Adult performer and director Stormy Daniels said during a Q&A session at a women's co-working space in Washington on Tuesday that she may be ready for more legal fights.
"I have a new attorney," she said, referring to Clark Brewster. "The details will be coming out very soon. And ... my new attorney, you know, said today, 'Things about to get real interesting.'"
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Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said that she had sex with Trump in 2006 and had to abide by a nondisclosure agreement that accompanied a $130,000 hush-money payment days before the presidential election. Her lawsuit — filed in March 2018 — sought to invalidate the agreement so she could speak out without a multimillion-dollar penalty.
Last week, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit to end the hush-money agreement.
On Tuesday, Daniels claimed victory and promised there was more litigation to come. "I was very focused on the NDA," she said.
"I see it as a victory because I wanted the NDA to be ruled invalid, or illegal," Daniels said.
She filed an additional suit that accused Trump of defamation when he called her claim that a man had threatened her and told her to stay quiet about their alleged liaison "a total con job."
That suit was dismissed in the fall.
"I lost that case," Daniels told the crowd in Washington. "It's been proven that I didn't lie, so I — I think we're gonna try that one again."
When asked if she thought her disclosure of the affair to the public would have an impact on Trump's re-election chances in 2020, Daniels responded: “His own dishonesty will do him in. And I was just the one that flipped the light switch."
Earlier Tuesday, it was announced that Daniels and attorney Michael Avenatti were parting ways. Avenatti represented Daniels in her lawsuit against Trump.
Avenatti said Tuesday that he told Daniels last month he was terminating their agreement and had made the decision after lengthy discussions. He would not provide details.
She called Avenatti's statement about their split "adorable," suggesting he released it pre-emptively as she was already walking away.
"Michael knew that I was very dissatisfied with a few things that — it pains me to not be able to share it," she said. "But trust me — he knew that I was unhappy and that I was looking for new counsel."
In November, Daniels told the Daily Beast that Avenatti had filed the Trump defamation case "against my wishes" and said he hadn't accounted for crowdfunding cash intended to help her. She later said the two had worked things out.
Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen has said he helped facilitate the hush-money payment.
Daniels told the crowd that she tried to avoid watching Cohen's marathon testimony before Congress last month but that when she went to a nail salon, there he was, on television. That day the attorney, convicted for lying to Congress during a previous session, said Trump directed him to make the payment to Daniels.
"I mean, god, I can't escape this guy," she said.
But, she said, he found his testimony credible.
"He's tired of being bullied. He's tired of being called a liar and called a rat and, whatever, you know," she said. "Part of me was, like, 'Wow, he sounds really sincere.' I'm so proud of him for doing the right thing."
