Attorney Michael Avenatti said Thursday there is a good chance he will get a deposition from President Trump on details regarding payments his campaign made to then-personal lawyer Michael Cohen and porn star Stormy Daniels, but warned he expects Trump might plead the Fifth Amendment and refuse to answer questions.
“I’m highly confident that we’re going to get a deposition of Michael Cohen. I think that’s almost a certainty — 100 percent. I also believe there’s a significant likelihood we’re going to follow that up with a deposition of the president,” Avenatti told MSNBC host Don Lemon late Thursday.
“We’re going to seek a deposition of him as quickly as possible. We want to get his answers under oath and at this rate, Don, it would not surprise me if he took the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination in a deposition by me,” he added. “I think it would be the first time in history that a sitting president will have pled the Fifth Amendment in response to questions about his potential criminal conduct.”
[Related: Avenatti spikes the football after Michael Cohen pleads guilty]
Avenatti, whose client’s real name is Stephanie Clifford, said his case had been delayed because of a stay that was issued by Cohen’s lawyers that had prevented his case from going forward until after the other. He expects that suspension to end Sept. 10.
His office has already filed a motion to depose Cohen and Trump. He added that Cohen’s guilty pleas give him a leg up because they prove questionable action took place surrounding Clifford’s being paid off to stay silent.
Clifford’s lawyer is asking for information on what Trump knew about the payment to her, what communications took place between Trump and Cohen about the payment, and what Trump and Cohen may have done to cover up the existence of the nondisclosure agreement she signed in 2016 to prevent her from discussing a sexual relationship she claims to have had a decade earlier with Trump.
[Also read: Stormy Daniels speaks out about Cohen guilty plea: Michael Avenatti and I are ‘vindicated’]
