Trump to pay Ksh.4.7M to Stormy Daniels who claimed she had affair with him

A judge has ordered President Donald Trump to pay $44,100 (Ksh.4,763,695) to Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels.

The California Superior Court said Trump must reimburse her attorneys’ fees in the legal battle surrounding her nondisclosure agreement.

The judge’s order was issued Monday but posted online Friday by Clifford’s attorneys.

Stormy Daniels is an adult-film actress who says she had an affair with Trump from 2006 to 2007. Trump denies the affair occurred.

She signed a $130,000 (Ksh.14,042,639) nondisclosure agreement with former Trump attorney Michael Cohen and a “David Dennison,” which she contends is a pseudonym for Trump.

At the time, Cohen was representing a shell company.

Stormy Daniels sued Trump in 2018, seeking to be released from the NDA. In response, Trump and his legal team agreed outside of court not to sue or otherwise enforce the NDA.

The suit was dismissed and the claims ruled moot, as the NDA had been rendered unenforceable.

Monday’s decision was a response to her efforts to be reimbursed for costs and attorney’s fees related to the case.

In his decision this week, Judge Robert Broadbelt III ruled that Stormy Daniels was entitled to legal fees, finding her the “prevailing party” under California law, despite the case having been dismissed.

Broadbelt also rejected an argument by Trump’s attorneys that the President was not liable for the fees because he had not signed the NDA.

In his decision, Broadbelt wrote that since Trump had reimbursed Cohen for the $130,000 payment to Clifford, and since the Trump legal team had earlier argued that a defamation suit filed against the President by Clifford should be handled by an arbitrator per the NDA, the President was effectively a party to the agreement