Porn Star Attorney Michael Avenatti Battles ‘Wall Street Journal’ Report Of Stonewalling Federal Prosecutors
The attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels, Michael Avenatti, is back in the news this week claiming a Wall Street Journal article Monday is not true.
“Any media report citing ‘unnamed sources’ (and not a single document) suggesting we are delaying the investigation into Mr. [Michael] Cohen and [President Donald J. Trump] is completely false and without basis,” he tweeted Tuesday morning. “We have already waived the privilege as to a host of docs and communications to ensure justice is done.”
Any media report citing “unnamed sources” (and not a single document) suggesting we are delaying the investigation into Mr. Cohen and DJT is completely false and without basis. We have already waived the privilege as to a host of docs and communications to ensure justice is done.
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) May 29, 2018
Business Insider reported that Avenatti took aim at the Journal for a story on Monday that said he was hampering efforts by Southern District of New York federal prosecutors to obtain information from another of Daniels’ attorneys, Keith Davidson.
According to the Business Insider story, Davidson was the first attorney for Daniels, also known as Stephanie Clifford, and that he initially handled the offer from Cohen for a $130,000 payment to Daniels and a non-disclosure agreement to keep an alleged sexual encounter with President Trump from 2006 a secret.
The handling of that payment drew the interest of federal prosecutors because President Trump did not include it on federal election and financial disclosure forms in 2017, according to the story.
The Journal reported Monday that Avenatti, who with Daniels has a California civil case filed against both President Trump and Cohen, was blocking prosecutors from obtaining documents and interviewing Davidson.
Avenatti denied the claims and criticized how the Journal sourced the story, Business Insider reported.
The California attorney was in the news last week after a federal bankruptcy court judge issued a $10 million judgment against him for defaulting on a repayment agreement with a creditor for his now-defunct Egan Avenatti LLP law firm, which filed for Chapter 11 protection last year, as the Inquisitr previously reported.
He settled with creditor Jason Frank for $4.9 million last fall but failed to make the initial $2 million payment on the debt by a May 14 deadline, allowing Frank to go back to court and win a default judgment for $10 million.
In the recent dust-up with the Journal, Avenatti said he was completely cooperating with federal authorities regarding the investigation into Cohen, and that he and Daniels would continue cooperating.
“We continue to communicate with the fine [attorneys] of the SDNY on a regular basis as part of our cooperation with the [government] investigation,” he said in another tweet. “It has been delayed by the refusal of people to promptly turn over docs for our review. If necessary, we will file suit against them.”
We continue to communicate with the fine attys of the SDNY on a regular basis as part of our cooperation with the govt investigation. It has been delayed by the refusal of people to promptly turn over docs for our review. If necessary, we will file suit against them. #Basta
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) May 29, 2018
