Porn Star Stormy Daniels says she and Donald Trump had an affair. Donald Trump says they did not.
Just before the election, she accepted $130,000 from Donald Trump's attorney Michael Cohen to deny that the alleged affair ever happened. After that, she sometimes denied it and sometimes did not. More recently, she has said they did have the affair and she is suing to have the agreement declared void so she can talk about it all she wants. Cohen is suing her for violating the agreement.
The $130,000 was put up by Cohen who mortgaged his home to raise it because he cared about his client Trump, who he says did not know anything about this. Cohen was not reimbursed for this amount by Trump or the Trump campaign. Various other sums paid to him which seem to total around $130,000 were not for that purpose. Trump also says he knew nothing about this.
The agreement was between a "David Dennison" and a "Peggy Peterson" and a side letter identified David Dennison as Donald Trump and Peggy Peterson as Stephanie Clifford, which is the real name of Stormy Daniels. The use of the aliases was to outsmart anyone who might get hold of a copy of the agreement but not a copy of the side letter, which in some cases was probably in the same envelope.
Among the terms of the agreement is a section wherein Cohen and his client (that would be the client who says he knew nothing about the agreement) require the lady to turn over any evidence she might possess of this affair which they say never occurred.
The lawyer for Ms. Peterson/Clifford/Daniels insists the agreement between her and Mr. Trump/Dennison is invalid because the latter never signed it. Cohen and Trump are insisting it is valid even though Trump never signed it and did not know of its existence.
Cohen insists the agreement is valid because he is Trump's attorney and therefore can sign for his client and commit him to his side of this agreement that he didn't know about.
Meanwhile, Cohen's own lawyer, David Schwartz, says that when Cohen drew up the agreement and forked over the $130,000, he [Cohen] was acting as a friend, not as Trump's lawyer. Trump says that if anyone has any questions about the matter, they should take them up with his lawyer, Michael Cohen.
And Cohen is still Trump's attorney even though if we believe Trump's side of it, his trusted attorney went behind his back to enter into an extremely embarrassing agreement with a porn star to cover up an affair that never happened.
The lady's lawyer, Michael Avenatti, wants this whole matter settled in open court. Trump's lawyer (?) Michael Cohen wants it settled in a closed-door arbitration because his client (?) is completely innocent and when you're found innocent, it's always better to have that happen in secret. Do I have this right?