On the 8th of March, 2018, Stephanie Clifford was interviewed by Anderson Cooper and the airing of the show is scheduled for 18th of March.
However, legal personnel working for the U.S president, Donald Trump, are on the verge of taking legal step to halt the planned 1-hour show called ’60 minutes’ from broadcasting the interview that featured the actress Stephanie Clifford (stage named ‘Stormy Daniels’).
A reliable source close to the organizers of the show intimated that they are aware of the purported legal step that may be taken to obstruct the broadcast.
Determined to nip the case in the bud?
At the moment, the bone of contention is yet to be made clear by the president’s lawyers who intend to block the program, but it won’t be surprised if nothing was done at the end of the day because Trump’s legal advisors are known to usually drop such cases even before they reach the courtroom.
The personal lawyer to Trump, Michael Cohen, who was also once a lawyer for the president’s Foundation, declined to make comments on journalists’ queries regarding the rumored planned legal action, but he transferred all the questions to someone he referred to as his own attorney in charge of the case in person of Larry Rosen.
When approached, Larry, who is an associate of the company LaRocca, Hornik and Greenberg & Blaha, admitted that he’s largely involved in the case but he also dodged making any statement concerning the rumor.
The news that the one-hour interactive session will be aired soon has spread so fast and people are waiting for Clifford’s speech come the 18th, which is on a Sunday.
This planned litigation against ‘Stormy Daniels’ interview broadcast is one among the series of many similar dramas that began two years ago before the U.S president’s election in 2016.
Prior to Trump’s victory at the polls, Cohen had bestowed a bribe of $131,000 to Stephanie for keeping mute concerning the amorous affair she claimed to have had with the president back in 2006.
This happened during the time when Trump was being aggressively criticised and lambasted by the people for the impolite statements he’d uttered about the way women should be treated.
The bribe was exposed by the Wall Street, and how Cohen got the money. The information leaked at the beginning of 2018, but the complete story was brought to the public’s knowledge on the 6th of March. It began with Stephanie’s attorney, Michael Avenatti, who sought for a legal redress to annul the unacceptable payment, calling it “silenced arrangement.”
Clifford poses with her attorney, Avenatti and CBS celebrity, Cooper.
More Aggressive Approach
However, the filed case came up after a short period of restraining order gotten by Cohen while representing his own chamber, EC, LLC through agreement. Cohen established it to accelerate the transfer of the money in February in order to stop the victim from saying anything regarding the short-term restraining order. Other reasons include the covering-up of the sensitive background details which the bribe was meant to do and the money bestowal itself in 2016.
Avenatti stated in the suit that the agreement on the bribe which was signed by one former lawyer and Cohen because of Stephanie was invalid because the president did not append his signature to it nor didn’t seem to accept its conditions. This signed document tended to hold Trump liable, or it must be seen unwarrantable since it disobeys public guideline. Avenatti also added the evidence of the bribe agreement in his case.
The following day, Stephanie was seen in a picture posing with Cooper and Avenatti, who shared the image on his Twitter account.
Cooper works with both CBS and CNN, as a reporter for CBS 60 Minutes and a show host respectively for each station. After a while, CNN revealed that the notable TV host had recorded his conversation Stephanie for the 60 Minutes show.
In his response to the inquiries thrown at him by journalists, Larry said in a note that they’re working for EC, LLC in regards to pending agreement in California, which revealed a TRO involving Stephanie.
CBS would not be the first media house to face a legal threat from Cohen. In 2011, a popular magazine called ‘In Touch Weekly’ also interviewed the actress who gave details of her escapades with Trump, but when Cohen got wind of it, he stepped in quickly and radically threatened to file a case against the editors if the publication ever come to the public. However, the magazine was able to publish it when Wall Street released its own shady information.
Avenatti was baffled at the attempts by Trump to shield the truth from the people. He wrote in his statement that he feels bad because Americans have been made to uphold the freedom of speech under the democratic government, but some powers are not willing to keep this principle.
Trump and his team should remember the freedom of the press clearly stated in the Supreme Court’s injunction and a part of the Pentagon Act. No journalist must be restricted from doing his or her job under the constitution. If this litigation is pursued as alleged, then a legal battle may ensue between the press organizations and the presidency.