# Trump sued by Stormy Daniels over hush payment **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 7, 2018, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163 "2018-03-07T02:36:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 27
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/521 "2018-04-17T12:34:52Z")
Avenatti says this morning he’s going to release the sketch of the person who allegedly threatened Daniels. > ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/522 "2018-04-17T12:41:07Z")
> [@](#): > > …In the meantime, I’m enjoying the pointing and laughing. Rachel Maddow is eating his lunch. I want to watch. > **[Rachel Maddow Tops Sean Hannity in March, Fox News Host Tops 2018 Q1](https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/rachel-maddow-ratings-sean-hannity-1202745403/)** > > MSNBC's Rachel Maddow beat out Fox News' Sean Hannity in the Nielsen ratings to become the most-watched cable news host in March. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/523 "2018-04-17T12:54:11Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > My guess is that he’s more than an occasional client. I don’t know how much this affects the Mueller investigation, but I suspect it’s an indication Hannity is tied up in something shady, if not downright illegal. I hope this revelation will shake loose enough dirt that Hannity will end up being chased off the air. I also hope enough information will come to light to make it obvious to everyone how much Fox is just a propaganda operation, and they’ll quickly hemmorage advertisers and audience. > > Also, I want a pony. > > In the meantime, I’m enjoying the pointing and laughing. It seems Hannity’s use of Cohen is extremely limited. It’s possible that Cohen is up to his eyeballs in sleaze but that doesn’t mean that Hannity’s interactions with him are necessarily sleazy. I hope that Hannity winds up disgraced but I need a little more than that to get my hopes up. It’s already obvious to anyone outside the Fox bubble that Fox is the US version of Pravda, but their viewers do not care nor do their advertisers. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/524 "2018-04-17T13:21:38Z")
My WAG based on last night’s reporting is that Hannity was seeking advice from Cohen on how to get cut in on real estate scams. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/525 "2018-04-17T14:23:19Z")
Am I the only one who tripped a bit on hearing that the presiding judge is [Kimba Wood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimba_Wood)? Wood came to prominence when Clinton nominated her for AG in 1993 and she got bumped for the Nannygate scandal - name not mine - for her nanny being an illegal immigrant. This followed first nominee Zoe Baird who hadn’t paid payroll taxes for her nanny. That led us to Janet Reno. No kids. No nothing, dammit. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/526 "2018-04-17T14:33:25Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I’m having a hard time developing an interest in the relationship between Hannity and Cohen. So Hannity is an occasional client of Cohen’s. What of it? What impact can this have on the investigations being done by either the SDNY or by Mueller? It’s mildly amusing that a dirtbag lawyer has two scumbag clients, but beyond that I’m not seeing what all the fuss is about. Well, if Hannity is telling the truth, Cohen’s lawyers lied to Judge Wood. Judges don’t like that. If Hannity is lying, then he’s lying for a reason. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/527 "2018-04-17T15:08:49Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Am I the only one who tripped a bit on hearing that the presiding judge is [Kimba Wood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimba_Wood)? Wood came to prominence when Clinton nominated her for AG in 1993 and she got bumped for the Nannygate scandal - name not mine - for her nanny being an illegal immigrant. This followed first nominee Zoe Baird who hadn’t paid payroll taxes for her nanny. > > That led us to Janet Reno. No kids. No nothing, dammit. Don’t forget that she was named to the Federal bench by Reagan. I can’t imagine a cross-party AG nomination in today’s political environment. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/528 "2018-04-17T15:09:56Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > My guess is that he’s more than an occasional client. I don’t know how much this affects the Mueller investigation, but I suspect it’s an indication Hannity is tied up in something shady, if not downright illegal. I hope this revelation will shake loose enough dirt that Hannity will end up being chased off the air. I also hope enough information will come to light to make it obvious to everyone how much Fox is just a propaganda operation, and they’ll quickly hemmorage advertisers and audience. > > Also, I want a pony. > > In the meantime, I’m enjoying the pointing and laughing. ^^^ This. Although I do have a pony already, but why not two? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/529 "2018-04-17T15:27:31Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > Avenatti says this morning he’s going to release the sketch of the person who allegedly threatened Daniels. If this were a movie, it’d be a drawing of Sean Hannity. