Donald Trump brands sketch in Stormy Daniels row 'a total con job'
President Donald Trump has said Stormy Daniels pulled "a total con job" by promoting an artist's sketch of a man she says threatened her to keep silent about an alleged sexual encounter with Mr Trump years ago.
The sketch depicts a white male in his 30s or 40s and carries a description of him as "lean but fit".
Ms Daniels, a porn actress whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, told ABC's The View on Tuesday that it was the man who menaced her and her young daughter and warned her in 2011 to stay quiet about an alleged 2006 tryst with Mr Trump.
Stormy Daniels and lawyer release composite sketch of person she says threatened her to keep quiet about alleged affair with Donald Trump. https://t.co/3ONTKc4WPU pic.twitter.com/3GwYrAcq6n
— ABC News (@ABC) April 18, 2018
In an early morning tweet from his Palm Beach estate, Mr Trump said: "A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)!"
A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)! https://t.co/9Is7mHBFda
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 18, 2018
Ms Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti hit back on Twitter, noting a recent FBI raid on Mr Trump's lawyer's office, saying it uncovered "Existing documents and recordings showing con job after con job pulled on real people and very real American citizens (who didn't know it)".
FBI search warrants uncovering EXISTING documents and recordings showing con job after con job pulled on REAL people and very REAL American citizens (who didn’t know it). Welcome to the playing field. #whereyoubeen #basta
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 18, 2018
He added that Mr Trump was a "completely unhinged, undisciplined opponent who is prone to shooting himself in the foot".
In my experience, there is nothing better in litigation than having a completely unhinged, undisciplined opponent who is prone to shooting himself in the foot. Always leads to BIGLY problems…like new claims (i.e. defamation). LOL. #xmas #hanukkah #basta
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 18, 2018
Mr Avenatti has increased a $100,000 reward to $131,000 for information leading to the man's identification.
The figure could be a reference to the $130,000 that Ms Daniels says she received from Mr Trump's lawyer attorney, Michael Cohen, just before the 2016 election for her silence.
Ms Daniels is seeking to invalidate the nondisclosure agreement.
The case took on new significance last week when FBI agents raided Mr Cohen's office, looking for information on topics including the payment to Ms Daniels.
Mr Trump answered questions about Ms Daniels for the first time recently, saying he had no knowledge of the payment made by Mr Cohen and did not know where Cohen had got the money.
The White House has consistently said Mr Trump denies the affair.
After Ms Daniels first alleged on CBS' 60 Minutes several weeks ago that she had been threatened, a lawyer for Mr Cohen demanded that she publicly apologise to his client for suggesting Mr Cohen was involved.
Ms Daniels responded by filing a revised US federal lawsuit accusing Mr Cohen of defamation.
