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Stormy Daniels Ordered to Pay $121,000 in Legal Fees to Donald Trump

ByAlki David

Apr 5, 2023

On the same day that Trump was indicted on bogus claims in New York, the legal battle between adult film star Stormy Daniels and former President Donald Trump has taken another twist. A federal appeals court has ordered Daniels to pay $121,000 in legal fees to Trump over a defamation lawsuit she filed against him.

The lawsuit was based on a tweet Trump posted, which included a composite sketch of a man Daniels claimed had threatened her over her alleged affair with Trump. Daniels argued that the tweet was defamatory and caused her emotional distress.

However, the court ultimately sided with Trump and dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that the tweet was protected under the First Amendment. Trump’s legal team then sought reimbursement for their fees incurred in defending him against the lawsuit.

The court agreed, ordering Daniels to pay $121,000 to Trump’s lawyers at Harder LLP and Dhillon Law Group. The ruling has been welcomed by Trump’s supporters, who argue that the lawsuit was politically motivated and without merit.

Daniels and her legal team have vowed to continue their fight, arguing that the ruling sets a dangerous precedent for free speech and the right to seek redress in court. The case has been closely watched by the media and has further fueled the ongoing debate over the role of the judiciary in American politics.

Regardless of one’s political views, it is clear that the fallout from the case is likely to continue for some time, with both sides vowing to press their arguments and seek justice in the courts.

By Alki David

Alki David — Publisher, Media Architect, SIN Network Creator - live, direct-to-public communication, media infrastructure, accountability journalism, and independent distribution. Born in Lagos, Nigeria; educated in the United Kingdom and Switzerland; attended the Royal College of Art. Early internet broadcaster — participated in real-time public coverage during the 1997 Mars landing era using experimental online transmission from Beverly Hills. Founder of FilmOn, one of the earliest global internet television networks offering live and on-demand broadcasting outside legacy gatekeepers. Publisher of SHOCKYA — reporting since 2010 on systemic corruption inside the entertainment business and its expansion into law, finance, and regulation. Creator of the SIN Network (ShockYA Integrated Network), a federated media and civic-information infrastructure spanning investigative journalism, live TV, documentary, and court-record reporting. Lived and worked for over 40 years inside global media hubs including Malibu, Beverly Hills, London, Hong Kong and Gstaad. Early encounter with Julian Assange during the first Hologram USA operations proved a formative turning point — exposing the realities of lawfare, information suppression, and concentrated media power. Principal complainant and driving force behind what court filings describe as the largest consolidated media–legal accountability action on record, now before the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. Relocated to Antigua & Barbuda and entered sustained legal, civic, and informational confrontation over media power, safeguarding, and accountability at Commonwealth scale.