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Tribune News Service
Tribune News Service
National
Terence Cullen

Stormy Daniels offers to give back $130,000 settlement to speak about alleged Trump affair

Stormy Daniels wants to return her $130,000 payout for the freedom to discuss the reported affair she had with President Donald Trump.

In return, Daniels would be able to share any "text messages, photos and/or videos related to the President," according to a letter sent Monday morning to longtime Trump attorney Michael Cohen.

The missive, which was obtained by the New York Daily News, gives Cohen until noon Tuesday to accept the offer.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, would wire the money into "an account designated by the President" by Friday, at which point her 2016 agreement not to speak would be "deemed null and void."

"We are hopeful they will accept this offer so the American people can decide for themselves who is shooting straight with them," her attorney, Michael Avenatti, said Monday in a statement to the News.

Cohen last month admitted to paying Daniels $130,000 through an LLC ahead of the election so she wouldn't discuss her claimed affair, which court documents say lasted from 2006 to 2007.

He maintained that payout came directly from him, not from the Trump Organization or the campaign.

"We do not believe the money came out of Mr. Cohen's pocket ultimately," Avenatti said of the offer to wire the money to an account of Trump's choosing.

Larry Rosen, Cohen's attorney, also addressed in the letter, didn't immediately return a request for comment.

If Cohen were to accept the deal, Daniels could "speak openly and freely about her prior relationship with the President and the attempts to silence her," the letter says.

A recently taped interview she gave to "60 Minutes" would also be protected from any legal action by Trump or the LLC used to pay the adult film star.

Lawyers affiliated with Trump have mulled filing an injunction to block the segment from airing, BuzzFeed News reported Sunday.

The offer comes less than a week after Daniels sued Trump in Los Angeles, arguing the pre-election "hush agreement" was null and void because the president didn't sign it under the pseudonym David Dennison.

The lawsuit claimed Cohen tried to intimidate her into not speaking.

He'd even gotten a temporary restraining order in late February that warned Daniels would face penalties if she spoke out about the supposed tryst.

The White House has dismissed the claims.

Good-government groups have questioned the payment Cohen made, suggesting it may have violated election rules _ especially after news he arranged the payment with his Trump Organization email address.

Although Cohen said the money came out of his own pocket, there was "no question" Trump knew about the arrangement, Avenatti said last week during an appearance on NBC News' "Today."

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