Lawyer for Stormy Daniels, Michael Avenatti, hints that 1.6 million dollar payoff to hide abortion, was not for Republican donor, but Donald Trump himself.

(Pertinent portion starts at the 4:00 mark.)

Courtesy Raw Story: 

Attorney Michael Avenatti appeared Thursday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” where he gave a wide-ranging interview on the lawsuit against the president and a related criminal investigation of Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen — and he said reporting on the case had missed an important detail. 

“So, Mika, you are familiar with the fact that a week ago, Judge (Kimba) Wood ordered Michael Cohen’s attorneys to disclose all of his clients for the last three years,” Avenatti said, “and there were three clients listed — three clients listed. Do you recall which three?” 

Brzezinski listed Trump, Fox News host Sean Hannity and Republican donor Elliott Broidy — but Avenatti said she was making the same mistake everyone else had. 

“No, no, no,” he said. “Mr. Trump, the Trump organization and Sean Hannity. Mr. Broidy was not disclosed in open court as one of Michael Cohen’s clients.” 

Co-host Joe Scarborough asked the attorney what that meant. 

“I think at some point we are going to find out, if in fact, the client in connection with the ($1.6 million) settlement was, in fact, Mr. Broidy. I’m going to leave it at that.” 

Avenatti wouldn’t say it, but the implication seems clear.

Yes, the implication is quite clear.

And it kind of irritates me because I actually started to write a piece about this in my head while I was driving to an appointment the other day, and decided not to post it because it seemed a little conspiratorial with not much evidence to back it up.

But let me take a stab at it again in light of this new information from Avenatti.

So this Elliot Brody guy is somebody that NOBODY really knows. At least not outside of certain Republican circles.

Though he is wealthy, and produced two b-list movies in 2013, he is not a famous person who typically hangs around celebrities.

He also looks like this.

So in what world does he get his hands on a playmate that looks like this.

I mean I know women are attracted to power and money, but unless this miss Bechard was straight up selling her body for sex, I simply don't see it.

On the other hand we KNOW that Donald Trump has been sleeping with Playboy models and porn stars for years, often did not use protection, and also habitually paid them off using Michael Cohen as a go between. 

So the idea that this was HIS child, and that Michael Cohen paid that 1.6 million to buy her silence and arrange for an abortion to protect his boss, fits snugly with what we already know.

And this is certainly not without precedent.

Do you remember the John Edwards/Rielle Hunter affair?

Well after it was revealed that Hunter was pregnant, Edwards campaign staffer Andrew Young came forward and said that he was the father.

He wasn't the father, John Edwards was, and that eventually came to light despite their best attempts to push the false story.

So yes, not only is it conceivable, but since as far as we know Michael Cohen provided semi-legal services to ONLY Donald Trump for little over a decade, it is also the most likely scenario.

I look forward to what comes next.

Stormy Daniels lawyer Michael Avenatti is my new Nostradamus.

Stormy Daniels’ lawyer @MichaelAvenatti explains to @Lawrence why he thinks that Donald Trump’s presidency will not survive a full term. pic.twitter.com/keEeVILvRu

— The Last Word (@TheLastWord) April 24, 2018

Look I don't always put a lot of stock in predictions, but you have to admit that Avenatti is hitting them out of the park right now.

The guy seems to be about three or four moves ahead of everybody, and he has been right with his predictions about 100 % of the time.

If I were standing at a roulette table and saw Avenatti put a bet down I would throw all of my cash on that same number.

Michael Avenatti mocks Trump's attorney's attempt to organize a protest against his client Stormy Daniels.

The “fixer” Mr. Cohen (aka the real Ray Donovan) organized a protest - BIGLY - in Florida last night against my client. As usual, his execution was flawless. #impressive pic.twitter.com/4ADeM9rzeD

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 14, 2018

What is that, four people?

I think Daniels often has more people than that participating in her adult movies scenes.

And Avenatti was not done there.

The WH just confirmed that this is the largest protest of its kind in American history. More people tuned-in across ALL PLATFORMS than ever before. Not even close!!!!!!

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 14, 2018

Like fish in a barrel.

Speaking of Michael Cohen, somebody added the theme to "The Sopranos" to video of his meeting with his cigar chomping friends and it is magic.

omg this is amazing pic.twitter.com/TOlAIKvPl5

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) April 14, 2018

Surprising how well that fits, isn't it?

Trump's attorneys are working overtime to keep the FBI from looking at the documents they retrieved from Michael Cohen.

Courtesy of the AP: 

Lawyers for President Donald Trump and his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, have told a federal judge in New York that they believe some of the documents and devices seized from Cohen during an FBI raid are protected by attorney-client privilege, and they want a chance to review the material before prosecutors get to examine them. 

