A defamation lawsuit brought against US president Donald Trump by Stephanie ‘Stormy Daniels’ Clifford has been thrown out by a federal judge, the Washington Post is reporting.
The suit was launched in response to a tweet from the president in which he referred to Clifford’s suggestion that she was threatened to keep quiet about an affair with Trump as a “con job“:
A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)! https://t.co/9Is7mHBFda
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 18, 2018
In a Los Angeles court on Monday, District Judge S James Otero said that the tweet was protected by the first amendment because it “constitutes ‘rhetorical hyperbole’ normally associated with politics and public discourse in the US“, which seems like it could read as both a statement of fact and a damning criticism of political discourse.
In a statement to WaPo, Trump’s attorney reacted in the completely normal way that you would expect an attorney for Trump to react, saying that “No amount of spin or commentary by Stormy Daniels or her lawyer, Mr Avenatti, can truthfully characterize today’s ruling in any way other than total victory for President Trump and total defeat for Stormy Daniels.” Christ mate, ease up.
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Trump’s camp recently agreed not to enforce a hush agreement made with Clifford around the time of the 2016 election, and Clifford has not been shy about discussing their alleged affair. You might remember when Clifford made headlines recently thanks to The Guardian publishing an excerpt from her book in which she describes the (again, alleged) affair with Trump and very thoughtfully took the time to describe in filthy, horrible detail how the president’s penis bears a striking resemblance to the character Toad from the Mario universe.
Clifford’s lawyer, Michael Avenatti, has said that they will be appealing against the ruling, releasing a statement saying that “There is something really rich in Trump relying on the First Amendment to justify defaming a woman.“
