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By David K. Li
A federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday formally dismissed porn actress Stormy Daniels’ defamation lawsuit against Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former lawyer.
The case against Cohen was tossed “with prejudice,” meaning that it’s permanently done and Trump’s one-time lawyer will “no longer face the threat of further litigation in this court or any other forum,” according to the order by U.S. District Court Judge James Otero.
Daniels’ legal team had previously asked Otero to remove Cohen from the lawsuit.
Otero on Monday also denied Cohen’s request for attorney fees.
The court had already dismissed Daniels’ defamation case against Trump. Daniels has claimed that she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 and was warned by an unidentified man to keep quiet about it five years later, after she gave an interview to a gossip magazine.
The porn actress, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, still has a civil litigation case pending against Trump, challenging a nondisclosure agreement she signed to keep quiet about the alleged affair.
Her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, insisted on Tuesday that Daniels should be praised for bringing legal action against Trump.
“She deserves significant respect and appreciation for what she put in motion,” Avenatti tweeted Tuesday.