Prosecutors and the attorneys for Cohen and Trump appeared before U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood on Friday in Manhattan. 

Cohen’s attorneys say they want a chance to review documents seized in the raid on Monday and specify items they believe aren’t relevant to the investigation. 

An attorney for the president, Joanna Hendon, told the judge that Trump has “an acute interest in this matter.”

Oh yeah, I'll bet.

Here's more: 

Federal prosecutors say in a court filing that the criminal probe that led them to raid the offices of Donald Trump’s personal lawyer this week is focused on his “personal business dealings.” 

In the filing with a court in New York, prosecutors blacked out a section describing what crime they believe Trump attorney Michael Cohen has committed. 

But they provided new details on the investigation, which they said has been going on for months. 

They said agents had already searched multiple email accounts maintained by Cohen. 

The filing said none of those emails was exchanged with Trump.

(Quick note, Trump does not use email.)

Ultimately the judge granted Trump's "right to intervene," a move that allows his attorneys to review the seized documents in order to protect Trump's rights, but demanded that Cohen show up for a hearing on Monday.

And she was not at all happy.

Judge isn't denying motion now. But she isn't pleased.

"If you don't have the answers by 2 p.m. on Monday, I’m likely to discount the argument that there are thousands or more privileged documents," she tells Cohen's attorneys.

— erica orden (@eorden) April 13, 2018

Part of the Fed's argument against the executive privilege claim is that Cohen is a fraud of a lawyer:

Michael Cohen is a fraud of a lawyer who works exclusively for President Trump, federal prosecutors charged Friday. 

“Cohen has told at least one witness that he has only [one] client — President Trump,” the lawyers wrote in court documents, challenging Cohen’s claims that records seized in raids on his home and office Monday should be protected by attorney-client privilege. 

And he’s barely doing any “legal work” for Trump, either, they claim. 

“[Reviews of the records] indicate that Cohen is in fact performing little to no legal work, and that zero ­e-mails were exchanged with President Trump,” according to the brief, filed in Manhattan federal court. 

In fact, the criminal investigation into Cohen isn’t about his work as a lawyer, “but rather relate[s] to Cohen’s own business dealings,” the feds argued.

According to Michael Avenatti there is a "very good chance" that some of the siezed documents pertain to his client, Stormy Daniels, and he suggests that she might just show up on Monday to observe the hearing.

Sure, why not?

After all it really isn't a party until the porn star shows up, right?

Donald Trump sees the FBI raid directed at his personal attorney as more problematic than the Mueller investigation. Update!

Courtesy of the New York Times:  

President Trump’s advisers have concluded that a wide-ranging corruption investigation in New York poses a greater and more imminent threat to the president than even the special counsel’s investigation, according to several people close to Mr. Trump. 

As his lawyers went to court on Friday to try to block prosecutors from reading files that were seized from his longtime personal lawyer and fixer this week, Mr. Trump found himself increasingly isolated in mounting a response. He continued to struggle to hire a new criminal lawyer, and some of his own aides were reluctant to advise him about a response for fear of being dragged into a criminal investigation themselves. 

The raids on Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, came as part of a monthslong federal investigation based in New York, court records show, and were sweeping in their breadth. In addition to searching his home, office and hotel room, F.B.I. agents seized material from Mr. Cohen’s cellphones, tablet, laptop and safe deposit box, according to people briefed on the warrants. Prosecutors revealed in court documents that they had already secretly obtained many of Mr. Cohen’s emails. 

Mr. Trump called Mr. Cohen on Friday to “check in,” according to two people briefed on the call. Depending on what else was discussed, the call could be problematic, as lawyers typically advise their clients against discussing investigations.

Mr. Cohen has publicly declared that he would defend the president to the end, but court documents show that prosecutors are building a significant case that could put pressure on him to cooperate and tell investigators what he knows.Mr. Cohen has publicly declared that he would defend the president to the end, but court documents show that prosecutors are building a significant case that could put pressure on him to cooperate and tell investigators what he knows.

The documents seized by prosecutors could shed light on the president’s relationship with a lawyer who has helped navigate some of Mr. Trump’s thorniest personal and business dilemmas. Mr. Cohen served for more than a decade as a trusted fixer and, during the campaign, helped tamp down brewing scandals about women who claimed to have carried on affairs with Mr. Trump. 

There are reports that thousands, if not millions, of documents were seized,  which clearly has Trump shitting bricks.

As indicated by the lawyer for Stormy Daniels.

A considerable amount of electronic data has been obtained by federal law enforcement in connection with the investigation of Mr. Cohen. Some might describe it as a "mountain of evidence". And I’m not just talking about a few days ago on Monday … #basta

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 13, 2018

I think it is pretty clear Robert Mueller KNEW that the information in Michael Cohen's possession was potentially explosive and that was why he contacted Rosenstein and told him he needed to get a subpoena.

