Stormy Daniels lawyer plans to subpoena Trump Org and bank records: report

An attorney representing the former adult film star suing President Trump over a nondisclosure agreement covering their alleged affair filed requests to the Trump Organization and two banks on Thursday to preserve all records pertaining to a nondisclosure payment to the actress. 

Attorney Michael Avenatti sent requests to the president’s family business and two banks involved in the $130,000 payment initiated by Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen to porn star Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, as part of a nondisclosure agreement, NBC News reported. 

“We request that you immediately preserve all evidence, documents, tangible things and electronically stored information (“ESI”) potentially relevant to the claim,” Avenatti said in the statement to the three entities, according to the report.

The requests are the first step to subpoenaing the records for the ongoing legal case, Avenatti indicated.

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Though Cohen has claimed he paid Daniels out of his own pocket and was not reimbursed by the Trump Organization, Avenatti cited “unmistakable links” between the company and the payment, including Cohen’s use of his Trump Organization email in dealings with the bank that facilitated the wire transfer. 

Avenatti requested that First National Bank and City National Bank, the banks that sent and received the payment from Cohen, preserve all records and documents related to the payment. 

“Failure to do so may subject you to liability,” Avenatti warned City National Bank in the letter.

The attorney also demanded that the Trump Organization preserve all internal communications and financial records pertaining to the matter, and indicated interest in communication from February “whereby Mr. Cohen attempted to interfere with Ms. Clifford/Daniels’ ability to hire new counsel (i.e. Michael Avenatti).” 

Cohen, whom the White House has suggested made the payment without Trump’s knowledge, also claims that the payment made just one month before the election in 2016 had nothing to do with the president’s campaign. 

The adult film star, is now suing for the ability to share details of the affair she said she had with Trump in 2006, which was after he married first lady Melania Trump. 

The agreement, she says, is not legally binding because Trump never personally signed it.