Donald Trump calls Stormy Daniels 'Horseface' after winning law suit

Washington: US President Donald Trump celebrated the dismissal of a defamation suit brought against him by adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, by calling Daniels "Horseface" on Twitter and vowing to retaliate against her and her attorney.

Stormy Daniels.Credit: AP

Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti called Trump a "disgusting misogynist" and an "embarrassment to the United States" in response.

The tweets came after a US federal judge dismissed a lawsuit from Daniels in which she claimed that Trump defamed her when he suggested her allegation that she was threatened to stay quiet about their relationship was a lie.

Stormy Daniels in Berlin last week.Credit: AP

Daniels' libel lawsuit was over a tweet by Trump accusing her of "a total con job".

The judge said the President was engaging in free speech.

The adult film star, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, claimed she was threatened by an unknown man in a Las Vegas parking lot in 2011 for agreeing to cooperate with a magazine article about a tryst she says she had with Trump in 2006. After her lawyer released a composite sketch of the man, Trump accused Clifford in an April tweet of "a total con job' concerning a "non-existent man."

"The court agrees with Mr Trump's argument because the tweet in question constitutes 'rhetorical hyperbole' normally associated with politics and public discourse in the US," US District Judge James Otero in Los Angeles said in a ruling on Monday, local time. "The First Amendment protects this type of rhetorical statement."

Stormy Daniels' lawyer Michael Avenatti.Credit: AP

Trump's lawyers had argued that Clifford - far from being harmed - has benefited financially from her public dispute with the President.

"We will appeal the dismissal of the defamation cause of action and are confident in a reversal," Clifford's lawyer, Michael Avenatti, said in a statement.

"There is something really rich in Trump relying on the First Amendment to justify defaming a woman."

The judge awarded Trump reasonable attorney's fees.

"No amount of spin or commentary by Stormy Daniels or her lawyer, Mr Avenatti, can truthfully characterise today's ruling in any way other than total victory for President Trump and total defeat for Stormy Daniels," Trump's lawyer, Charles Harder, said in a statement.

Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump.Credit: AP

Daniels alleges she had an affair with Trump in 2006 and sued him in April.

Daniels' lawsuit over a hush-money deal is pending.

Bloomberg, Washington Post, AP