Michael Avenatti took what could only be called a victory lap Thursday after Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani admitted last night that Donald Trump had repaid Michael Cohen for a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
On the set of “Morning Joe” Thursday, Avenatti, who is representing Daniels, said he was confident Trump would not complete his term as president.
“This is not going to end well,” said Avenatti to the cast of “Morning Joe,” who questioned him with baited anticipation. “This president will not serve out this term.”
“These guys are making it up as they go along,” he added. “They are in full panic mode. They don’t know what to do. They are digging the hole deeper and we’re going to get to the bottom of this no matter how long it takes.”
Aside from showing that Trump was not telling the truth when he said that the president never knew about the payment, it remains unclear how the Giuliani revelations change the status quo on the ground for Avenatti or his client, who is suing Trump to be released from an NDA she signed with Cohen a month before the 2016 presidential election. Daniels is also suing Trump and Cohen for defamation.
Daniels said she had a sexual relationship with Trump back in 2006, something the president denies.
On “Hannity” last night, the former New York City mayor seemed to surprise everyone when he casually admitted the payment to Daniels was “funneled” through a law firm and then repaid by Trump.
Hannity himself seemed visibly stunned by the news. Assuming it wasn’t just a flub, the reveal appears to be part of a plan by Giuliani to defend the president against accusations that the payment came from campaign funds, which would be a violation of campaign finance law.
You can watch the key moment from America’s mayor below.
VIDEO: Rudy Giuliani admits that Trump not only knew about the $130,000 payment to @StormyDaniels but repaid the money back to Michael Cohen
"Funneled it through a law firm and the president repaid it" pic.twitter.com/SkMqmVUJrr
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) May 3, 2018