# 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:** 29
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/561 "2018-04-18T10:30:32Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > [And hit Chuck Todd over the head with a clue-by-4.](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/chuck-todd-stunned-that-fox-news-will-not-punish-sean-hannity) > > “Stunned” that there will be no repercussions for Hannity at Fox News? _Seriously??_ I mean, has he ever _watched_ Fox News? Chuck Todd is the embarrassing relative Sweeney won’t talk about. ---
**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 18, 2018, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/562 "2018-04-18T11:17:01Z")
There’s a lot less to Chuck Todd than meets the eye. He’s not the disaster for MTP that David Gregory was, but he too often lets his guests tell whoppers that go unchallenged. I think Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes are both ten times the interviewer that he is. More breaking news on Kimba Wood- she was once (gasp) a Playboy bunny! How can this shameless hussy be fit to judge anyone associated with that noble paragon of virtue in the White House? ---
**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 18, 2018, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/563 "2018-04-18T13:01:52Z")
Fascinating development. Dotard finally tweeted about Stormy Daniels. … Was it a repudiation of her claims? … Was it an attack on her lawyer? … Was it a claim for damages? None of the above! Of all the things he _could_ have said about SD, he says this: “A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)!” [https://twitter.com/shennafoxmusic/status/986544764395900928](https://t.co/9Is7mHBFda) Now, if you haven’t been following the speculation re: the sketch, many people are saying he looks a lot like Trump’s head of security Michael Calimari: [https://twitter.com/BigAlDell/status/986360241016135682?s=19](https://twitter.com/BigAlDell/status/986360241016135682?s=19) > As to why Trump would opine so furiously about such a nothing detail in a case which doesn’t even involve him (snicker), who knows? ---
**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 18, 2018, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/564 "2018-04-18T13:05:17Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Chuck Todd is the embarrassing relative Sweeney won’t talk about. Okay, that was my much-needed morning guffaw. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/565 "2018-04-18T13:19:35Z")
Oh, right, the Barber of Severe…Probably rather be a lumberjack. That’s OK. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/566 "2018-04-18T13:23:04Z")
Wait, Trump’s head of security is named after a squid? ---
**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 18, 2018, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/567 "2018-04-18T13:25:01Z")
I think the writers are getting tired, but yes, this characters name is “Calamari”. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/568 "2018-04-18T13:37:23Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I think the writers are getting tired, but yes, this characters name is “Calamari”. The writers have been tired for a while – remember the clown character who was actually named “Scaramucci”? ---
**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 18, 2018, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/569 "2018-04-18T13:42:50Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Fascinating development. Dotard finally tweeted about Stormy Daniels. > > … Was it a repudiation of her claims? > … Was it an attack on her lawyer? > … Was it a claim for damages? > > None of the above! Of all the things he _could_ have said about SD, he says this: > > “A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)!” [https://twitter.com/shennafoxmusic/status/986544764395900928](https://t.co/9Is7mHBFda) > > Now, if you haven’t been following the speculation re: the sketch, many people are saying he looks a lot like Trump’s head of security Michael Calimari: > > [x.com](https://twitter.com/BigAlDell/status/986360241016135682?s=19) > > [x.com](https://twitter.com/PooleLoe/status/986330682250031105?s=19) > > As to why Trump would opine so furiously about such a nothing detail in a case which doesn’t even involve him (snicker), who knows? I think this whole sketch thing is ridiculous. Others have pointed out that the sketch bears a striking resemblance to one of Daniels’s ex-husbands. Sketches aren’t that great to begin with, the encounter was 7 years ago, etc., etc… But. That is kind of interesting. Hmmmm… ---
**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 18, 2018, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/570 "2018-04-18T13:51:40Z")
When SD said she was threatened in Vegas by some mook, I assumed it was some nobody loser who had to cover a life of sins (and bad debts) by being paid $5g’s to be the heavy on some woman. When the speculation about Calamari began, I didn’t believe it. Just too pat, and too stupid. I didn’t think the Trump of 7 years ago had degenerated to the point where he would make such a blunder, and I assumed this sketch would be a literal nothing-burger. Then Dotard tweets about the sketch, literally claims the man doesn’t exist, and completely changes my thinking about this. 11 years ago I was sitting in Knoxville when my 5yo daughter sidles up to me and starts asking about Mom’s pretty vase. As soon as she mentioned it, I sure as shit knew that _something_ happened to that vase. (Sophia put it in her closet as she thought it was very pretty and wanted to look at it that night.) She wasn’t talking about it apropos of nothing, she had a point she was trying to make, but didn’t want to directly say it. Same thing with Dotard, above. Just less subtly. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/571 "2018-04-18T13:59:38Z")
Yeah, I was wondering what the point of the sketch was, since it’d be so hard to get any sort of match after all of these years, and Daniels’ lawyer had to realize that. But now, of course, it makes perfect sense. You release the sketch to give Trump an opportunity to say something stupid. And he’s not the sort to pass up an opportunity. ---
