Stormy Daniels’ Ex-Attorney Accuses Key Trump Trial Witness of Lying

Attorney Michael Avenatti arrives at federal court in Santa Ana, Calif., on April 1, 2019. Jae C. Hong/AP Photo

A former lawyer for Stormy Daniels on Thursday accused a key witness in President Donald Trump’s so-called “hush money” trial of lying.

Michael Avenatti, who represented Ms. Daniels against President Trump before he was sentenced to 19 years in prison on various charges, targeted lawyer Keith Davidson in a post on social media, claiming that he tried to extort the former president along with Ms. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

“Keith Davidson is lying. After I confronted her [with] her own text [messages], Daniels admitted to me in early 2019 that she [and] Davidson had extorted Trump in Oct. 2016 - it was a shakedown. This was one of the many reasons I fired her as a client in Feb. 2019,” Mr. Avenatti wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday afternoon.

It’s not clear how Mr. Avenatti, who is currently incarcerated in a California prison, was able to write and send the post. It’s also unclear what Mr. Avenatti was specifically referring to when accusing Mr. Davidson of lying.

Mr. Davidson has not publicly responded to the claim. The Epoch Times contacted his office for comment.

In a court appearance on Thursday, Mr. Davidson provided his version of the events surrounding the payment that President Trump allegedly made to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who then paid Ms. Daniels in a bid to prevent her from speaking about an alleged affair in 2006. The former president categorically denies the affair ever took place, and he’s pleaded not guilty in the case.

Mr. Davidson is the lawyer who negotiated the $130,000 payment that was sent to Ms. Daniels. At one point, prosecutors and defense attorneys had noted in court that at the time of an April 2018 conversation with Mr. Cohen, Ms. Daniels was being represented by Mr. Avenatti.

Mr. Davidson then agreed with a statement that Mr. Avenatti was attempting to “drive a wedge” between him and her publicist, Gina Rodriguez.

In 2022, Mr. Avenatti was sentenced to a lengthy prison term and ordered to pay millions in fines after he was convicted of embezzling millions from four clients as well as obstruction. He pleaded guilty earlier that year to four counts of wire fraud for each client and one count of obstruction.

A one-time foe of President Trump, Mr. Avenatti has said that he would be willing to testify in the case and also said that the presiding judge’s gag order of the former president is unfair and unconstitutional.

“I’d be more than happy to testify, I don’t know that I will be called to testify, but I have been in touch with Trump’s defense for the better part of [a] year,” he told the New York Post last month, days after the jury-selection portion of the trial stated.

Before he was convicted and sentenced on federal crimes, Mr. Avenatti was a vocal critic of President Trump and called for his indictment in 2018. But he’s recently been critical of the Trump court proceedings and his former client, Ms. Daniels.

“There’s no question [the trial] is politically motivated because they’re concerned that he may be reelected,” he said. “If the defendant was anyone other than Donald Trump, this case would not have been brought at this time, and for the government to attempt to bring this case and convict him in an effort to prevent tens of millions of people from voting for him, I think it’s just flat out wrong, and atrocious.”

Last month, the former president publicly thanked Mr. Avenatti “for revealing the truth about two sleaze bags who have, with their lies and misrepresentations, cost our Country dearly,” including a screenshot on social media from the former lawyer about the gag order being unfair.

He also claimed that Ms. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is “is going to say whatever she believes is going to assist Stormy Daniels and putting more money in her pocket,” adding that if her ”lips are moving, she’s lying for money.”

In response to his criticism, Ms. Clifford told the Post that he’s a “lunatic” who defrauded his clients. “I was about to say that I also wish I’d never met him but I’m actually glad because I’m the one that helped convict him so he couldn’t steal from even more unsuspecting clients,” she said at the time.

If convicted, President Trump could face up to four years in prison. He would almost certainly appeal any conviction. In all, he faces four criminal cases, but it’s not clear whether any others will reach trial before the November election. Appeals and legal wrangling have caused delays in the other three cases.

And earlier this week, prosecutors asked for President Trump to be held in contempt over more comments he made about the trial. Earlier this week, the judge fined the former president $9,000 for comments he made about several witnesses, including Mr. Cohen.