It was also just reported tonight by McClatchy that Mueller has information which confirms Cohen was in Prague back in 2016, just like it says in the Steele dossier, which Cohen vehemently denied:

The Justice Department special counsel has evidence that Donald Trump’s personal lawyer and confidant, Michael Cohen, secretly made a late-summer trip to Prague during the 2016 presidential campaign, according to two sources familiar with the matter. 

Confirmation of the trip would lend credence to a retired British spy’s report that Cohen strategized there with a powerful Kremlin figure about Russian meddling in the U.S. election. 

It would also be one of the most significant developments thus far in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of whether the Trump campaign and the Kremlin worked together to help Trump win the White House. Undercutting Trump’s repeated pronouncements that “there is no evidence of collusion,” it also could ratchet up the stakes if the president tries, as he has intimated he might for months, to order Mueller’s firing.

Right now Trump is getting hit from literally all sides and I don't think he will be able to stand up to the barrage for much longer.

At this point I do not know how his breakdown will manifest itself, whether it be firing Rod Rosenstein, orchestrating a military strike, or simply holding a rally for his followers during which he can vent his frustrations.

But whatever he does it will certainly not be nearly enough to calm his nerves for long.

Update: So military strike it is then.

Operation Distract From Russia begins as Trump announces military strikes in Syria. #Syria pic.twitter.com/ucMRY7hxUU

— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) April 14, 2018

Jesus Christ!

Of course Assad has already had plenty of time to move his valuable targets elsewhere because Trump gave him so much lead time.

This is simply a distraction, and EVERYBODY knows it.

Update 2: There really is a tweet for everything.

The President must get Congressional approval before attacking Syria-big mistake if he does not!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 30, 2013

You know sometimes the 2013 Donald Trump gave some pretty solid advice.

Donald Trump claims that he has no idea where his attorney got the $130,000 he paid Stormy Daniels for her silence.

Courtesy of CNN: 

President Donald Trump said on Thursday he did not know about a $130,000 payment made to the adult film actress Stormy Daniels for her silence, his first public acknowledgment of the scandal surrounding an alleged sexual affair that has plagued him for months. 

"No," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when questioned about his knowledge of the payment, which was made by his private attorney Michael Cohen in the month before the 2016 election. 

Asked why Cohen made the payment, Trump said: "You'll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney. You'll have to ask Michael." 

He said he didn't know where the money came from and ignored a question about whether he set up a fund for Cohen to draw from in making the payment.

I believe this is the first time that Trump has addressed the Stormy Daniels situation directly.

She of course shares the same rarefied space as Vladimir Putin as one of those who must never be criticized by Donald Trump.

I don't know about all of you but I seriously doubt that Michael Cohen made his payment on his own without his client knowing anything about it.

That seems preposterous and would make Michael Cohen one of the biggest schmucks in recent history.

What's more the lawyer for Stormy Daniels is not buying it either.

We very much look forward to testing the truthfulness of Mr. Trump's feigned lack of knowledge concerning the $130k payment as stated on Air Force One. As history teaches us, it is one thing to deceive the press and quite another to do so under oath. #searchforthetruth #basta

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 5, 2018

Good (actually GREAT) things come to those who wait!!! The strength of our case just went up exponentially. You can't have an agreement when one party claims to know nothing about it. #nodiscipline #thanksforplaying #basta

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 5, 2018

We know that Avenatti is really looking forward to getting the opportunity to cross examine Donald Trump, and you can bet your ass that if he does he is going to ask him about this money.

In fact only an hour or so after Trump made those remarks to reporters, I saw this:

Michael Avenatti tells @AriMelber that, following Trump's new remarks about Stormy Daniels, he'll be making a petition on Monday to depose Trump.

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 5, 2018

If Trump lies while under oath, he's fucked.

But if Trump tells the truth, well he's still fucked.

Actually the minute he sits down with this pit bull of a lawyer, he's fucked. 

Attorney for Stormy Daniels says that she can describe Donald Trump's genitalia in "great detail."

(Relevant portion starts at around the 9:00 mark.)

Courtesy of Mediaite:  

Michael Avenatti, the lawyer to porn star Stephanie Clifford (better known as Stormy Daniels), said in a Wednesday interview with Megyn Kelly Today that his client has a whole lot more to say about her alleged affair with the president. 

The interview arrived after a 60 Minutes segment featuring Clifford in March, in which she described her interactions with Trump and claimed to have sex with the president shortly after the birth of his youngest son. In the segment, host Anderson Cooper focused largely on the timeline of events, as well as the threat she said she received in the parking lot of a fitness class while in the midst of sharing her story on Trump with a tabloid magazine years before the election. 