**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 18, 2018, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/572 "2018-04-18T14:26:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Yeah, I was wondering what the point of the sketch was, since it’d be so hard to get any sort of match after all of these years, and Daniels’ lawyer had to realize that. > > But now, of course, it makes perfect sense. You release the sketch to give Trump an opportunity to say something stupid. And he’s not the sort to pass up an opportunity. As **DWMarch** said: > [@DWMarch](#): > > 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. As far as if the sketch is indeed “Matty the Squid”, I have no idea. I certainly don’t discount the possibility. He graduated high school in 2011 and started working for the Trump organization in November 2011, according to his LinkedIn profile. In 2011, his father was the director of security for Trump. Send the kid on an errand to deliver a message to the woman threatening the boss. Have him earn his stripes. Sure, why not? Somebody said the Trump saga is like _The Godfather_, but everyone is Fredo. So, yeah, I can believe the guy was Calamari. As an aside, I read a pretty good book about the DB Cooper hijacking a while back. The writer starts off investigating the case and ends up chronicling his own descent into paranoia and conspiracy theories. I’m starting to feel like that guy. ---
**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 18, 2018, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/573 "2018-04-18T15:12:21Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > He might have been lying, but that would be enough to nullify the privilege. Hannity cannot simultaneously deny that Cohen was ever his attorney, and assert attorney/client privilege in relation to his communications with Cohen. > > It’s wildly unlikely that Hannity is denying that Cohen is his attorney, and still expecting to successfully assert privilege. The reasonable inference is that he therefore doesn’t intend to claim privilege, which may indicate that whatever he took Cohen’s advice on is, in itself, relatively innocuous. What embarrasses him is the fact that he had Cohen as an adviser at all. It’s moot now since we know the truth, but there is nothing that would stop Hannity from lying on TV and saying that Cohen isn’t his lawyer while maintaining in court that Cohen is his lawyer. Why do you believe otherwise? ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/574 "2018-04-18T15:34:38Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I think this whole sketch thing is ridiculous. Others have pointed out that the sketch bears a striking resemblance to one of Daniels’s ex-husbands. Which is, of course, a really ridiculous thing to use to attempt to discredit Daniels and the sketch. Are we supposed to believe that she didn’t recognize her ex-husband when he told her to leave Trump alone and then threatened her children? Or are we supposed to believe that she made up the whole thing and for some reason kept thinking of her ex-husband while having the sketch made and then released it anyway? Or is it, perhaps, a bit more likely that the subject of the sketch just kind of looks like her ex-husband, purely by chance? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/575 "2018-04-18T15:41:22Z")
I think it’s highly unlikely that Stormy and Avenatti didn’t go over photos of every person known to be in the Trump orbit well before there ever was a sketch. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/576 "2018-04-18T15:42:56Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > None of the above! Of all the things he _could_ have said about SD, he says this: > > “A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)!” [https://twitter.com/shennafoxmusic/status/986544764395900928](https://t.co/9Is7mHBFda) > > \ > > As to why Trump would opine so furiously about such a nothing detail in a case which doesn’t even involve him (snicker), who knows? > [@Chronos](#): > > Yeah, I was wondering what the point of the sketch was, since it’d be so hard to get any sort of match after all of these years, and Daniels’ lawyer had to realize that. > > But now, of course, it makes perfect sense. You release the sketch to give Trump an opportunity to say something stupid. And he’s not the sort to pass up an opportunity. [Mr. Avenatti fired back](https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/986550224213684224): > [@Michael Avenatti](#): > > FBI search warrants uncovering EXISTING documents and recordings showing con job after con job pulled on REAL people and very REAL American citizens (who didn’t know it). Welcome to the playing field. #whereyoubeen #basta [And another shot](https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/986553722846285824): > [@Michael Avenatti](#): > > In my experience, there is nothing better in litigation than having a completely unhinged, undisciplined opponent who is prone to shooting himself in the foot. Always leads to BIGLY problems…like new claims (i.e. defamation). LOL. [And even a third salvo](https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/986624391357313024): > [@Michael Avenatti](#): > > Warning: As the walls close and reality sets in that the most damaging witnesses, secrets and evidence are no longer protected, fully expect the following: sheer panic, personal attacks, tirades, and distraction. But none of it will change the outcome in the end… #basta Uh, I have to admit that I don’t understand the #basta thing. Is it slang for bastard? What’s the context here? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/577 "2018-04-18T15:43:03Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > Or is it, perhaps, a bit more likely that the subject of the sketch just kind of looks like her ex-husband, purely by chance? Given that I’ve seen lots of people joking that it also looks like Jon Bon Jovi, Ryan Seacrest, and Willem Dafoe, as well as Scaramucci, I think it’s just that it could look like a _lot_ of people. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/578 "2018-04-18T15:47:01Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [Mr. Avenatti fired back](https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/986550224213684224):[And another shot](https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/986553722846285824):[And even a third salvo](https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/986624391357313024): > > Uh, I have to admit that I don’t understand the #basta thing. Is it slang for bastard? What’s the context here? Spanish and Italian for ‘enough’ or ‘that’s enough.’ ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/579 "2018-04-18T16:18:13Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > Spanish and Italian for ‘enough’ or ‘that’s enough.’ Ah, I see; thanks **Johnny**! ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163/580 "2018-04-18T16:19:05Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Fascinating development. Dotard finally tweeted about Stormy Daniels. > > … Was it a repudiation of her claims? > … Was it an attack on her lawyer? > … Was it a claim for damages? > > None of the above! Of all the things he _could_ have said about SD, he says this: > > “A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)!” [https://twitter.com/shennafoxmusic/status/986544764395900928](https://t.co/9Is7mHBFda) > > Now, if you haven’t been following the speculation re: the sketch, many people are saying he looks a lot like Trump’s head of security Michael Calimari: > > [x.com](https://twitter.com/BigAlDell/status/986360241016135682?s=19) > > [x.com](https://twitter.com/PooleLoe/status/986330682250031105?s=19) > > As to why Trump would opine so furiously about such a nothing detail in a case which doesn’t even involve him (snicker), who knows? OMG. Trump is the rabbit in [I Want My Hat Back](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0oRBk-Upko). I knew he reminded me of _somebody_… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163.md?page=28) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-sued-by-stormy-daniels-over-hush-payment/810163.md?page=30)