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).

Share:
More In Politics
Why Democrats Losing Hispanic Voters
Chuck Rocha, host of 'Nuestro' podcast and opinion contributor at The New York Times, joins Cheddar News to discuss why Democrats are losing Hispanic voters.
Return-to-Office Mandates Might Be Hurting the Middle Class
More businesses are requiring workers to return to the office, but there is concern that many employees in the middle class, especially women and people of color, need remote work options for reasons including childcare and financial security. Joan Williams, director of the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California, joined Cheddar to discuss why office mandates could be detrimental to the middle class. She noted that while companies claim a return to offices would help foster more collaboration and efficiency, reports show that they are successfully able to do their jobs from home.
California Governor Explores Texas-Like Law to Ban Assault Weapons
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled to allow the controversial Texas abortion law to remain in effect, banning abortion at six weeks and allowing any private citizen to sue a person or doctor aiding or abetting someone seeking an abortion. Outraged at this decision, California Governor Gavin Newsom is working to draft a proposal in line with the law as it relates to guns. Shawn Hubler, California correspondent at the New York Times, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Getting Into the Vaccine Mandate Debate as Google Implements Its Own
Even as tech giant Google implements a vaccination mandate, charging its employees to declare their vaccine status within a time frame or risk dismissal, the federal government is tangled up in the court system trying to impose one of its own. Cindy Cohn, the executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Harry Nelson, founder and managing partner of Nelson Hardiman LLP, joined Cheddar to debate the ethics, efficacy, and legality surrounding the issue. While Cohn noted that she thinks the federal mandate might be legally sound, her organization is also concerned with a separate question of privacy. "At EFF what we're most interested in is the digital surveillance that's going along with some of these attempts to try to track and confirm whether people are vaccinated or not," she said.
Load More