“A federal judge on Friday refused to grant Michael Cohen, President Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, an immediate restraining order against the attorney for adult film actress Stormy Daniels,” Reuters reports.
Cohen Seeks to Gag Avenatti
“Attorney Michael Avenatti’s months-long publicity tour attacking President Trump and Trump attorney Michael Cohen could be brought to an abrupt end soon if a federal judge agrees to a new request for a gag order against the ubiquitous Avenatti,” Politico reports.
“A lawyer for Cohen, Brent Blakely, asked a judge in Los Angeles Thursday to issue an order barring Avenatti from making public statements about the lawsuit Avenatti’s client, porn star Stormy Daniels, filed against Trump and Cohen in March… Blakely said an avalanche of inflammatory public comments by Avenatti—including at least 121 TV appearances and 439 tweets—is tainting the court proceeding.”
Show Starring Avenatti and Scaramucci Is Being Pitched
“A television show featuring Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who is suing President Trump on behalf of a pornographic film actress, and the former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci was pitched to two cable networks in recent weeks,” the New York Times reports.
“The prominent television agent Jay Sures discussed with executives at CNN and MSNBC the concept of a program where the two men would square off.”
Avenatti Says Two More Women Signed Hush Agreements
Michael Avenatti, the attorney for adult film actress Stormy Daniels, told Morning Joe that at least two other women have credibly told him they signed hush agreements with Donald Trump over extramarital affairs.
Said Avenatti: “There’s at least two I think that are on solid ground and as the evidence rolls out over the coming months, disclosures are going to be made that my client was not alone as it relates to these payments.”
Avenatti also confirmed that the payments to the women exceeded the $130,000 paid to his client.
Trump Has No Plan to Counterpunch Michael Avenatti
Daily Beast: “Inside the White House, aides say that anything related to the Stormy Daniels-Michael Cohen saga is purview of outside counsel. At the Republican National Committee, sources say, there is no rapid-response-like operation designed to counter-balance Avenatti’s numerous media appearances. Conservative outlets allied with the president have covered the drama but they have largely avoided doing the type of oppositional digging that they have undertaken on other real and perceived Trump foes. And Republican strategists seem unclear as to whether anyone is gearing up an operation any time soon.”
Said one GOP operative: “No one seems to understand why the RNC, America Rising and other GOP groups aren’t doing even basic political blocking and tackling with Avenatti. He’s essentially gotten a free pass from them.”
