Judge Dismisses Stormy Daniels' Suit Against Trump
Speaking about President Donald Trump's tweet that sparked the lawsuit, a federal judge wrote: “The First Amendment protects this type of rhetorical statement."
October 15, 2018 at 08:22 PM
2 minute read
The original version of this story was published on The Recorder
Stephanie Clifford, aka Stormy Daniels, (left) with lawyer Michael Avenatti. (Photo: David Handschuh/ALM)
A federal judge has dismissed a defamation suit against President Donald Trump filed by Stormy Daniels, the porn star who alleged she and the president had an affair.
Daniels filed her suit on April 30, alleging Trump posted false statements on Twitter dismissing a composite sketch she said depicted a man who had threatened her in 2011 to keep quiet about the affair. The tweet said: “A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)!”
“The Court agrees with Mr. Trump's argument because the tweet in question constitutes 'rhetorical hyperbole' normally associated with politics and public discourse in the United States,” wrote Judge S. James Otero of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in a ruling on Monday. “The First Amendment protects this type of rhetorical statement.”
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