Trump tried to stop Stormy Daniels talking about their alleged sex encounter
- President Donald Trump reportedly took steps in February to prevent porn actress Stormy Daniels from describing an alleged sex encounter, according to the Wall Street Journal.
- The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump tasked his former lawyer Michael Cohen and Eric Trump of the Trump Organization with trying to get a restraining order against Daniels.
- Trump has claimed he has no involvement with his former business, and this action would appear to contradict that statement and implicate Trump in ethical breaches.
President Donald Trump reportedly took steps in February to prevent porn actress Stormy Daniels from describing an alleged sex encounter between the pair, which could implicate him in ethical breaches.
When Trump found out Daniels would give an interview about the alleged encounter, he called his former lawyer Cohen and told him to try and get a restraining order against her, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
He reportedly asked Cohen to coordinate with his son, Eric Trump, who is running the Trump Organization while his father is in office.
Daniels signed a nondisclosure agreement with Cohen in 2016, right before Trump's surprise victory in the election that year.
The agreement, and the payment that went along with it, has caused Trump and Cohen tremendous legal trouble, as mixed messaging over where the funds came led suspicions that it could have violated campaign finance rules.
Cohen in August pleaded guilty to two counts of campaign finance violations relating to the payment as well as six other counts.
Cohen has since extensively cooperated with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into possible Russian collusion with Trump's campaign or any efforts by Trump to obstruct the investigation. Cohen's lawyer at different times has hinted that his client will give damning information to Mueller.
According to the WSJ, Trump asked Cohen to coordinate with his son Eric, who currently runs the Trump Organization with his brother Donald Jr. The report said he wanted Trump Organization staff to get a restraining order signed off on through a confidential arbitration proceeding.
Trump, Cohen, and the Trump Organization have all publicly said that Trump cut ties with his business upon taking office to avoid conflicts of interest.
The report appears to contradict these, describing a personal effort by Trump to have his old business handle a matter of political importance.
Any effort by Trump or his inner circle to silence Daniels has not worked, as Daniels has extensively discussed her alleged sexual encounter with Trump, including an unflattering depiction of his habits and anatomy in her recent book.