation case against the former president. 

In a statement issued on Monday, Trump celebrated the news and said that ‘all I have to do is wait for all of the money she owes me.’

‘The lawsuit was a purely political stunt that never should have started, or allowed to happen, and I am pleased that my lawyers were able to bring it to a successful conclusion after the court fully rejected her appeal,’ Trump stated.

The ruling by the the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit followed an earlier ruling by a lower court that rejected Daniels’ defamation suit against Trump after he refuted her claims that they had sex in 2006. 

The lengthy legal battle has set a chain reaction of appeals, with attorneys for both parties being convicted of felonies.

Last month, US celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti was found guilty  of stealing $300,000 from Daniels, who was due the money for writing a book about her alleged tryst with Trump. 

Avenatti shot to fame by advising Daniels in 2018 after she claimed then-President Trump had cheated on Melania with Daniels and then paid her off to try and secure his 2016 election victory. 

The disgraced lawyer was convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft following a trial in the Manhattan federal court in New York in early February.  

Cohen, Trump’s personal lawyer for ten years, was also sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 for, among other offenses, paying Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about her alleged liaison with Trump.

The hush payment, made shortly before the 2016 president election, violated campaign finance laws.