Stormy Daniels, aka Stephanie Clifford, has been ordered to pay nearly $122,000 more in legal fees to Donald Trump, closing the chapter on a long-running defamation battle.
Separate Yet Connected Legal Battles
This ruling is separate from the 34 criminal charges Trump faces in Manhattan, but both cases involve Daniels and the explosive affair claims that rocked the 2016 election.
Defamation Case Dismissed but Costly for Daniels
Daniels sued Trump after he called her affair allegations a “total con job” in a 2018 tweet. Trump also dismissed her claim that she was threatened in a parking lot to keep quiet.
The judge ruled Trump’s tweet was protected free speech and threw out the defamation case. Daniels was slammed with $293,000 in legal fees. Her appeal failed, adding another $245,000 bill.
The latest order demands Daniels pay $121,972 more, which Trump’s lawyer Harmeet Dhillon hailed as a “huge victory.” She tweeted, “Collectively, our firm obtained over $600,000 in attorney fee awards in his favour in the meritless litigation initiated by Stormy Daniels.”
The Manhattan Indictment and the ‘Hush Money’ Scandal
Though unrelated legally, the defamation saga and Manhattan charges both centre on Daniels. The New York indictment accuses Trump of illegal campaign payments — hush money — made to Daniels during the 2016 race, which were allegedly misreported.
Together, these cases highlight Trump’s tangled legal mess and the shady dealings behind the headlines.
