Michael Avenatti Responds To Sentencing of Michael Cohen

The sentencing has been announced for Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former lawyer, and Michael Avenatti was quick to weigh in on the matter. Stormy Daniels’ attorney held a press conference outside New York’s Southern District Court just minutes after Cohen’s sentencing was announced, and made it clear where he stood on the matter.

According to Business Insider, Avenatti told reporters that Cohen is “neither a hero nor a patriot.”

“He lied in March, he lied in April, he lied in May, he lied in June, he lied in July, and only until his back was against the wall and he faced significant prison time did he decide to, quote, ‘come clean,'” Avenatti said. “His choice, time and time again, was to degrade my client, seek to intimidate her, call her and me liars, and seek to degrade the office of the Presidency of the United States by seeking to buy effectively an election.”

Cohen was accused of making a hush-payment to Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged affair with Donald Trump. Trump has categorically denied any involvement with the adult film star, who Avenatti is currently representing.

Avenatti also wasted no time in letting people know what his focus is now that Cohen is going to jail. He tweeted at Trump this afternoon with the simple phrase, “You are next.”

.@realDonaldTrump – You are next.

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) December 12, 2018

Michael Cohen has been sentenced to 36 months in jail for the incident. He was charged with lying to Congress, breaking campaign finance laws, and tax evasion. Cohen’s office and home were raided by federal agents back in April. In a shocking move, he later turned on Trump, claiming that he had been ordered to make payments to Daniels — and another woman — in exchange for their silence.

Although Trump continues to deny any involvement with Stormy Daniels, he has admitted to knowing about the payments — after first insisting he had no idea they had happened at all.

Cohen eventually cooperated with officials in the hopes of reducing his sentence, but Judge William H. Pauley III stated in court that the nature and breadth of the crimes demanded a heavy sentence.

Michael Avenatti is dealing with legal issues of his own. According to the Daily Beast, he stands accused of domestic abuse against his girlfriend back in November, a charge he aggressively denies. He also had to contend with a public rift with his famous client over setting up a fundraising site in her name without her consent, although it appears the two have since reconciled.