NEW YORK _ Michael Avenatti, whose courtroom clashes spawned an array of legal woes for Donald Trump this year, said talks with lawyers representing the president's fixer, Michael Cohen, have broken off.
The California lawyer said on July 20 that he'd be open to representing Cohen, who is under investigation by prosecutors in Manhattan. Cohen had helped arrange a $130,000 hush payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, whom Avenatti represents. Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, sued to get out of the contract and also sued Trump and Cohen for defamation, claiming they damaged her reputation when they said she lied.
Cohen "isn't prepared to do the right thing," Avenatti said Thursday in an interview on Bloomberg Television. He "can't continue to ride the fence."
Avenatti said he wants Cohen to disclose what he knows about the hush payment, where the money came from and if anyone else was paid to keep quiet. Clifford says she was paid not to discuss a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006.
At least three other women also received non-disclosure payments ahead of the 2016 election, Avenatti said. He said it's up to the women to decide whether to come forward with the allegations publicly, and so far they haven't.
Avenatti noted that there have been no denials from Cohen's lawyer Lanny Davis, Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani, or Trump himself since he first made the claim on July 27.
The disclosure of Clifford's hush payment, arranged by Cohen through a company he set up to facilitate the transaction, raised Avenatti's profile. Avenatti has released additional details about the Cohen entity, including millions of dollars in payments from companies including AT&T Inc. and Novartis AG.
The payments have come under scrutiny amid an ongoing criminal probe into Cohen following an April raid by the FBI on the lawyer's home, office and hotel room. Cohen hasn't been charged with wrongdoing.
Giuliani said 183 audio recordings were seized in the raid, and Avenatti has called for publication of the files. Trump waived privilege over a handful of the recordings, including one recording in which Trump is heard advising Cohen to pay cash for another hush agreement. Cohen can be heard demurring.
Avenatti has also found himself embroiled in former Playboy model Shera Bechard's lawsuit against GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy over a $1.6 million hush agreement she signed to stay silent about her affair and pregnancy with the married Republican. Bechard accused Avenatti of undermining the nondisclosure agreement by revealing its details on Twitter.
When the deal was struck last year, Bechard was being represented by Keith Davidson, the same lawyer who represented Clifford when she struck her hush agreement with Trump in 2016. Broidy and Trump were represented by Cohen.
