Michael Avenatti. Photo courtesy of New York Daily News.
Summary: Michael Cohen’s attorney has asked a judge to stop Stormy Daniels’ lawyer, Michael Avenatti, from continuing his media tour.
Attorney Michael Avenatti has been enjoying the spotlight. Recently, he appeared on an episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and he has spoken on CNN and other news programs, talking about his client Stormy Daniels and her former relationship with President Donald Trump. But now, Trump’s lawyer’s lawyer is begging a judge to shut up Avenatti on the grounds that the media-savvy attorney is tainting a future court proceeding.
“Attorney Michael Avenatti’s months-long publicity tour attacking President Donald Trump and Trump attorney Michael Cohen could be brought to an abrupt end soon if a federal judge agrees to a new request for a gag order against the ubiquitous Avenatti,” Politico reported.
Avenatti’s client Stormy Daniels claimed that she was paid $130,000 from Trump attorney, Michael Cohen, in 2016. She had been shopping a story that she had an affair with Trump in 2006 when he was still married to the First Lady, Melania Trump.
Cohen and Trump denied Daniels had an affair but did not deny the payment, and Daniels sued both men for defamation and to break the NDA she had signed in exchange for the six-figure payment.
Cohen claimed that he arranged the payment between Daniels and himself using an LLC, and that admission brought upon him the wrath of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Trump’s ties with Russia. Mueller wanted to see if Cohen’s payment to Daniels was a violation of campaign finance law, and Cohen is facing possible criminal charges for obstruction of justice.
Cohen is represented by attorney Brent Blakely who filed an order in Los Angeles asking that Avenatti be barred from speaking to the media or tweeting any more about this case. Blakely has argued that Avenatti can act as an attorney or a pundit, but not at the same time.
Politico stated that so far, Avenatti has sent out nearly 500 tweets about Trump or Cohen.
“As this Court has probably already surmised … Avenatti’s actions are mainly driven by his seemingly unquenchable thirst for publicity. Mr. Avenatti’s publicity tour, wherein he routinely denigrates Mr. Cohen with claims of alleged criminal conduct, is contrary to the California Rules of Professional Conduct, likely to result in Mr. Cohen being deprived of his right to a fair trial, and threatens to turn what should be a solemn Federal Court proceeding into a media circus,” Blakely requested.
In New York, a judge said that Avenatti would need to end his public appearances if he wanted to be involved with a case regarding Cohen records seized by the FBI in that state. Instead of keeping quiet, Avenatti withdrew himself so that he could continue his press tour.
Before Blakely’s motion was filed, Avenatti fought back on Twitter.
“We just learned that Mr. Cohen and his atty, Brent Blakely, are going to file a motion seeking to have the court issue a gag order preventing me & others from providing info & docs to the media and the public. They want it all hidden. Is this ok? Will the media permit it?” Avenatti tweeted. “The motion for a gag order is a complete joke and baseless. Mr. Cohen and Brent Blakely can’t deal with the truth, the facts, and the law, so they have to resort to unethical, meritless motions. This must be their birthday present to Mr. Trump.”
- Michael Avenatti Accuses Squire Patton Boggs of Conspiring with Michael Cohen
- Michael Avenatti’s Involvement with Failed Coffee Chain Called into Question