Adult film actress Stephanie Clifford sues Donald Trump over ‘hush agreement’

Donald Trump (L) and pornographic actress Stephanie Clifford (Photo by The Daily Beast)

An adult film actress, who says she had a sexual encounter with Donald Trump, has sued the US president over a "hush agreement."

Stephanie Clifford filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, asking a California judge to invalidate the agreement she signed days before the 2016 presidential election.

According to the lawsuit, lodged in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the agreement is "null and void and of no consequence" because Trump did not personally sign it.

Clifford says she started an "intimate relationship" with Trump in 2006, adding it continued "well into the year 2007," according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also alleges that Clifford had wanted to reveal the details of her relationship with Trump prior to the election.

Trump and his personal attorney Michael Cohen "aggressively sought to silence Ms. Clifford as part of an effort to avoid her telling the truth, thus helping to ensure he won the Presidential Election," it says.

"To be clear, the attempts to intimidate Ms. Clifford into silence and 'shut her up' in order to 'protect Mr. Trump' continue unabated," it adds.

Clifford said she had sex with Trump once and then continued to have a yearlong platonic relationship with the president.

Last month, Cohen confirmed he had paid $130,000 to Clifford out of his own pocket to prevent her from publicly discussing an alleged sexual encounter with Trump, a report says.

In the fall of 2016, Clifford began talking with ABC News for a story involving an extramarital affair with Trump, but Cohen arranged to pay her the money to stop her from going public.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Cohen arranged for the payment through Clifford's lawyer, Keith Davidson.

So far, two dozen women have accused Trump of unwanted sexual advances, allegations Trump dismisses.

Weeks before the presidential election last November, The Washington Post released a tape in which Trump boasted about how he sexually assaulted women because he was powerful.