Jailed lawyer alleges his former porn star client is guilty of the very charges Trump is currently on trial for in New York.
Jailed attorney Michael Avenatti accused porn star Stormy Daniels of committing the same crimes Donald Trump has been charged with in the New York “hush money” trial.
In a statement released on Tuesday as Daniels was set to testify against Trump, Avenatti claimed his former client falsified business records and defrauded Trump in a bid to avoid paying him legal dues.
“Last June, I was contacted by producer Sarah Gibson, who requested that I assist with a documentary about my former client Stormy Daniels (I had fired Daniels as a client in February 2019),” Avenatti stated, adding that he “wanted nothing to do with the project” if Daniels would be paid.
Here is my statement regarding the testimony of Stormy Daniels. Will DA Bragg pursue charges against her for falsification of business records, fraud, etc. pic.twitter.com/ELPNzfMsIC
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) May 7, 2024
“Ms. Gibson told me that Daniels was being paid for the documentary, but that because she owed Trump hundreds of thousands of dollars from a judgement Trump was trying to collect from Daniels, they – Daniels, Gibson, and others – had come up with a plan that would allow Daniels to be secretly paid, while at the same time keeping the payment(s) from Trump and his attorneys.”
“Among other things, she told me that they had fictionally ‘optioned’ the rights to Daniels’ book and then routed the money Daniels demanded through a fabricated ‘trust’ that had been set up in the name of Daniels’ daughter – all to hide money from Trump and avoid paying the judgement.”
Avenatti then expressed shock that a person he’d never met was divulging “multiple overt criminal acts” she and Daniels committed, including “falsification of business records, wire fraud, and fraudulent transfers.”
“Due to the fraud, I declined to participate in the documentary,” he stated.
He then called on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is prosecuting the “hush money” case against Trump, to reconsider taking Daniel’s expected testimony seriously and launch an investigation against her.
“How can DA Bragg possibly rely on the testimony of Daniels, who is herself guilty of fraud and recently falsifying business records to cover-up a crime (ie fraudulent wire transfer and wire fraud)?” he asked.
“Further, will DA Bragg or others be promptly filing criminal charges against Daniels or others involved in this scheme?” he added.
The prosecution called Daniels to testify against Trump on Tuesday about his alleged attempts to pay her hush money over their supposed 2006 affair ahead of the 2016 election.
In the 34-count felony indictment against Trump, Bragg and his prosecuting team alleged that Trump falsified New York business records in order to conceal damaging information before the 2016 presidential election.
Avenatti was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2022 for embezzling millions of dollars from four of his clients and obstruction.
