Donald Trump's lawyers seek to settle Stormy Daniels dispute in private

President Donald Trump's personal lawyer asked a federal judge on Monday to force adult film star Stormy Daniels to use arbitration to settle a dispute over an agreement to keep quiet about a sexual encounter she says she had with Mr Trump.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, last month sued Michael Cohen, Trump's personal attorney, to be released from the non-disclosure agreement she signed in October 2016 in exchange for $130,000.

The White House has denied that Trump had sex with Daniels. Mr Cohen has said he paid Daniels out of his own pocket.

In Monday's court filing in Los Angeles, Brent Blakely, Mr Cohen's attorney, argued the agreement included a provision that any disputes over it be settled through arbitration, as opposed to open court.

Federal law "dictates that this motion be granted, and that Clifford be compelled to arbitration, as she knowingly and voluntarily agreed to do," Mr Blakely wrote.

Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti, said the matter should be settled in open court.

"We will vigorously oppose the just-filed motion by Mr Trump and Mr Cohen to have this case decided in a secret arbitration, in a private conference room, purposely hidden from the American public," he said in a statement.

Last week, US District Judge S James Otero ruled that a request by Daniels to depose Mr Trump and Mr Cohen was premature because they had yet to formally request that she arbitrate her claims.

Stormy Daniels on Trump 'affair': seven things we learnt

Mr Avenatti has argued that the non-disclosure agreement is invalid because Mr Trump never signed it. But in Monday's filing Mr Blakely responded that the language of the agreement did not specify that Mr Trump, using the pseudonym David Dennison, needed to sign it for the agreement to be binding.

Mr Blakely also argued that Daniels accepted the $130,000 and did not dispute the agreement for 16 months even though Mr Trump had not signed it.

'Stormy Daniels makes a credible witness'

Daniels has said she and Mr Trump had sex once in 2006 but that they kept in touch for a period of time.

A former Playboy model, Karen McDougal, has described having a 10-month affair with Mr Trump starting the same year, which the White House has said the president denies. Mr Trump was married to his wife Melania at the time.