This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Donald Trump has said Stormy Daniels is pulling “a total con job” by promoting an artist’s sketch of a man she says threatened her to keep silent about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump years ago.

Donald Trump denies knowing of $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels Read more

The sketch depicts a white male in his 30s or 40s and carries a description of him as “lean but fit”.

Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, has said it is the man who menaced her and her young daughter in 2011. She said the man warned her to stay quiet about her alleged 2006 sexual encounter with the future president.

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)! https://t.co/9Is7mHBFda

Daniels told CNN last month that a man approached her in a parking lot, “and said to me, ‘Leave Trump alone. Forget the story.’ And he leaned around and looked at my daughter and said, ‘That’s a beautiful little girl, it would be a shame if something happened to her mom.’”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest This artist’s drawing released by attorney Michael Avenatti. Photograph: AP

In a rare public comment about Daniels, Trump tweeted on Wednesday morning: “A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)!”

Daniels’ lawyer, Michael Avenatti, says he has increased a $100,000 reward to $131,000 for information leading to the man’s identification.

The figure could be a reference to the $130,000 that Daniels says she received from Trump’s lawyer attorney, Michael Cohen, just before the 2016 election for her silence. Daniels is seeking to invalidate the nondisclosure agreement.

Avenatti shot back on Twitter, calling Trump a “completely unhinged, undisciplined opponent who is prone to shooting himself in the foot”. He added: “Always leads to BIGLY problems,” employing a term often used by the president, although some hear it as “big league”.

The Daniels case took on new significance last week when FBI agents raided Cohen’s office, looking for information on topics including the payment to the porn star.

Trump answered questions about Daniels for the first time recently, saying he had no knowledge of the payment made by Cohen and did not know where Cohen had got the money. The White House has consistently said Trump denies the affair.