A former attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels, Michael Avenatti, recently stated that he has been in contact with former President Donald Trump’s legal team regarding the hush money trial. Reportedly, Avenatti has offered to testify on Trump’s behalf if necessary.
The attorney expressed in an interview with the New York Post that the trial is politically motivated and unfair toward Trump. Avenatti claimed that his former client, Stormy Daniels, was dishonest with him during the failed lawsuit during Trump’s presidency.
“The defense has contacted me,” Avenatti said in the interview with the New York Post by phone. He is currently serving a 19-year sentence for extortion, tax evasion, fraud, embezzlement, and other federal offenses on Terminal Island, a minimum-security federal prison in Los Angeles.
He explained that he would be “more than happy” to testify for the former president if he was called to do so. The lawyer noted that he has communicated with Trump’s attorneys for the “better part” of a year. “I’d be more than happy to testify. I don’t know that I will be called to testify, but I have been in touch with Trump’s defense for the better part of a year,” Avenatti said.
In the past, Avenatti was known for being highly critical of Donald Trump, even calling for his indictment. However, he seems to have recently changed his opinion of the former president while in prison. Now Avenatti vehemently argues that the trial is “politically” motivated over concerns that Trump has a strong chance of retaking the White House.
The attorney claimed that the case would not have been considered if it were anyone other than Trump. Avenatti emphasized that he thought the case was an attempt by the government to interfere with the election and prevent millions of people from voting for Trump.
“There’s no question [the trial] is politically motivated because they’re concerned that he may be reelected,” Avenatti said. “If the defendant was anyone other than Donald Trump, this case would not have been brought at this time, and for the government to attempt to bring this case and convict him in an effort to prevent tens of millions of people from voting for him, I think it’s just flat out wrong, and atrocious.”
The former Stormy Daniels lawyers doubled down on the assertion that Trump is being targeted by the four legal cases he is concurrently fighting ahead of the election. According to Avenatti, the effort could entirely “backfire” and increase support for Donald Trump, “pouring jet fuel on his campaign.
“I’m really bothered by the fact that Trump, in my view, has been targeted. Four cases is just over the top and I think there’s a significant chance that this is going to all backfire and is going to propel him to the White House,” he stated. “Depending on what happens, this could constitute pouring jet fuel on his campaign.”
Avenatti also claimed that Stormy Daniels would even commit perjury in the case if it meant possibly enriching herself. “Stormy Daniels is going to say whatever she believes is going to assist Stormy Daniels and putting more money in her pocket,” he said. “If Stormy Daniels’ lips are moving, she’s lying for money.”
Featured image credit: The Circus, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stormy_Daniels_and_Michael_Avenatti_in_2018.png
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