Professional thorn in Trump’s side Michael Avenatti, who has been representing adult film star Stormy Daniels since it was revealed that her former lawyer was a cohort of Team Trump, appeared on MSNBC’s The Beat with Ari Melber on Friday, and after a lengthy discussion of the incriminating tapes that Michael Cohen made of his former boss talking about his illegal activities, finally got down to what Ari clearly wanted to talk about.
Many have speculated that since Cohen retained Lanny Davis, who served as counsel to President Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial, he has been sending a steady message to Donald Trump that he is now working with the “other side.” That seems like a fair assessment, given Davis’ public statements since he became Cohen’s lawyer, especially in rebuking Trump’s own counsel, Rudy Giuliani, in his sometimes ridiculous assertions of “exculpatory evidence” that looks like the opposite for the President.
But what kind of message would it send to Trump if Cohen were to add someone to his legal team who has already had access to much of the actual evidence of the cases pending regarding Trump and Cohen, who has already proven to be no friend to the President? Say, Michael Avenatti himself?
If he was prepared to do the right thing and come clean, and basically turn state’s evidence, I would absolutely consider it, in an effort to disclose information and bring the truth to the American people.”
That’s a big statement, but it seems like a bit of a fantasy perhaps to those who would love to see this happen — what are the odds of Avenatti and Cohen even meeting to discuss it, outside of the court system they’re currently on opposite sides of?
I recently had occasion, in the last few days, by sheer happenstance to run into Michael Cohen at a restaurant that I’ve been going to for 15 years in New York, and by sheer happenstance, we happened to be seated about six feet apart from one another. And during that run-in, Michael Cohen and I actually had a chance to converse, and we had a, what I’ll describe as a ‘very positive meeting.’ I came away from that meeting very encouraged by ultimately how all of this may work out. We’re gonna see what happens in the coming days.”
It’s hard to imagine there are many observers of this entire affair who would not love to see what kind of union could be produced in a court case featuring a bulldog lawyer like Avenatti, and a client who knows where all the bones are buried.
Watch the exchange here:
Featured image via screen capture
