Judge cancels hearing in Stormy Daniels case against Trump, Cohen

A Los Angeles judge has canceled a June 21 hearing at which a lawyer for adult film actress Stormy Daniels planned to seek the resumption of her lawsuit there against U.S. President Donald Trump and his longtime lawyer Michael Cohen.

According to an order issued on Monday, U.S. District Judge James Otero decided it was unnecessary to hear arguments on the request by Daniels’ lawyer Michael Avenatti to lift a 90-day stay imposed on April 28.

Otero will rule on the request later. In imposing the stay, the judge cited the potential overlap between Daniels’ lawsuit and a separate criminal probe by federal prosecutors in Manhattan that he said could result in Cohen’s indictment.

Daniels is suing to end an agreement under which Cohen paid her $130,000 not to discuss an alleged intimate relationship she had with Trump beginning in 2006 and continuing in 2007.

Her lawsuit also includes a claim that Cohen defamed her by implying that she had lied about her relationship with Trump.

The president has denied having sex with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

Avenatti posted Otero’s order on his Twitter feed, without discussing its substance.

Otero has yet to rule on Cohen’s bid for a restraining order to stop Avenatti from maligning him, in a “seemingly unquenchable thirst for publicity” that has included dozens of television appearances and hundreds of tweets.

The criminal probe in Manhattan concerns Cohen’s business dealings. Daniels filed a separate defamation lawsuit there against Trump in April.

The case is Clifford v Trump et al, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 18-02217.

Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Richard Chang