Donald Trump was convicted, but Stormy Daniels owes him more than half a million dollars
WASHINGTON — Porn star Stormy Daniels - who is at the heart of the hush money case that landed Donald Trump a conviction Thursday - still owes the former president more than half a million dollars in legal fees.
The debt stems from a failed defamation case brought by Daniels against Trump in 2018, where she was ordered to repay Trump for attorney's fees. It was filed after Daniels had released a composite sketch of a man she claimed threatened her to stay quiet about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump. Trump dismissed the sketch as a "con job" on X, formerly Twitter.
A judge dismissed the case, labeling Trump’s tweet as “rhetorical hyperbole” and noting that it was protected by the First Amendment.
Daniels said in her testimony during the hush money trial that her former lawyer, Michael Avenatti, who is now in prison for embezzlement and other crimes, wanted to file the lawsuit. Trump has sued Daniels in Florida to get the money, but she still hasn't paid, she testified.
She also confirmed on the witness stand to Trump lawyer Susan Necheles that she owed Trump $560,000 in legal fees. When asked if that was before interest, Daniels replied, “I would assume, yes.”
Daniels’ lawyer Clark Brewster told Paste BN the amount she owes Trump is a moving target given the growing interest but it's "$600,000 or $620,000, somewhere in that range."
At one point during a cross examination with Necheles, Daniels said about the case that Trump “prevailed, but I was not found to have lost.”
In an interview with Paste BN on Friday, Brewster said he and Daniels intend to fight paying Trump the money the court says she owes Trump.
“That’s a pending matter” in Florida, Brewster said, “and we'll defend on whatever grounds are available to us there.”