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/530 "2018-04-17T15:31:08Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Well, if Hannity is telling the truth, Cohen’s lawyers lied to Judge Wood. Judges don’t like that. If Hannity is lying, then he’s lying for a reason. This is the part I’m interested in. Cohen’s attorney actually went so far during the discussion with Judge Wood as to put her on notice that if Cohen’s team lost the argument, they had been instructed by the secret client to immediately appeal her decision. The back-and-forth between the attorney and the judge went on for at least 20 minutes, so obviously, Cohen’s attorney had his marching orders: Keep that name secret. So… why? If Hannity’s “legal advice” was so innocuous, why the desperate efforts to hide the fact of the relationship? I guess I can understand his desire to avoid the embarrassment of 1) being a client of Cohen’s and 2) the fact that he had not disclosed the relationship to his viewers. But the effort seemed so outsized to the disclosure. Hannity seems to have waived his privilege in any case by stating so emphatically that he never retained Cohen as a lawyer. This of course means that all Hannity information will be provided to federal prosecutors. So how do you go from, “If my name is disclosed, I insist the decision be appealed!” to, “I never had a legal relationship with Michael Cohen, so all my information can be disclosed.” The whole thing just stinks. But then, what part of this mess doesn’t? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/531 "2018-04-17T15:48:19Z")
sketch is out but I cannot find a link for it yet. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/532 "2018-04-17T15:53:50Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > sketch is out but I cannot find a link for it yet. [Sketch](https://twitter.com/hunterschwarz/status/986265355310989313/photo/1?tfw_creator=hayleymiller01&tfw_site=HuffPostPol&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fentry%2Fstormy-daniels-sketch_us_5ad6055fe4b0edca2cbe2907) ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/533 "2018-04-17T15:59:55Z")
sketch looks like it could be a lot of guys , nothing real distinctive about it . But it just takes one person to say they know the guy . Also you have to wonder about her memory of the guy since she saw him in 2011. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/534 "2018-04-17T16:01:31Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > [Sketch](https://twitter.com/hunterschwarz/status/986265355310989313/photo/1?tfw_creator=hayleymiller01&tfw_site=HuffPostPol&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fentry%2Fstormy-daniels-sketch_us_5ad6055fe4b0edca2cbe2907) My god! She was threatened by the young Willem Dafoe. This goes deeper than any of us thought! [![](https://cbsnews3.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2018/02/18/95fb30bc-7013-46d7-a5d7-162ee7fcb714/resize/620x465/0987c8fafb295b6e951331e4489fefec/willem-dafoe-undated-head-shot-465.jpg) ](https://cbsnews3.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2018/02/18/95fb30bc-7013-46d7-a5d7-162ee7fcb714/resize/620x465/0987c8fafb295b6e951331e4489fefec/willem-dafoe-undated-head-shot-465.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/535 "2018-04-17T16:02:41Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > [Sketch](https://twitter.com/hunterschwarz/status/986265355310989313/photo/1?tfw_creator=hayleymiller01&tfw_site=HuffPostPol&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fentry%2Fstormy-daniels-sketch_us_5ad6055fe4b0edca2cbe2907) It’s the Mooch! ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/536 "2018-04-17T16:16:40Z")
I’m not sure what to make of this sketch business. It seems like Avenatti and Daniels have been running circles around Cohen lately just on the merits of their case and because Avenatti apparently is a better lawyer than anyone on the other side. Doing this reality show stunt of releasing a sketch, based as it is on Daniels’s memory of that single meeting 7 years ago, just seems really odd to me. What do they gain from this? It strikes me as unhelpful attention whoring. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/537 "2018-04-17T16:17:52Z")
I’m thought it’s Harry Hamlin … but yeah, could be the Mooch! ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/538 "2018-04-17T16:19:04Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > My god! She was threatened by the young Willem Dafoe. This goes deeper than any of us thought! > > [https://cbsnews3.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2018/02/18/95fb30bc-7013-46d7-a5d7-162ee7fcb714/resize/620x465/0987c8fafb295b6e951331e4489fefec/willem-dafoe-undated-head-shot-465.jpg](https://cbsnews3.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2018/02/18/95fb30bc-7013-46d7-a5d7-162ee7fcb714/resize/620x465/0987c8fafb295b6e951331e4489fefec/willem-dafoe-undated-head-shot-465.jpg) Fah! Any NFL fan can recognize Tom Brady when they see him! