According to Cohen's court filing, Daniels' defamation suit is "completely without merit and appears to be a desperate attempt by [Daniels] to keep at least a portion of this case out of arbitration."
Daniels' lawsuit, as Sputnik previously reported, was in response to remarks Cohen made in February 2018 that suggested the actress was untrustworthy and that the public should ignore her claims about having an affair with Trump in 2006.
The filing comes one day after FBI agents searched the home and office of Trump's longtime attorney and seized several documents, including some related to a $130,000 hush payment Cohen made to Daniels — without Trump's knowledge, the president insists.
Other documents collected by officials from Cohen's Rockefeller Center office and Park Avenue home.include emails, tax documents and business records.
Stephen Ryan, Cohen's lawyer, told The New York Times that the raid was executed after a referral was filed "by the office of special counsel Robert Mueller."
"The decision by the US Attorney's Office in New York to conduct their investigation using search warrants is completely inappropriate and unnecessary," Ryan said. "It resulted in the unnecessary seizure of protected attorney-client communications between a lawyer and his clients."
"These government tactics are also wrong because Mr. Cohen has cooperated completely with all government entities, including providing thousands of non-privileged documents to the Congress and sitting for depositions under oath," he added.
Hours after the raid was conducted, Trump commented that the incident was a "disgrace" and an "attack on our country." POTUS also described Cohen's Monday surprise as part of "a total witch hunt."
Speaking to MSNBC's "The Beat" late Monday, Michael Avenatti, Daniels' lawyer, said that though he "feels sorry" for Cohen, he believes that "when push comes to shove, [Cohen is] going to fold like a cheap deck of cards."
"I think this is the first significant domino to fall," Avenatti stated.
Following the raid, The Washington Post reported that Cohen was being investigated for possible bank fraud and campaign finance violations.
