President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen should disclose any relevant information he has on his former client if he “truly” loves the U.S., Stormy Daniels’ attorney said on Monday.
“Mr. Cohen is trying to get Trump to pay his legal bills & is playing games,” Michael Avenatti wrote on Twitter of Trump’s longtime personal lawyer. “If he has info & truly loves this country then he needs to come forward NOW. There is nothing stopping him. If not, it will be obvious he lied to the public in an effort to paint himself as a good guy.”
[Related: Trump allies split on whether he should help with Michael Cohen’s legal fees]
Mr. Cohen is trying to get Trump to pay his legal bills & is playing games. If he has info & truly loves this country then he needs to come forward NOW. There is nothing stopping him. If not, it will be obvious he lied to the public in an effort to paint himself as a good guy.
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) July 2, 2018
Cohen, in his first in-depth TV interview since the FBI raided his home, office, and hotel room in April, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Monday that his “first loyalty” was to family and the country. His comments have been widely construed to mean he is preparing to provide federal prosecutors with details regarding his former presidential client.
“To be crystal clear, my wife, my daughter and my son, and this country have my first loyalty,” Trump’s former “fixer” said in excerpts of the interview ABC broadcast Monday.
Cohen is under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York. He has not been charged with a crime, but investigators are probing whether he committed bank and wire fraud. They are also looking into whether Cohen broke any campaign finance laws when he paid Daniels $130,000 just days before the 2016 presidential election in exchange for her silence in relation to an alleged extramarital affair she had with Trump more than a decade ago.
Avenatti is representing Daniels in her lawsuit against Trump before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, in which she is arguing her nondisclosure agreement with the president is invalid because he never signed it. She is also suing Trump and Cohen for defaming her reputation in their defense against her accusations.
