Stormy Daniels's Lawyer: Likelihood of Michael Cohen Being Charged is "Close to 100%"
As federal investigators pore over material seized from President Trump’s personal lawyer, the man representing Stormy Daniels says there is a “substantial amount of evidence” to charge the lawyer, Michael Cohen.
Daniels’s attorney, Michael Avenatti said in an interview with Cheddar he was certain Mr. Cohen committed a crime and that he could charged before the end of the summer.
“I know that for a fact,” Avenatti said, though he didn’t say how he arrived at this certainty.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, alleges she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. She was paid by Cohen to stay quiet about the affair, as part of a non-disclosure agreement she signed in 2016. Avenatti is now helping her challenge that contract.
He said the fact that the FBI got search warrants for Cohen’s office and hotel room was a sign there was sufficient evidence already to implicate Cohen given the level of scrutiny those warrants would have received.
“That was not a decision that was made lightly,” Avenatti said. “There were multiple individuals that had to have been consulted and had to have signed off on that including a federal judge,” he said.
Earlier this week, Avenatti told [CNN](https://twitter.com/AC360/status/984233848602005504) that he was aware of more FBI raids planned “within the next week.”
When asked Thursday on Cheddar how he could know the FBI’s plans, he again declined to say how he got his information.
The FBI agents who raided Cohen’s office were looking for information on potential campaign finance violactions, The [New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/11/us/politics/michael-cohen-trump-access-hollywood.html) reported on Wednesday. Investigators were reportedly gathering details on Cohen’s relationship to the Trump presidential campaign, in which he had no official role, and trying to determine if he was connected to the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape.
The $130,000 that Cohen paid Daniels in 2016 to keep her quiet about her tryst with Trump is a key element of the case, Avenatti said.
If the payment came from Cohen, it could be considered an undisclosed campaign contribution, Avenatti said. If prosecutors find that Trump reimbursed Cohen for that payment, or even knew about it, Avenatti said the president could face conspiracy charges.
“In the event that Michael Cohen were to roll over on the president, that could pose a significant problem for the president and his ability to stay in office,” Avenatti said.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/inside-the-raid-on-michael-cohen-from-the-eyes-of-stormy-daniels-attorney).
Markets opened slightly higher to kick off the final trading week of the year as investors continue to watch the Omicron variant in the U.S. Sean O'Hara, President, Pacer ETFs joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss what drove early market activity.
Carlo and Baker kick off the weirdest week of the year with all the news you missed over the holiday weekend, including calls for the CDC to shorten its isolation window as Omicron sweeps through the country.
Former professional tennis player Patrick McEnroe joined Cheddar to discuss the troubling issues surrounding player Peng Shuai who appeared potentially to have been silenced following her social media post accusing former Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault. Shuai's subsequent disappearance, reappearance, and apparent retraction of the accusation in an interview only added to worries. "When this happened, all of us in the tennis community were very concerned. And, by the way, another thing Peng said in this interview was that she doesn't speak very good English," McEnroe noted. "Well I can assure you, she speaks darn good English, 'cause I spoke to her on many occasions over the last 15 years."
Universities like UCLA, Yale, and Duke have announced they're implementing remote learning amid the COVID omicron variant surge, despite President Biden recommending that K-12 schools should continue in-person education. Jared C. Bass, senior director for Higher Education at American Progress, joined Cheddar to break down what institutions of higher education might be considering differently. "I think some universities are allowing periods of a bit of a respite to allow students to get testing and make sure when they do return back to campus that they're healthy," he noted.
The S&P closed at a record at the major markets ended Thursday's session higher for a third straight day. Adam Coons, Portfolio Manager at Winthrop Capital Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he discusses what has investors feeling jolly before Christmas, and gifts investors with winning buying opportunities entering 2022.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments on President Joe Biden's vaccine mandates for large companies and health care workers on January 7, 2022. The mandates will remain in place until then.
Carlo and Baker cover the heartening news on the Covid front ahead of the holiday, plus President Biden punting student loan repayments again, a new space telescope and Love, Hate, Ate: Christmas Eve Eve Edition!
This year's worldwide semiconductor shortage limited the supply of everything from new cars to smartphones; and now, many in the chip industry expect the shortage to continue deep into 2022, and maybe even 2023. Semiconductor senior research analyst for Robert W. Baird & Co., Tristan Gerra, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
