Michael Avenatti defends Trump as ‘victim of the system’ in hush money scandal and says he is being targeted

Michael Avenatti defends Trump as ‘victim of the system’ in hush money scandal and says he is being targeted


Unique- Michael Avenatti, “Once Upon a Time”most dangerous enemy“Donald Trump, whom liberals had hoped would topple his presidency, thinks the hush-money case against him in New York is flawed, politically motivated and a broadly undemocratic effort to wrest 2024 from voters. Is part of.

And to prove his point, consider the source, Avenatti points out. fox news digital In a phone interview from federal prison.

“I definitely see them as victims of the system,” he said. “And that’s something I never thought I’d say. So if Michael Avenatti is coming to his defense, and I was one of his staunchest opponents for a very significant amount of time, that should tell people something. Needed.”

Former lawyer disgraced for stormy danielsThe man who once flirted with the White House man before pleading guilty to multiple criminal counts believes the four separate criminal cases Trump faces when he runs for president in 2024 are ” are “complete exaggerations” and an attempt to prevent the American people from having their say. That and President Biden.

Jailed lawyer Michael Avenatti does surprise interview with MSNBC on Trump hush money case

Michael Avenatti told Fox News Digital that he thought politically motivated prosecutors were trying to take the decision about the 2024 election out of the hands of voters. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

“You’ve got a group of individuals in the United States who have decided that they know better who should be the next president, and they’ve decided that they don’t want to leave this, to quote, the little guy, close. Quote,” he said of the various cases against Trump. “So they’re going to take matters into their own hands to stop those people from being heard, and I’m very upset and disappointed by that.”

If you believe in democracy, he says, “this should be settled at the ballot box.” Trump is also accused of interference in the Georgia election, interference in the federal election and misuse of classified documents.

“There’s no doubt that these prosecutors are trying to make a name for themselves. Every one of them wants to be governor or president or both at some point,” Avenatti said, dropping the name. Fanny Willis As a grandstander in his eyes in Georgia. “I mean, it’s ridiculous. And the fact that so many people on the left agree with this as defendant Donald Trump really makes me sick to my stomach.”

Avenatti, an inmate at the minimum-security Terminal Island federal prison in California, has been in contact with the Trump defense team about possibly testifying in the New York case and says he will tell the truth if called to the stand. A source close to Trump’s legal team confirmed those conversations to Fox News Digital.

Trump’s historic trial Started last week, where he was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. The case revolves around allegations that he improperly paid former lawyer Michael Cohen $130,000 in 2016 to keep porn star Stormy Daniels quiet about her alleged affair with Trump, which Trump denies.

“If the defendant had been anyone other than Donald Trump, this old case would not be being brought now,” Avenatti told Fox News Digital. “They’ve certainly been targeted… There’s no doubt that these prosecutors are trying to make a name for themselves.”

Michael Avenatti faces tough prison sentence for being Trump’s ‘most dangerous enemy’

Michael Avenatti spoke to Fox News Digital from his jail in California.

Trump is the first former president to face criminal charges, and he has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in the case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat.political persecution.” The alleged crime in this case is not paying the money quietly, but rather that Trump knowingly spent far more than the legal limit on the campaign trail, which was not properly reported.

When Avenatti took on Daniels as a client in 2018, he burst onto the national scene; She sued Trump to try to overturn the nondisclosure agreement she signed about the alleged affair. That year, Avenatti became a frequent cable news presence, doing hundreds of interviews and constantly mocking Trump on social media.

He repeatedly predicted that Trump would not complete his first term in office, and he and Daniels became a media star, at one point posing for a Vogue photo shoot. Avenatti served as guest co-host of ABC’s “The View”, interviewed with Stephen Colbert and Bill Maher, and considered seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

But as the veteran litigator became nationally famous, his life collapsed in a sea of ​​scandal and criminal charges starting in 2019. he is serving now 19 years in jail For a variety of financial crimes, including trying to extort $25 million from Nike, stealing millions from multiple clients, preventing the IRS from collecting taxes, and stealing $300,000 from an advance book from Daniels.

Various prosecutors have described Avenatti as a “serial fraudster” and a “corrupt lawyer who claimed he was fighting for the little guy.”

Former President Donald Trump waits for the second day of jury selection proceedings to begin in Manhattan criminal court

Former President Donald Trump waits for the start of the second day of jury selection proceedings in Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 in New York. Donald Trump returned to the courtroom Tuesday as judges worked to find a panel of jurors who will decide whether the former president is guilty of criminal charges stemming from his cover-up of a sex scandal during the 2016 campaign. Was accused of falsifying business records. (AP Photo/Mary Altafer, Pool)

To say that Daniels and her former lawyer have soured on each other since their 2018 partnership and public praise of each other would be an understatement. Daniel said He used his powers for “evil” and she never trusted him, only hiring him because he was the only lawyer who would take an adult film star’s case.

Avenatti, in turn, told Fox News Digital that Daniels had fabricated several aspects of her claims surrounding secret payments from the Trump campaign. In an affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital, which he wrote but never filed with the court in 2023 — the matter was related to Trump’s representation by a different lawyer — he described Daniels as erratic, temperamental and unstable.

“If Stormy Daniels stood with her notarized tongue on a stack of Bibles in a convent and claimed the Earth is round, I wouldn’t believe it,” he said, claiming he hired her as a client in 2019. Had left. Reverse.

Daniels’ attorney Clark Brewster said in a statement that Avenatti was hardly a reliable source, pointing to his imprisonment for stealing from his own clients.

Trump calls hush money trial an ‘attack on America’ as case officially begins

“Mr. Avenatti’s representation was terminated by Ms. Daniels after she consulted with me and I discovered the forgery of his name and the embezzlement of his funds,” he told Fox News Digital. “Before terminating Mr. Avenatti’s services he publicly commended Ms. Daniel for her courage, honesty and persistence. She is currently a three-time convicted felon for acts of fraud, repeated dishonesty and extortion. Standing in. His recent desperate attempts to shout some relevancy from his prison house are truly pathetic.”

Stormy Daniels and Michael Avenatti during a press conference.

Stormy Daniels was aggressively represented by Michael Avenatti in 2018, but their working relationship rapidly deteriorated. Avenatti was later convicted of stealing $300,000 from his book advance. (AP Photo/Mary Altafer, File)

When asked what compelled him to come forward with his recent media interviews, Avenatti claimed that he had witnessed firsthand the unfairness of “the system” – he said in another recent interview that his crimes His own harsh punishment was due to him being an enemy of Trump. Although he said that he does not meet face to face with Trump on any issue, it does not mean that he is not entitled to due process and he criticized it. gag order Against Trump in New York by Judge Juan Merchan.

Click here to get the Fox News app

“I know what it’s like when the government comes for you,” he told Fox News Digital. “No matter how smart you are or how many resources you have, there’s little or no hope of you prevailing, even if you’re a former president of the United States. And I think that’s what’s happening right now with Trump. That’s wrong, and that’s offensive. And that’s more important to me than whether I agree with someone’s political views or whether they’re a Republican or a Democrat.”


Comments

No comments yet. Why don’t you start the discussion?

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *