President Donald Trump posted a celebratory tweet on Tuesday about a federal judge's decision to dismiss adult film actress Stormy Daniels' defamation lawsuit against him.
"'Federal Judge throws out Stormy Danials[sic] lawsuit versus Trump. Trump is entitled to full legal fees.' Great, now I can go after Horseface and her 3rd rate lawyer in the Great State of Texas. She will confirm the letter she signed! She knows nothing about me, a total con!" the president tweeted.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1052213711295930368
On Monday, a federal judge threw out Daniels' lawsuit against Trump. The defamation suit claimed Trump wrongly suggested Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, lied about being threatened to keep silent about their alleged affair.
U.S. District Judge S. James Otero ruled that the First Amendment protects Trump's speech as "‘rhetorical hyperbole' normally associated with politics and public discourse in the United States." Otero also ordered Daniels to pay Trump's legal fees.
Daniels' lawyer, potential Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Michael Avenatti, called the ruling "limited" and vowed to "appeal the dismissal." Avenatti later tweeted that he appealed Otero's ruling to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Daniels sued Trump in April after he expressed skepticism about her claim that a man threatened her in 2011 to keep quiet about an alleged affair between her and Trump in 2006.
In a separate lawsuit, Daniels seeks to dissolve a nondisclosure agreement concerning the alleged affair, which was signed days before the 2016 election.