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/539 "2018-04-17T17:00:35Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > One theory I’ve heard is that this would give Trump and Hannity a third-party communication channel which would be protected by lawyer-client confidentiality. Does that sound possible to you guys? It sounds possible that they set it up that way I think what is most plausible is that Hannity wanted free advice on real estate deals and he got some from a slimy lawyer he knew from his work on TV. The really embarrassing part might be if Hannity and Cohen had a quid pro quo arrangement whereby Cohen was trading free legal advice (worth every cent he paid for it) to Hannity in exchange for influencing Fox News’ coverage of things. I have no idea if this happened but it wouldn’t surprise me in the least. It’s also the kind of thing that might fall below even Fox News’ standards for journalistic ethics. > [@Chronos](#): > > So, is Hannity’s statement that he never paid Cohen, never retained him, and wasn’t ever his client, sufficient to nullify any claim of attorney-client privilege? No. Hannity might have been lying. Also, from what I can tell, Hannity didn’t say Cohen wasn’t his lawyer. He said that Cohen never represented him. That is, Hannity is claiming that he never asked Cohen to represent him publicly, say in negotiations or in court. Consistent with this statement, Hannity could have consulted with Cohen for legal advice, in which case, Cohen would be his lawyer. > [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > No. Josh Marshall, TPM Prime: [INDENT][INDENT][INDENT] All this said, Hannity says that he “assumed these conversations were confidential.” He clearly wants them to remain so. That’s the key point. > > Lawyers will tell you that no payment or formal representation agreement is required to create a lawyer-client relationship which produces the privilege. That’s not standard. But it’s not required. [/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT] [Making Sense of Hannity’s Weird Evasions - TPM – Talking Points Memo](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/prime-beta/making-sense-of-hannitys-weird-evasions) > [@Chronos](#): > > That can’t be the key point. Confidentiality can’t be a one-sided thing. At the very least, surely the lawyer has to know that the other guy expects confidentiality, and there has to be some opportunity for the lawyer to say “I’m not willing to assume that”. And we call that process of the lawyer knowing that confidentiality is expected, and accepting, becoming a client. Confidentiality attaches to client relationships and even to relationships with prospective clients. It can sometimes be ambiguous whether a client relationship has been created but the gist of it is that if Hannity reasonably believed that Cohen was his lawyer, Cogen will have to protect Hannity’s confidences accordingly. Lawyers should be careful not to let a person believe they have a confidential attorney-client relationship when they don’t intend to create one. > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I’m curious–no more at this point–about whether Hannity has personal scandals that tie him up with Trump, and if that’s influenced his, er, “journalism” about the presidency. I think Hannity might just be really embarrassed to be associated with this lawyer. He doesn’t want the public to assume that Hannity, like the lawyer’s other two public clients, are just using him to pay off mistresses. I also suspect that Hannity may have let Cohen influence Fox News’ coverage of things in exchange for the free legal advice. Perhaps that could ruin Hannity’s career. > [@Procrustus](#): > > Well, if Hannity is telling the truth, Cohen’s lawyers lied to Judge Wood. Judges don’t like that. If Hannity is lying, then he’s lying for a reason. When did Cohen’s lawyers lie to Judge Wood? > [@Aspenglow](#): > > Hannity seems to have waived his privilege in any case by stating so emphatically that he never retained Cohen as a lawyer. This of course means that all Hannity information will be provided to federal prosecutors. So how do you go from, “If my name is disclosed, I insist the decision be appealed!” to, “I never had a legal relationship with Michael Cohen, so all my information can be disclosed.” Hannity, to my knowledge, never said Cohen wasn’t his lawyer. He said that Cohen never represented him and that he didn’t pay Cohen (although Hannity later said he paid him $10). Hannity didn’t waive privilege about his discussions with Cohen. Having publicly affirmed his relationship with Cohen, at most, he has waived any assertion that his identity as Cohen’s client is still privileged, but the substance of their conversation is still privileged. Even on the point of whether Hannity’s identity as Cohen’s client is privileged, Hannity could still assert that he didn’t waive privilege but that Cohen failed to protect it in court. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/540 "2018-04-17T17:02:55Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I’m not sure what to make of this sketch business. It seems like Avenatti and Daniels have been running circles around Cohen lately just on the merits of their case and because Avenatti apparently is a better lawyer than anyone on the other side. Doing this reality show stunt of releasing a sketch, based as it is on Daniels’s memory of that single meeting 7 years ago, just seems really odd to me. What do they gain from this? It strikes me as unhelpful attention whoring. Flushing the game. Cohen’s phones and emails and whatnot are certainly tapped by now. If this sketch is accurate enough to identify Mr. Mystery Mook what is he going to do? Perhaps he will call his lawyer for advice. If Mr. Mook was my fixer, I’d be demanding a refund. You pay I guy (I assume as most people won’t do this for free) to go threaten a porn star to keep quiet. She’s all over the national news talking about the thing you threatened her about. Her story could end the career of the person you are (indirectly of course and as a matter of attorney-client privilege) protecting by employing Mr. Mook. Mook not only fails to get the job done but now his face is all over the news too! Worst fixer ever. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163.md?page=26) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163.md?page=28)