Stormy Daniels's Lawyer Considers Defamation Suit Against Trump
The lawyer representing the adult film star Stormy Daniels is considering adding to his caseload: Michael Avenatti said Thursday he would likely file a defamation suit against President Trump for accusing Daniels of a "total con job."
"It's an outrage that he can't control himself," Avenatti said in an interview on Cheddar. "And it's an outrage that he's now lying to the American people about my client."
On Wednesday night, Trump [tweeted](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/986547093610299392) that Daniels was "playing the Fake News Media for Fools," by releasing a sketch of the man she said threatened her in a Las Vegas parking lot in 2011.
The defamation case, should Avenatti choose to file it against the president, would be in addition to the suit he said he already filed against Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.
Cohen is the one who negotiated a non-disclosure agreement with Daniels to bar her from talking about a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump in 2006.
Avenatti is suing to lift the non-disclosure agreement his client signed in 2016, and he will fight a motion in court on Friday that would delay his client's suit.
Cohen attracted the interest of the special counsel, Robert Mueller, who is looking into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia. And the FBI raided Cohen's office and hotel room. The acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York said the raid was intended to gather evidence of alleged crimes concerning Cohen's business transactions.
"I think the likelihood of him being indicted is very, very high. Extremely high. Close to 100 percent," said Avenatti, without offering any evidence to support his certainty. "I think when that happens he will roll on the president."
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/michael-avenatti-cohen-will-roll-on-the-president).
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