Former President Donald Trump gloried in his federal appeals court win Monday night, after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled adult-film actress Stormy Daniels owes him $300,000.
The court rejected the porn star's attempt to overturn a lower court's ruling in her failed defamation lawsuit.
"The lawsuit was a purely political stunt that never should have started, or allowed to happen, and I am pleased that my lawyers were able to bring it to a successful conclusion after the court fully rejected her appeal," Trump said in a statement. "Now all I have to do is wait for all of the money she owes me."
In an answering tweet, Daniels vowed to defy the court order.
"I will go to jail before I pay a penny," she said.
In his statement, Trump again denied having an affair with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
Daniels' failure to file a notice of appeal within 30 days of a federal judge awarding the attorneys' fees to Trump caused the 9th Circuit to find that it lacked jurisdiction over her appeal.
The decision seemingly finishes a legal battle that goes back to 2016, when Daniels made the claim that she and Trump had sex in 2006 after meeting at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.
Trump had married former first lady Melania Trump the year prior.
Although Daniels first made her claim in 2016, the story didn't receive attention until two years later, when the Wall Street Journal reported that she received $130,000 right before the 2016 presidential election to stay silent about the supposed affair.
Daniels sued Trump for defamation after he denied the affair and ridiculed her.
Michael Avenatti initially represented Daniels when she made the accusation; however, last month he was convicted of swindling Daniels out of $300,000 over a book deal.
Avenatti already had been convicted of attempting to extort up to $25 million from Nike and was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
Michael Cohen, Trump's lawyer in the early stages of the case, also went to prison for the hush money payment.
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