“Stormy Daniels’ attorney asked a federal judge this morning for permission to depose President Trump about his knowledge of an agreement to pay the porn star $130,000 a week and a half before the 2016 election,” CBS News reports.

“In a motion filed in federal court in Los Angeles, Daniels’ attorney, Michael Avenatti, requested a deposition ‘of no greater than two hours’ of the President. Avenatti also asked for a court order to depose the President’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, who has said he made the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels with his own funds and without Mr. Trump’s knowledge.”

Daily Beast: “First, it’s chiefly concerned with ‘certain still images and/or text messages.’ Yes, later in the agreement, the ‘confidential information’ at issue is expansively defined, to include absolutely anything, tangible or intangible, that Daniels might know about Trump, including, of course, whether she spanked him with a magazine or not.”

“But far more ink is spilled discussing what Daniels is supposed to do with those texts and images: give copies to Cohen and destroy the originals.”

“Now the strategy starts to make sense. This dispute isn’t about the affair: it’s about those pictures or texts. As viewers of Daniels’ 60 Minutes interview surely noticed, the only question Daniels refused to answer was about whether she’s got more evidence of the affair. Avenatti suggested the answer is yes: he tweeted a photo of a DVD inside a safe.”

President Trump “has been seeking counsel from confidantes on how he should handle the Stormy Daniels situation,” CNN reports.

“The source said Trump is being told by advisers not to fight Daniels’ decision to break a confidentiality agreement because it would make him look guilty. This source said it’s the only reason Trump has stayed quiet on the issue and hasn’t been tweeting about it.”

“The source also believes the controversy potentially poses a bigger threat to Trump’s presidency than Russia. The difference here compared to accusations from other women is that there’s a signed agreement and a payment.”

Three sources confirmed to CNN that Stormy Daniels made new claims about Donald Trump in an interview she taped with 60 Minutes. CBS producers are working on verifying these claims.

“The interview could air on next Sunday’s 60 Minutes. But CBS won’t confirm the air date. In fact, the network won’t even confirm there was an interview at all.”

New York Times: “For nearly two months, since the Wall Street Journal first revealed an October 2016 payment to Ms. Clifford (known on screen as Stormy Daniels), the story had subsisted on the margins of national consciousness — a consequence, it seemed, of both the daily Trumpian overload and a wide-scale confusion over what, exactly, the whole affair amounted to. Was it tragedy or farce? Serious or sideshow? Was it all of them, leaving us paralyzed by the choice?”

“Despite the unrelated tumult of this week — tariff policy, staff turnover, nuclear intrigue — the ordeal has begun showing signs of an elusive longevity, coaxed by a lawsuit filed by her lawyer and an acknowledgment from Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, that Mr. Trump’s side had pursued an arbitration proceeding against Ms. Clifford. The White House briefing room has been consumed by repeated questions about the payment.”

Michael Avenatti, attorney for porn star Stormy Daniels, told the Today Show why he thinks Donald Trump didn’t sign the confidentiality agreement with his client.

Said Avenatti: “There were three parties to the agreement…two of the three signed. Mr. Trump did not sign. We believe that was so that he could later claim deniability, and therefore, from a legal perspective, we believe she’s free to talk.”

He added that Daniels is prepared to return the $130,000 she was given.