Trump and lawyer Michael Cohen may be forced to testify under oath about alleged Stormy Daniels affair

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Stormy Daniels’ lawyer has asked permission to depose President Donald Trump and his lawyer Michael Cohen, hoping to force the pair to speak under oath about the alleged affair.

Lawyer Michael Avenatti tweeted that the motion will be heard on 30 April. It was filed as part of Ms Daniels lawsuit against Mr Trump that states the president never actually signed a nondisclosure agreement with her, permitting her to legally and publicly discuss her alleged relations with him.

The adult film actress, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, claimed to have had sex with Mr Trump in 2006, while he was married to First Lady Melania Trump and provided salacious details of the supposed affair in a televised interview on the 60 Minutes news programme.

Mr Avenatti said in the motion that the depositions would last no longer than two hours, apparently in an attempt to thwart any objections from Mr Trump’s lawyers that he is too busy to be deposed for the case.

He also filed a motion asking for a jury trial no more than 90 days from 27 March. "We expect to be placing the president and his fixer under oath in the coming months," Mr Avenatti said.

She also claimed she was paid $130,000 (£91,000) by Mr Cohen just days before the November 2016 election to keep quiet about the matter and said she was threatened previously in 2011 if she went public. Mr Cohen initially said her claims were “rumours” but then acknowledged the payment, which he claimed was made out of his own pocket with funds unrelated to the presidential campaign coffers.

Raj Shah, White House Deputy Press Secretary, said in a news conference that Mr Trump does not believe Ms Daniels' claim she was threatened over the alleged affair. "There's nothing to corroborate her claim," he said. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also said Mr Trump was unaware of Mr Cohen’s payment, which Ms Daniels referred to as the “hush agreement” in the lawsuit.

Mr Cohen has an attorney himself, David Schwartz, who said in a statement that the request to depose his client and the president is a "reckless use of the legal system in order to continue to inflate Michael Avenatti’s deflated ego and keep himself relevant”.

“This is politically motivated and people see through this charade," Mr Schwartz said, adding that Mr Avenatti’s statements are “ludicrous” and Mr Trump and his client are “following the rules of the court”.

Mr Avenatti said on the Today programme: "If she's not telling the truth, let the president take to the podium and call her a liar. Let the president come forward and say it never happened”.

For his part, Mr Trump has been uncharacteristically quiet on Twitter and in public comments about the alleged affair and Ms Daniels.