Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused to be subpoenaed outside Brooklyn bar and papers were left ‘at her feet’

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump‘s legal team says it tried to serve Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a Brooklyn bar last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness in the former president’s criminal trial, refused to accept it and distant.

A server working for Trump’s lawyers said he contacted Daniels with documents demanding information related to a recently released documentary about his life and involvement with Trump, but was forced to “leave them to his feet,” according to a court filing released Wednesday.

“I stated that she was told that I had identified her and explained to her what the documents were,” wrote process server Dominic DellaPorte. “She didn’t recognize me and kept walking inside the room, and she had no expression on her face.”

That meeting, preceding a screening of the film “Stormy” at the 3 Dollar Bill nightclub, sparked a monthslong battle between Trump’s lawyers and Daniels’s lawyers, which continued this week as the candidate’s criminal trial presumptive Republican started in Manhattan.

Trump’s lawyers are asking Judge Juan M. Merchan to force Daniels to comply with the subpoena. In their filing, they included a photo they said DellaPorte took of Daniels as she strode away.

Daniels’ attorney, Clark Brewster, says he never received the documents. He described the requests as an “unwarranted fishing expedition” unrelated to Trump’s criminal trial.

“The process – instituted on the eve of trial – appears calculated to provoke harassment and/or intimidation of a lay witness,” Brewster wrote in an April 9 letter to Mercan. Brewster did not immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press seeking comment.

The hush money case is the first of Trump’s four criminal cases to go to trial. Seven jurors have been seated so far. Jury selection is expected to resume Thursday.

Daniels is expected to testify about the $130,000 payment she received in 2016 from one of Trump’s lawyers at the time, Michael Cohento prevent her from speaking publicly about a sexual relationship she said she had with Trump years earlier.

Cohen was later reimbursed by Trump’s company for this payment. Trump is accused of falsifying his company records to hide the nature of that payment, as well as other work he did to bury negative stories during the 2016 campaign.

Trump pleaded not guilty last year to 34 counts of falsifying business records. He denies having a sexual relationship with Daniels. His lawyers argue that the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal fees and were properly recorded.

In a separate filing made public Wednesday, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said that if Trump chooses to testify at trial, prosecutors plan to challenge his credibility by questioning him about his recent legal setbacks. The filing was filed last month under seal.

Trump was recently ordered to pay a $454 million civil penalty following a trial in which a judge ruled that he lied about his wealth in his financial statements. In another trial, a jury found him liable for $83.3 million for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll after she accused him of sexual assault.

Merchan said he planned to hold a hearing Friday to decide whether that would be allowed.

Under New York law, prosecutors can question witnesses about prior legal issues in certain circumstances. Trump’s lawyers object. Trump has said he wants to testify, but he doesn’t have to and can always change his mind.

As for the subpoena dispute, it is the latest attempt by Trump’s lawyers to release potentially damaging information about Daniels, a key prosecution witness.

They are demanding a series of documents related to the promotion and editing of the documentary “Stormy,” which explores Daniels’ career in the adult film industry and has risen to fame since her alleged involvement with Trump became public.

They also ask Daniels to reveal how much, if anything, she was paid for the film.

Trump’s lawyers say the film’s premiere last month on NBC’s Peacock streaming service — a week before the trial was originally scheduled to begin — fueled negative publicity about Trump, clouding his ability to get a fair trial .

In documents released Wednesday, Trump’s lawyers accuse Daniels of “clearly seeking to promote his brand and make money through his witness status.”

The subpoena also demands communications between Daniels and other likely witnesses at trial, including Cohen and Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who claims to have had an affair with Trump. He also requests any communication between Daniels and Carroll.

Earlier this month, Merchan blocked an attempt by Trump to subpoena NBC Universal for information related to the documentary. He wrote that the subpoena and the demands it contains “are the very definition of a fishing expedition.”