The tough-tweeting attorney for the most famous porn star in the world will not run for president, even though he has, apparently, patched things up with the blonde bombshell of the blue movie industry.
Michael Avenatti, whom police arrested just before Thanksgiving on suspicion of domestic violence, has ruled out a run for the Oval Office.
Avenatti tweeted a statement that said his family persuaded him not to run, but did not mention his myriad personal and professional troubles — not least the claims of his young girlfriend, who told a judge she had to flee the lawyer’s apartment when he flew into a violent rage.
The Statement
Avenatti’s turnabout on running against Donald Trump, whom he considers a personal as well as political enemy, was more about Trump and his fellow Democrats than Avenatti himself.
“After consultation with my family and at their request, I have decided not to seek the presidency of the United States in 2020,” he wrote. “I do not make this decision lightly — I make it out of respect for my family. But for their concerns, I would run.”
That’s debatable, but in any event, Avenatti will continue to represent Daniels, who just last week said the lawyer was acting on her behalf and spending her money without permission. But his feud with the porn star is, apparently, over.
Avenatti promised total war against Trump, and wrote that he “will not rest until Trump is removed from office, and our republic and its values are restored.”
“I will also continue with my nearly 20 years of speaking truth to power and representing those who need an advocate against the powerful,” including porn stars who have consensual affairs with powerful businessmen who later become president.
Avenatti isn’t happy about the Democratic field in 2020. “I remain concerned that the Democratic party will move toward nominating an individual who might make an exceptional president but has no chance of actually beating Donald Trump,” he wrote of the possible candidates. “The party must immediately recognize that many of the likely candidates are not battle-tested and have no real chance at winning. We will not prevail in 2020 without a fighter. I remain hopeful the party finds one.”
Among the possibilities are three candidates in their sunset years: Senator Bernie Sanders, 77, former Vice President Joe Biden, 76, and Senator Elizabeth Warren, 69. The younger candidates include failed Senate contender Beto O’Rourke, 46, and Senator Kamala Harris, 54.
Arrest, Eviction, Tax Troubles
Avenatti’s chance to run against Trump likely went up in smoke when police collared him on suspicion of felony domestic violence.
The 47-year-old porn lawyer’s much-younger main squeeze, an unknown 24-year-old blonde actress, claimed in court papers that Avenatti got rough and that she had to flee his apartment. The judge issued the restraining order she requested. The Los Angeles County District Attorney declined to file a felony charge and handed the case to the city’s prosecutor for investigation as a misdemeanor. Avenatti denied the charge.
Avenatti has other troubles, too. His law firm was evicted from its luxurious digs, and a former associate dinged him with a $4.85 million judgment for back pay. His second wife, who detailed his jet-setting lifestyle in divorce papers, landed $215,000 in legal fees and $156,379 in monthly alimony and child support.
If all that’s not enough, Avenatti has unfinished business with the Senate Judiciary Committee.
During the confirmation hearings of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Avenatti unwisely submitted sworn statements from two women who claimed Kavanaugh drugged women to gang rape them.
The women retracted those claims, which prompted committee chairman Chuck Grassley to ask the FBI to investigate “materially false” statements from Avenatti and his clients.
Daniels v. Avenatti?
As far as Stormy Daniels goes, the rough seas in her relationship with the porn lawyer have apparently subsided.
Last week, she wrote that Avenatti had refused to provide an accounting of funds raised on her behalf, and that he filed a defamation lawsuit against Trump without her permission.
Now, however, pair has made up, she tweeted: “Pleased that Michael and I have sorted s**t out and we know the accounting is on the up and up. We are going to kick a** together on two coasts tomorrow.”
Daniels was referring to Avenatti’s appearing in court on her behalf on Monday in two lawsuits involving the president. One involved her former attorney. The other involved the legal fees she must pay Trump because of her failed defamation claim.
Photo: AP Images
