Stormy Daniels' lawsuit delayed as judge warns of possible Michael Cohen indictment

Fredreka Schouten | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Judge names special master in Trump lawyer case Attorney Michael Avenatti praised the appointment of Barbara Jones as Special Master in the Michael Cohen investigation Thursday. Jones will help determine what materials seized in FBI raids on Cohen are subject to attorney-client privilege. (April 26)

WASHINGTON — Porn star Stormy Daniels will have to wait for her day in court.

U.S. District Court Judge James Otero on Friday granted a 90-day delay in Daniels' lawsuit against President Trump's attorney Michael Cohen and in doing so, warned that Cohen likely faces a criminal indictment.

Earlier this month, FBI agents raided Cohen's home, hotel room and law offices as part of what they say has been a months-long criminal fraud investigation into Trump's longtime lawyer and fixer.

In his order granting the delay, Otero said the "significance of the FBI raid cannot be understated."

"This is no simple criminal investigation," he said. "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 a delay.

Cohen cited the criminal investigation as a reason to put the lawsuit on hold. In court filings earlier this week, Cohen indicated he would assert his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in the Daniels' case.

Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, said he likely would appeal.

"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," Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti said on Twitter. "Justice delayed is justice denied."

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. We will likely be filing an immediate appeal to the Ninth Circuit early next week. Justice delayed is justice denied. #basta — Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 27, 2018

Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, is suing to break free of a confidentiality agreement she reached with Cohen, 11 days before the 2016 presidential election. She said Cohen paid her $130,000 to remain silent about the alleged 2006 sexual tryst with the future president.

Trump's allies have denied the affair.

Cohen has said he used a home-equity line of credit to arrange the payment and was not reimbursed by the Trump campaign or the Trump Organization. He has not answered questions about whether Trump paid him back.

On Thursday, Trump appeared to complicate matters in both Daniels' case and in the legal battle he and Cohen are waging in the New York case.

In an interview on Fox & Friends, he acknowledged for the first time that Cohen represented him in what Trump called "this crazy Stormy Daniels deal." That appeared to contradict Trump's statement earlier this month that he did not know about the payoff at the time it occurred or the source of the money.

Trump, Cohen, Stormy and attorney-client privilege Trump Tweeted "Attorney-client privilege is dead" after FBI stormed the offices of Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen. But what is that and how does it work? We explain.

He also told Fox that Cohen represented him in only a "tiny, tiny little fraction" of his overall legal work. Within hours, federal prosecutors in New York seized on Trump's televised remarks as evidence that few records seized in the FBI raids of Cohen's home and offices were protected by attorney-client privilege.

Trump and Cohen had argued that they needed to screen the seized materials for privileged communications before prosecutors could view them.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood appointed a special master, former federal judge Barbara Jones, to help determine whether any of the seized materials are protected.