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).
Going into election day on Tuesday, many of us had an inkling it might not be a great day for Democrats. History tells us the president's party tends to lose congressional seats, governorships and state legislature seats in off-year and midterm elections. Tuesday turned out to be a big wake-up call for democrats. Not only did Terry McAuliffe lose in the Virginia governor's race, Gov. Phil Murphy won re-election by an incredibly slim margin. Both races saw continued Democratic losses in rural areas and a shift of suburban voters back to the GOP. Liz Landers, chief political correspondent at Vice News, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
Week one of UN climate summit is coming to an end, world leaders made a number of promises to save the planet. President Biden attended the first two days of the meeting.
Alan Neuhauser, vice president of Silverline Communications, joined Cheddar Politics to talk more about the pledges that came out from the summit and their significance.
It's been a busy week for the Supreme Court. It heard arguments on three of the most watched cases in the docket for this term. The court heard arguments in two cases challenging the Texas abortion law on Monday - one filed by abortion providers and the other by the justice department. Instead of weighing in on the constitutionality of the matter itself, justices focused on the unusual structure of the law that enables citizens to enforce the law, not the state government.
On Wednesday, the court heard arguments in the biggest Second Amendment case in more than a decade. The dispute is over a New York gun law that requires people seeking a license to carry a handgun in public to show a "proper cause." The challengers in this case claim the law inhibits their constitutional Second Amendment rights.
Amy Howe, co-founder of SCOTUSBlog, joined Cheddar Politics to break the cases down.
This is the first installment of Cheddar Changemakers, where we spotlight young activists making a difference in the world and speaking up on issues regarding mental health, voting, and climate change.
Republicans are considered, and often act like, the party opposed to action on climate change. They've made a point of fighting even modest regulations on businesses related to stemming the worst effects of climate change. But Republicans aren't a monolith on climate change, and our next guest reminds us that "conservation" and "conservative" have the same word root.
Quill Robinson, VP of government affairs at the American Conservation Coalition, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
The mayor of Portland, Oregon, Ted Wheeler joined Cheddar News Wrap to discuss his plans to get an increase in the city's police budget for more personnel, changes to public safety response, and more body cameras. The Democratic mayor addressed the growth in violent crimes amid the pandemic, but noted the need for officers who take their roles seriously. We want officers who understand that policing is an important responsibility, it's a high calling," he said. "We also want a police bureau that is accountable and responsible to the public it serves."
More American tech companies continue to pull their businesses out of China as the Communist Party cracks down on firms — both foreign and domestic. Yahoo and Fortnite have become the latest companies to withdraw from the country, and the withdrawals come just days after Microsoft announced it would take LinkedIn offline. Shehzad Qazi, managing director at China Beige Book International, joined Cheddar to provide some insight into how the crackdowns in China would also impact the tech companies at home in the United States.
A new report out by the Center for Countering Digital Hate shows how just ten publishers are responsible for the bulk of climate change misinformation on social media--and companies like Facebook and Google are making money off them. Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, joined Cheddar to discuss.
'The Good Liars' are Jason Selvig and Davram Stiefler, a comedy duo that's been shaking up the political world for years. They're out with a new mockumentary, 'The Supporters,' following the 2020 election. Jason Selvig & Davram Stiefler, Stunt Comedians and creators of 'The Good Liars' joined Cheddar News to discuss.
