President Trump is probably powerless to stop “60 Minutes” from airing an interview with the porn star who claims to have had an affair with him, according to legal experts.
.. “She’s already given the interview,” said defamation attorney Megan C. Deluhery, a partner at Todd & Weld in Boston. “CBS would need to be a party to the suit to be restrained from airing the interview, and since the obligation on Ms. Daniels arose as part of a private settlement, I don’t see much legal basis to enjoin CBS
.. Although a judge might rule that Daniels must stay quiet until the lawsuit reaches a conclusion, an injunction would not undo the interview she gave last week or compel CBS to pretend it didn’t happen.
.. To thwart “60 Minutes,” Trump would need to secure a separate order against CBS — a prior restraint of speech that legal precedent suggests is unconstitutional.
.. the president’s lawyers would have to convince a court that “whatever is about to be aired would cause immediate, irreparable harm to the U.S. If the Pentagon Papers didn’t meet that standard, can’t imagine that this ’60 Minutes’ segment with Stormy Daniels would.”
.. Trump can hope that the prospect of a libel suit will scare CBS out of airing the interview, or he can hope that further reporting will cause “60 Minutes” to conclude that Daniels is not credible and thus abandon the interview for journalistic reasons. Otherwise, he probably cannot keep the interview off the air.