Adult film actress Stormy Daniels has filed a lawsuit over a over an alleged “hush money” deal with President Donald Trump and his attorney Michael Cohen. | Mary Altaffer/AP Photo Court grants 90-day delay in Stormy Daniels' suit against Trump

A lawsuit filed by an adult-film actress over an alleged “hush money” deal with President Donald Trump and his attorney Michael Cohen will be put on hold for three months because of a criminal investigation Cohen is facing, a federal judge ruled on Friday.

U.S. District Court Judge S. James Otero said it appeared “likely” that Cohen would be indicted in connection with the ongoing investigation, which led to search warrant raids on Cohen’s home, office and hotel room in New York earlier this month.


Cohen filed a declaration with the court on Wednesday saying he planned to assert his Fifth Amendment rights if asked to answer any further questions regarding the suit, which seeks to void an agreement that led to a $130,000 payment Cohen orchestrated shortly before the 2016 presidential election. The agreement uses pseudonyms, but appears intended to induce the porn star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 and their ensuing communications.

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Daniels’ attorney, Michael Avenatti, argued that Cohen’s claims against self-incrimination were too broad, and the threat of an indictment too speculative, for him to try to stall the case on that basis, but Otero disagreed.

“The Court finds that there is a large potential factual overlap between the civil and criminal proceedings that would heavily implicate Mr. Cohen’s Fifth Amendment rights,” Otero wrote . “This is no simple criminal investigation; it is an investigation into the personal attorney of a sitting President regarding documents that might be subject to the attorney-client privilege. Whether or not an indictment is forthcoming, and the Court thinks it likely based on these facts alone, these unique circumstances counsel in favor of stay.”

Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan set in motion the raids conducted earlier this month pursuant to search warrants issued by a federal magistrate. The evidence used to obtain the warrants is under seal, but Otero said there was enough on the record to know that the probe has at least some focus on the payment to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

"While the exact scope and breadth of the criminal investigation remains unclear, both the government and Mr. Cohen have indicated that the subject matter of the criminal investigation, and the documents seized, in some part reference the $130,000 payment made to Ms. Clifford pursuant to the Agreement,” wrote Otero, an appointee of President George W. Bush.

The judge also called Cohen “the alleged mastermind” of the deal, making his testimony “indispensable.”

Avenatti said he was likely to appeal the decision in a bid to get the civil case moving forward.

“While we certainly respect Judge Otero’s 90-day stay order based on Mr. Cohen’s pleading of the 5th, we do not agree with it,” Avenatti wrote on Twitter. “We will likely be filing an immediate appeal to the Ninth Circuit early next week. Justice delayed is justice denied.”

During an interview with CNN shortly after the ruling, Avenatti said one reason for the potential appeal was the possibility that the judge might extend the stay beyond three months.

“We don't know how long that’s going to take and we just don’t want to be on ice during the interim time period,” Avenatti said.

He also indicated that Daniels might file a new legal claim or suit next week alleging that Trump libeled her last week when he said on Twitter that she was engaged in a “con job” by circulating a sketch of a man she says threatened her in 2001, warning her to leave Trump alone.

“He called my client a con or suggested that she lied to the American people,” Avenatti said. “We may be bringing that claim shortly.”

Lawyers for Trump and Cohen did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the decision.

