Lisa Bloom Says Stormy Daniels May Be Contractually Obligated To Lie

Women’s rights lawyer Lisa Bloom took to Twitter on Tuesday to comment on adult film actress Stormy Daniels denying that she had an affair with President Donald Trump. Bloom, in a series of tweets, wrote that it looked like Daniels, whose name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid to deny the allegations, and added that “no woman should be contractually obligated to lie.”

Clifford, in a statement posted on Twitter, said: “My involvement with Donald Trump was limited to a few public appearance and nothing more. ... When I met Donald Trump, he was gracious and professional." This statement was sent by Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen when the allegations first surfaced.

Another statement posted by a Buzzfeed reporter said: "Over the past few weeks I have been asked countless times to comment on reports of an alleged sexual relationship I had with Donald Trump. … I am not denying the affair because I was paid "hush money" as has been reported in overseas owned tabloids. I am denying this affair because it never happened.”

Clifford on Tuesday night denied giving such a statement to Buzzfeed when she appeared on the talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

However, Cliffords’ lawyer said, “Stormy did indeed sign both denials. ... I thought stormy did a fantastic job on Jimmy Kimmel tonight. She was having fun on Kimmel and being her normal playful self,” a Buzzfeed reporter tweeted.

In a tweet, Bloom wrote: “Also Trump’s rep issued a clunky denial letter from Ms. Daniels early on in this saga. Smacks of being part of a settlement. Highly unusual.”

She added: “And I would love to litigate a test case and argue that a contractual obligation to LIE is unenforceable as against public policy. Winnable”

The Wall Street Journal reported on Jan. 12 that Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid Clifford $130,000 as part of a non-disclosure settlement before the presidential elections of 2016 to remain silent about the alleged affair. Cohen denied the claims then. The White House also denied allegations about the matter.

In a statement, Cohen said: "President Trump once again vehemently denies any such occurrence as has Ms. Daniels.”

It is unclear whether Clifford was paid "hush money" to remain silent about the affair, but this is not the first time Trump has paid out to keep damaging allegations at bay.

Trump, while divorcing his first wife Ivana Trump, had divided his assets, but also imposed a gag order on her, which stated: “Without obtaining [the husband's] written consent in advance, [the wife] shall not directly or indirectly publish, or cause to be published, any diary, memoir, letter, story, photograph, interview, article, essay, account, or description or depiction of any kind whatsoever, whether fictionalized or not, concerning her marriage to [the husband] or any other aspect of [the husband's] personal, business or financial affairs, or assist or provide information to others in connection with the publication or dissemination of any such material or excerpts thereof.”

A similar gag order was imposed on Trump’s second wife too when the couple divorced in 1999.

The alleged affair between the president and Clifford took place in 2006, a year after Trump’s marriage to Melania Trump. Daniels had met the president at a golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Daniels had talked about the affair in an interview in 2012, but it was not published until early this month.