The disgraced attorney who once represented adult film star Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against then-President Donald Trump appears to have had a big change of heart when it comes to the former president’s current ‘hush money’ case involving Daniels.
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Michael Avenatti made a surprise appearance on MSNBC for an interview from prison. During the interview with host Ari Melber, he commented on the New York hush-money case, describing it as “stale.”
“I think what I’m about to say is going to surprise a lot of people and that is that, you know, I think this is the wrong case at the wrong time, Ari. I think that the case is, in many ways, stale at this juncture,” Avenatti said, speaking on the phone from Terminal Island Prison in California, Fox News reported.
“You’re talking about conduct that occurred some eight years ago. I think the fact that it’s occurring in state court in New York is a mistake,” he went on. “And I think that when you are going to potentially deprive tens of millions of Americans of their choice for the presidency of the United States, whether we agree with those folks or not or regardless of what we may think of Donald Trump, I think it’s a mistake to do it based on a case of this nature.”
Melber, appearing taken aback by Avenatti’s reply, asked whether the former attorney for Daniels had been in communication with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Avenatti declined to confirm whether he had been in contact with Bragg but asserted that the case faced significant challenges. Still, he argued that Trump wouldn’t receive a fair trial in New York and suggested that he would probably be convicted.
“I don’t think he can get a fair trial in New York. And to the people who claim that in fact he can get a fair trial in New York with a New York jury, I would ask them if they were to go to sleep tonight and wake up tomorrow and found out that the case had been moved to Mississippi or Alabama, would they still think the trial was going to be fair? I think if they were being honest, they would answer no,” Avenatti said.
In 2022, Avenatti was sentenced to 14 years in prison for defrauding four former clients of millions of dollars and attempting to obstruct the IRS from collecting payroll taxes from a coffee shop he owned.
“He was also already serving a five-year prison sentence for stealing $300,000 from Daniels and attempting to extort footwear manufacturer Nike out of $25 million,” Fox News added.
“I don’t think that he can get a fair trial in New York,” Avenatti said of Trump. “And to the people who claim that, in fact, he can get a fair trial in New York with a New York jury, I would ask them if they were to sleep — go to sleep tonight and wake up tomorrow and find out that the case had been moved to Mississippi or Alabama, would they still think that the trial was going to be fair?
“And I think, if they were being honest, they would answer no,” he added.