AFP, Los Angeles :
US President Donald Trump scored his first major legal victory Monday against porn star Stormy Daniels, as a federal US judge rejected her defamation suit against him.
Daniels-real name Stephanie Clifford-still has a separate lawsuit against the president linked to $130,000 in hush money she was paid by Trump’s lawyer shortly before the November 2016 presidential election to keep quiet about an alleged affair.
US District Judge S. James Otero in Los Angeles tossed out the defamation suit Daniels filed earlier this year after Trump claimed on Twitter that the adult film actress had invented threats to silence her over her claims the pair slept together more than a decade ago.
“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,” Otero wrote in his ruling.
“The First Amendment (of the US Constitution) protects this type of rhetorical statement.”
“If this Court were to prevent Mr. Trump from engaging in this type of ‘rhetorical hyperbole’ against a political adversary, it would significantly hamper the office of the President,” the judge wrote. “Any strongly worded response by a president to another politician or public figure could constitute an action for defamation. This would deprive this country of the ‘discourse’ common to the political process.”
Daniels’ attorney, Michael Avenatti, vowed to appeal the decision and said he was confident it would be reversed.
“There is something really rich in Trump relying on the First Amendment to justify defaming a woman,” Avenatti said.
But the president’s lawyer immediately hailed the ruling as a “total victory” for Trump.
“No amount of spin or commentary by Stormy Daniels or her lawyer, Mr. Avenatti, can truthfully characterize today’s ruling in any way other than total victory for President Trump and total defeat for Stormy Daniels,” Trump’s attorney, Charles Harder, said in a statement.
The judge’s ruling also entitles Trump to collect attorneys’ fees from Daniels, but the amount that Daniels would need to pay will be determined later, Harder said.
