Keith Davidson, the attorney who formerly represented porn star Stormy Daniels, claims that President Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, illegally recorded their phone conversations.
In a court filing Thursday, Davidson alleged Cohen “surreptitiously and intentionally recorded several telephone calls” while he negotiated the details of a $130,000 payment just before the 2016 election Daniels received from Cohen in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair with Trump more than a decade ago.
According to Davidson, Cohen recorded their conversations while he was in California. CNBC reports Davidson alleged that Cohen, whose law office is in New York City, violated California’s Invasion of Privacy Act, which requires that the recording of private communications must have the consent of all participants.
Davidson wants Cohen to cover the cost of the lawsuit.
Cohen’s attorney, Brent Blakely, did not return CNBC’s request for comment.
Cohen is under federal investigation for possible bank fraud and violations of campaign finance rules. The FBI raided his home, office, and hotel room in April and reportedly seized recordings in the process.
According to a CNN source, Cohen recorded conversations that he had with Davidson while he represented Cohen and Karen McDougal, a Playboy model who also claims to have had an affair with Trump.
Davidson also filed a counterclaim with a federal court in Los Angeles against Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, and her new lawyer Michael Avenatti, after she filed a lawsuit Wednesday that alleged Davidson betrayed her and became a “puppet” for Trump and Cohen while he was still her lawyer.
In addition to denying the claims in Daniels’ lawsuit, Davidson filed a defamation counterclaim against Daniels and Avenatti, accusing the pair of making “countless reckless and false statements” against him that would harm his reputation and business, among other things.
Avenatti called Davidson’s claims “frivolous.”
“There is no question that at the end of this, Keith Davidson will be disbarred from the practice of law,” Avenatti told CNBC. “He is a proven liar, and his conduct is abhorrent. He is an embarrassment to the profession and seems to have forgotten what the attorney-client privilege is all about. We look forward to having his frivolous claims thrown out of court.”
[Also read: Stormy Daniels accuses ex-lawyer of becoming a ‘puppet’ for Trump, Michael Cohen in new lawsuit]
