Stormy Daniels' lawyer requests 'suspicious' bank information linked to 'hush' payment

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Media criticize Stormy Daniels

Backlash against her and lawyer after '60 Minutes.'

The lawyer for adult film star Stormy Daniels has asked the Treasury Department to make public the "suspicious activity report" filed in regard to a $130,000 payment made to Daniels by President Trump's personal attorney in October 2016.

Michael Avenatti posted a link to the letter on his Twitter page Tuesday, one day after it was sent to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Avenatti has requested the report, known as a SAR, and any related information be made public no later than April 11.

"[A]s Secretary of the Treasury, it is well within your authority to release the requested SAR information to allow the public to learn critical information relating to the payment," Avenatti wrote.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, claimed she had sex with Trump in 2006 -- the year after he married his current wife, Melania. She has sought to invalidate a non-disclosure agreement signed by her and by Trump's attorney, Michael Cohen, and has offered to return the money she was paid in exchange for her silence.

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the bank used by Cohen to wire the $130,000 to Daniels flagged the transaction as suspicious. The report did not say when the bank reported the transaction to the government.

Cohen has claimed that he paid Daniels out of his own pocket and was not reimbursed by the Trump campaign or the Trump Organization.

In his letter to Mnuchin, Avenatti wrote, "If the payment was made as innocently as Mr. Cohen has suggested, there should be no objection to allowing the prompt release of the SAR."

On the same day Avenatti sent the letter, Trump and Cohen filed papers in federal court in Los Angeles asking a judge to rule that Daniels' case must be heard by an arbitrator instead of a jury.

Trump's attorneys have argued that Daniels could owe about $20 million for violating the non-disclosure deal.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.