A Texas woman has been suspended as a notary for her role in bungling porn star Stormy Daniels’ hush money deal with President Trump, according to a report.
The Texas secretary of state’s office launched an investigation into Erica Jackson in March and found in August she had neither properly witnessed nor documented Daniels’ signature on the nondisclosure agreement. The Dallas Morning News reported on the order Thursday.
The notary will undergo training and a series of tests during her three-month suspension, according to the newspaper.
The probe, however, did not conclude that Jackson undermined the legal validity of the arrangement, which is the focus of a lawsuit brought by Daniels against Trump.
The NDA, through which Daniels received $130,000 days before the 2016 election in exchange for her silence about an alleged extramarital affair with Trump more than a decade ago, was also looked at by federal prosecutors in New York.
New York federal prosecutors indicted Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen in August after an inquiry into his business dealings. Cohen, who brokered the deal between the president and Daniels, pleaded guilty to one charge of making an excessive campaign contribution in 2016, believed to be associated with the Daniels arrangement.
Daniels took Trump to court in March to invalidate the NDA, arguing that it was not legally binding because Trump never signed the paperwork.
But on Saturday, Trump’s lawyer Charles Harder filed court documents saying his client would not enforce the agreement because the president did not consider himself to be party to the deal.
Daniels on Wednesday announced she would be publishing a tell-all about her experience called “Full Disclosure.” The book will go on sale in October.
Daniels has also sued Trump and Cohen for defamation.
