Rudy Giuliani took aim at Stormy Daniels today, saying that her career as an adult-film star and director undermines her “credibility” in her lawsuit against the president over their alleged affair.
“So Stormy, you want to bring a case, let me cross-examine you. Because the business you were in entitles you to no degree of giving your credibility any weight,” Giuliani told an audience in Tel Aviv, adding later, “I’m sorry I don’t respect a porn star the way I respect a career woman or a woman of substance or a woman who … isn’t going to sell her body for sexual exploitation.”
Giuliani made the comments during the “Globes” Capital Market conference during which he also discussed the upcoming summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. Giuliani said Trump is “optimistic” about the meeting, which is back on for June 12 after being postponed following a war of words between the two.
“So that’s why he had the capacity of canceling the meeting with Kim Jong Un, only to find that Kim Jong Un is begging him now for, for a meeting. We changed the whole dynamic of that negotiation,” Giuliani said.
His comments about Daniels were made in response to a question about whether Trump respects women.
“Globes” editor-in-chief Naama Sikuler, one of the event’s moderators, then interjected that “on this stage, we respect women.”
Daniels’ attorney, Michael Avenatti, responded to Giuliani’s comments on Twitter, calling him a “misogynist.”
“Mr. Giuliani is a misogynist. His most recent comments regarding my client, who passed a lie detector test and who the American people believe, are disgusting and a disgrace. His client Mr. Trump didn’t seem to have any ‘moral’ issues with her and others back in 2006 and beyond,” Avenatti wrote on Twitter.
Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she had sex with Trump once in 2006 and was later threatened to keep quiet about it. Trump’s then-attorney, Michael Cohen, had Daniels sign a non-disclosure agreement about the alleged affair days before the 2016 election. Trump has denied the affair occurred.
On Wednesday, Daniels and Avenatti filed a new lawsuit in California’s Superior Court against Cohen and Daniels’s former lawyer, Keith Davidson. The suit alleges Davidson betrayed Daniels by communicating with Cohen in order to benefit Cohen and Trump.
Davidson responded to the lawsuit in a statement Wednesday.
“This outrageously frivolous lawsuit is yet another desperate attempt by Michael Avenatti to continue his ‘publicity tour,’ as well as divert attention from the recent allegations against him relating to bankruptcy proceedings and the failure to withhold millions of federal employee taxes,” the statement read.
“That said, Attorney Davidson is very happy that he has filed this lawsuit because he strongly believes that the filing constitutes a full and complete waiver of the attorney-client privilege. Thankfully, the truth can now finally come out to rebut the false narrative about Attorney Davidson that Mr. Avenatti has been pushing in his more than 175 television appearances and countless other media interviews. Attorney Davidson believes that the American people deserve to know the entire truth – and they soon will. This lawsuit has made that happen,” the statement continued.
Cohen has admitted he paid Daniels $130,000 in 2016. In a statement to ABC News in February, Cohen said it was a private transaction using his “own personal funds” that were paid to Daniels.
But Giuliani recently appeared to contradict that, telling Fox News last month that Trump had repaid Cohen the $130,000.
Brent Blakely, who represents Michael Cohen in a California lawsuit over the non-disclosure agreement, issued a statement Wednesday: “This new lawsuit filed by Stephanie Clifford aka Stormy Daniels has no merit whatsoever as to my client, Michael Cohen, and appears to be yet another publicity stunt. We look forward to defeating this lawsuit in court. “
Daniels is demanding a jury trial in the lawsuit filed today, and seeking damages as well as the return of her client file from Davidson, including text messages between Davidson and Cohen that relate to her.
“These text messages show that the prior denials by Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen relating to what Mr. Trump knew and about the honesty of my client were absolute lies,” Avenatti said in a statement. “There was a significant cover-up here as part of an attempt to deceive the American people and Mrs. Trump and we intend on getting to the bottom of it.”
