Stormy Daniels: Televised interview 'crushed' ratings for The Apprentice, says porn star's lawyer

Ms Daniels is also suing the President's personal lawyer Michael Cohen

Stormy Daniels' attorney said his the ratings for client's 60 Minutes interview "crushed (by millions) any Apprentice show in the last ten years," referring to President Donald Trump's television series.

Michael Avenatti tweeted that Ms Daniels' interview even beat the ratings for the episode when Mr Trump appeared on the programme shortly after winning the November 2016 election.

The interview garnered 22.1m viewers for 60 Minutes, the highest rating in nearly a decade for the CBS network news programme, said Nielsen Media Research.

The last major high for the show saw 24.5m viewers for former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama's first interview since the 2008 election. Mr Trump's first post-election interview drew 16.4m viewers and he was joined by Vice President Mike Pence.

The porn star, who was interviewed by CNN's Anderson Cooper, revealed some intimate details on her relations with Mr Trump and spoke about the backlash of going public with her story, including threats on her young daughter's life.

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.

She is currently suing Mr Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen in California district court for alleged defamation. The complaint, filed under Ms Daniels' real name Stephanie Clifford, alleged that Mr Cohen worked with Mr Trump to prevent her from making the story of the alleged affair between the porn star and then-candidate public during the 2016 US election. It also accused Mr Cohen of continuing to try to silence her.

Mr Cohen, according to his own claims, paid Ms Daniels $130,000 (£91,000) leading up to the 2016 election. He was quick to deny any connection to Mr Trump's campaign team, saying that he used his own money to pay her. He was reportedly not reimbursed for the expense. The payment was reportedly part of a nondisclosure agreement regarding the affair, which allegedly occurred a decade ago. Mr Avenatti argued that the document is not valid because Mr Trump never signed it.

Ms Daniels' lawsuit alleged however, that Mr Cohen created a company “with Mr Trump’s knowledge” to hide the source of the payout money. She also said in the complaint that Mr Cohen implied she was lying about the nature of her relationship with Mr Trump.

The President has uncharacteristically remained silent on Twitter about Ms Daniels' claims.