Will Stormy Daniels's divorce impact her case against Trump?
Stormy Daniels‘s divorce may very well drag in President Trump and their alleged affair.
It was confirmed Monday that Daniels’s husband, Glendon Crain, filed to end their marriage last week and the split is looking anything but amicable for the adult film stars. Crain was granted a temporary restraining order for both him and their 7-year-old daughter. He also alleged that Daniels “committed adultery.”
So, why would this involve POTUS? As you’ll recall, Daniels claimed she had relations with Trump in 2006 while he was married to Melania Trump — something he has denied. Yahoo Entertainment spoke to divorce attorney Jim Mueller, Managing Partner of Dallas-based law firm Verner Brumley Mueller Parker near where Daniels lives, who says the alleged affair with Trump could be used by Crain’s legal team.
“The fact that Glendon and Stormy married in 2015 and the alleged affair with Trump occurred years before in 2006, the Trump affair would likely be irrelevant to their current divorce. However, it certainly appears that Glendon believes Stormy was unfaithful during their marriage as well,” the family law attorney says. “As an attorney, one might try and argue that Stormy has a history or pattern of conduct that would support his allegations, such as her affair with Mr. Trump.”
Daniels is suing Trump to invalidate a nondisclosure agreement she signed ahead of the 2016 election. This, too, could be used against her.
“A person’s credibility and truthfulness is always an issue in a court proceeding. Mr. Crain may try and attack Ms. Daniels’s credibility either in a court proceeding or during a deposition. Evidence to support that credibility, or lack thereof, may be her potential violation of the non-disclosure agreement,” Mueller says. “Most couples discuss intimate details with each other that they do not share with the outside world. In a divorce, those intimate details are no longer protected and become headlines.”
He continues, “The fact that Mr. Crain already received a temporary restraining order prohibiting Ms. Daniels from coming into contact with him or their 7-year-old daughter, it appears that the gloves have already been taken off. Additionally, we know that Ms. Daniels already noted that she was not married when she was arrested earlier this month at a Columbus strip club. Considering the recent divorce filing by Mr. Crain, this doesn’t appear to be evidence that would support her truthful character.”
However, Mueller doesn’t think this will impact her case against Trump.
“I don’t believe that the temporary restraining order is going to damage Ms. Daniels’s case against Mr. Trump,” he notes. “The issues pertaining to the temporary restraining order appear to simply involve Mr. Crain, Ms. Daniels, and their daughter. The alleged infidelity, however, will likely be used in order to attack Ms. Daniels’ character for truthfulness. Character evidence often concerns a person’s moral qualities and adultery may be considered relevant to the issue of truthfulness for many judges.”
Michael Avenatti, who is representing Daniels in her case against Trump, confirmed the divorce news on Twitter. However, he noted “a petition for divorce was filed last week, the accuracy of which is vehemently disputed.” A hearing has been scheduled for Friday.
Mueller tells us that it’s “typical in many jurisdictions” for courts to grant “temporary restraining orders or standing orders that attempt to keep the status quo when a new divorce matter is filed.”
“What is not, ‘typical,’ however, is a restraining order that prohibits Ms. Daniels from going near Mr. Crain or their daughter,” he says. “That usually requires a sworn affidavit and prima facie evidence that Mr. Crain and his daughter will suffer some sort of physical or emotional harm unless the restraining order is granted.”
TMZ reports Crain filed for a restraining order because Daniels allegedly wanted to bring their daughter on her “Make America Horny Again” tour. The tour bus includes other adult performers, which he believes would put their daughter at risk for both physical and emotional harm.
Crain and Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, wed in 2015 but have been together since 2009.
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