The woman who has accused lawyer and 2020 Democratic hopeful Michael Avenatti of domestic abuse is a 20-something Estonian actress who has appeared in the movies “Sargasso,” “Crypto,” and “Forgetting Sandy Glass,” and has had uncredited roles in “Ocean’s 8” and “How to be Single.”
Mareli Miniutti filed a petition seeking a restraining order against Avenatti — the attorney who represents porn star Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against President Trump — in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Monday.
The pair had reportedly been dating since October 2017 and broke up on the night Miniutti alleges Avenatti, 47, attacked her. The gossip website TMZ originally reported that it was his estranged wife who filed the report, but then, the website retracted the report and said it was an unnamed woman.
It was then reported that it was Miniutti who filed the petition against Avenatti Monday night in the Santa Monica courthouse. Miniutti put her Instagram page on private Monday night. The biography for that page reads, “don’t confuse Instagram for real life.” The restraining order was granted, and a hearing is set for Dec. 10.
Miniutti used to live in New York. A January 2018 case against her brought by Lenox Hill Hospital in New York County Civil Court resulted in a judgment of $1,576 against her. Avenatti is divorced from his first wife and separated from his second. He has two children.
The Blast reported that Miniutti claimed in a declaration that Avenatti dragged her on an apartment floor while calling her an “ungrateful fucking bitch.” He then began forcefully hitting her in the face with pillows from the bed.
Miniutti claimed she had been living with him since January, and on Nov. 13, they got into an argument over money. She stated Avenatti exclaimed, “Do not disrespect me,” and then told her she could not sleep in his house that night. She says he grabbed the “wrist of my right arm” and “attempted to pull me out of bed.”
She claimed she tried texting a friend for help but claims Avenatti grabbed the cellphone. The actress says he remained very close to her, and she was afraid for her safety.
Avenatti then allegedly grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of bed, on the floor, through the apartment, and out the front door into the hallway. Miniutti stated she was injured while being dragged and provided pictures of her alleged injuries in her court filing. The actress said she was in her underwear and also suffered scratches to her back. Miniutti said she began ringing a neighbor’s doorbell until Avenatti allegedly ran out and pulled her back into his apartment.
Miniutti said she then put on pants and ran out of the apartment to an elevator. Avenatti allegedly followed her and begged: “Don’t do this Mareli, don’t involve them.” The actress said she told security about the alleged attack and had a friend pick her up for the night. At her friend’s house, the actress says she noticed red marks on her body and called police to report the incident.
Avenatti has threatened to sue TMZ for accusing his estranged wife, Lisa, of being the accuser. Both of Avenatti’s former wives have said in statements that he was never physically abusive during their relationships.
“I have never struck a woman. I never will strike a woman. I have been an advocate for women’s rights my entire career and I’m gonna continue to be an advocate. I am not going to be intimidated from stopping what I am doing,” Avenatti said in a statement last week following his arrest and release on bond.
“I look forward to a full clearing of my name and disclosure of all of the facts. I have NEVER abused a woman or committed domestic violence against anyone. Any claim to the contrary is completely bogus and fabricated. I am a target. And I will be exonerated,” tweeted Avenatti Monday night.
Later on Monday, he tweeted: “There is nothing more powerful than video evidence. NOTHING! I will be fully exonerated.”
Avenatti, who has floated his candidacy for the 2020 presidential election, could lose his most valuable client should the Miniutti allegations be true. Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, told the Oxford Student Union on Friday that she will seek new representation if the allegations are true.
“Right now, they are just allegations, and I’m going to reserve judgment, and I hope that everyone does, because, trust me, I know what it feels like to be on the other end of that. Until all the details are discovered. As a matter of fact, some of the stuff that was already on TMZ has turned out to be completely false,” she said.
On Tuesday afternoon, Avenatti unleashed a string of tweets about the TMZ story, calling it “completely bogus” and wondering why they have not retracted it and issued an apology despite having “conclusive evidence” that it is “completely false.”
“When the truth and the facts are fully disclosed, including the security camera footage, I will be vindicated and a lot of people and news organizations are going to owe me an apology as well as money. Completely bogus. Let’s start with TMZ’s reporting from last week,” he said in one Tuesday afternoon tweet.
He added: “@tmz cannot even reconcile their story from last week with their story from today. They can’t have it both ways. Their conduct is disgusting and they need to rectify it immediately. We demand a retraction and an apology. Now.”
In addition to the TMZ story and the restraining order, Avenatti is facing possible criminal charges from the Justice Department.
Last month, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley referred Avenatti and his client, Julie Swetnick, to the Justice Department for a potential criminal investigation regarding allegations over giving false statements to Congress about now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
In a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray and then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Grassley wrote in a letter: “I am writing to refer Mr. Michael Avenatti and Ms. Julie Swetnick for investigation of potential … materially false statements they made to the Committee during the course of the Committee’s investigation” in September.
Avenatti told CNN that the referral is “completely baseless and political.” “I look forward to a thorough investigation into Judge Kavanaugh,” Avenatti said. “We have all waited long enough.”
Avenatti also tweeted criticism aimed Grassley, R-Iowa. “It is ironic that Senator Grassley now is interested in investigations,” Avenatti wrote on Twitter. “He didn’t care when it came to putting a man on the SCOTUS for life. We welcome the investigation as now we can finally get to the bottom of Judge Kavanaugh’s lies and conduct. Let the truth be known.”
