(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) A federal appeals court in California ruled Tuesday that former porn star Stormy Daniels must pay $122,000 in legal fees to cover the expenses of former President Donald Trump in a spurious defamation lawsuit, the Washington Times reported.
A commissioner for the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Trump’s attorneys “reasonably spent” more than 183 hours on an appeal of the case, which Daniels demanded in her prior lawsuit against Trump.
The commissioner denied a request for another $5,150 on the ground that it was not properly itemized.
The courtroom victory came as a welcome breath of air for Trump and his supporters as corrupt prosecutors wage a protracted lawfare battle against the 2024 GOP frontrunner for president—including a dubious criminal case related to Trump’s alleged hush-money payments to Daniels and ex-Playboy bunny Karen McDougal.
On Tuesday, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts after his politically charged arrest in New York City at the behest of George Soros-backed District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has moved forward despite the federal prosecutors’ past decision not to pursue charges against Trump on the grounds of the case’s weakness.
Video of Trump entering the courthouse.pic.twitter.com/kkQjEhlMQZ
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) April 4, 2023
Daniels–whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford–has claimed on numerous occasions that she had an affair with Trump in 2006. She also says that he paid her $130,000 in a hush-money nondisclosure agreement leading up to the 2016 election.
After Trump called her allegations a “total con job,” Daniels sued Trump for defamation, but the case was thrown out by a judge in 2018.
In sum, Daniels has reportedly been ordered to pay over $600,000 in legal fees to the former President, including a massive $300,000 lump sum in attorney’s fees last year.
Trump, after the ruling, called the suit “a purely political stunt that never should have started, or allowed to happen,” noting that he was “pleased that my lawyers were able to bring it to a successful conclusion after the court fully rejected her appeal.”
“Now all I have to do is wait for all of the money she owes me,” he added.