Apparently, there’s a lot left to be told about the affair. 

“When she sat for that interview, it actually lasted over two hours in length … the portion that the American public saw was only about 14 or 16 minutes,” Avenatti said Wednesday. “CBS, they’re a conservative network. There’s a lot of information that was said that did not make it into the final 60 Minutes piece.” 

“For instance, she can describe the president’s genitalia in great detail, that did not make it into the piece,” he added.

God I hate Megyn Kelly, who I still think is carrying water for the conservatives, but I thought that this interview was interesting and worthy of being shared.

I actually think that one of Trump's greatest fears is for one of the many women who saw his penis describing it on national television.

Stormy Daniels' attorney is drawing a line in the sand.

Be clear: We will NEVER accept any settlement, regardless of the amount of money, that does not include Mr. Cohen and Mr. Trump coming 100% (meaning 100%) clean with the American people. People that say this is about money haven’t been paying attention. #searchforthetruth #basta

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) March 31, 2018

Well that seems pretty clear cut to me.

But apparently not to everybody, because this tweet came out hours later.

Remarkably, some seem to be confused as to what "100% clean" means. It DOES NOT mean being honest with America just about the sex. It means being 100% truthful about the relationship, threats, intimidation, agreement, $130k payment, and cover-up. THAT is what it means. #basta

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) April 1, 2018

Well I think that we all know that Trump is NEVER going to come 100% clean about any of this unless forced.

Which seems to indicate that Avenatti is indeed looking to take this to court and fight it out as publicly as possible.

For anybody who thought this news story only had a temporary shelf life, it does not appear that way any longer.

As I said before THIS story could be competing directly with the Mueller investigation as the thing which ultimately ends the Trump presidency.

P.S. By the way Stormy might be joined in that endeavor by a fellow adult film star.

Courtesy of the Daily Beast: 

“Because of his words, Stormy and I are continued to be called liars even after the man admitted he actually did pay her off,” Evans said. 

Evans said some longtime fans have turned against her because of Cohen’s statements, which deny Daniels’ tryst with Trump. 

“We work very hard in our industry to show the world that we’re credible people,” Evans, who just celebrated her 20-year anniversary in porn, told The Daily Beast. “The industry is filled with strong, intelligent women like us. 

“To have worked so hard to be such a solid person in the business and have one person strip it away from you because they’re lying to protect the president… it’s terrible,” she said.

Trying to remember the last time that a sitting president was sued by a porn star, much less two of them. 

Yeah, I got nothing.

Federal judge denies request by Stormy Daniels' attorney for right to depose Donald Trump. Attorney does not see it as a setback.

Courtesy of CNN: 

A federal judge in California put a temporary stop Thursday to efforts by Stormy Daniels' attorney to depose President Donald Trump and his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen over a $130,000 payout from Cohen to the porn star before the 2016 election. 

Judge S. James Otero of the US District Court for the Central District of California denied the motion for an expedited trial and discovery process, saying Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti, was "premature" in making the motion because Trump and Essential Consultants LLC, the company established by Cohen to pay Daniels the $130,000 to keep quiet about an alleged affair between her and Trump, have not yet filed a petition to compel arbitration, which they have stated they're going to do. 

In his decision, Otero admonished the parties, writing that "instant litigation is not the most important matter on the court's docket." He also vacated a hearing date previously set for April 30. 

Avenatti told CNN's Wolf Blitzer later Thursday that he does not view the ruling as a setback and is intent on waiting for Trump and Cohen "to file their motion to compel arbitration" before "immediately (refiling) our motion." 

"This does not bode well for the President or Mr. Cohen, and all indications are that when this motion is heard on the merits, we're going to get the discovery and we're going to get the trial we've asked for," Avenatti said.

Avenatti may be right is suggesting that this is not really a setback.

I saw two attorneys talking about this on MSNBC and they said that this deposition is really not something that will become available until Trump's attorneys request arbitration, which they will surely do.

Once it reaches that stage, according to these two attorneys, it is almost a given that Avenatti will get the chance to request discovery and depose Donald Trump.

And according to a recent tweet from Avenatti he agrees with that assessment:

These passages in the Court's order do not bode well for the defendants and suggest that there is a strong likelihood that the Court will ultimately agree with our requests for discovery and a trial. They also destroy David Schwartz's claims that the motion was without merit. pic.twitter.com/D1DmGkku1E

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) March 29, 2018

Which kind of makes me think that a smart attorney like Avenatti probably already knew that this request would get turned down, and is now simply trolling Trump using the legal system.