Michael Avenatti Withdraws Bid To Appear Before Judge in Cohen Probe
Stormy Daniels’s attorney pulls back motion to participate in proceedings centered on Trump lawyer Michael Cohen
Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for adult-film actress Stephanie Clifford, speaking outside the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday. PHOTO: DON EMMERT/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for former adult-film actress Stephanie Clifford, withdrew a bid to participate in proceedings related to the criminal investigation into President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, shortly after other lawyers and a federal judge raised concerns in court about his behavior in the matter.
Mr Avenatti withdrew his motion after U.S. District Judge Kimba M. Wood issued a stern warning, saying if she allowed him to participate in the case involving Michael Cohen, Mr. Avenatti would have to change his conduct and stop what she called his “publicity tour.”
“You will not be permitted to use this court as a platform for anything,” Judge Wood said, adding that he wouldn’t be allowed to publicize private documents or to share his views of Mr. Cohen’s guilt—“which you do,” she said.
The hearing in Manhattan federal court Wednesday was partly focused on whether Mr. Avenatti could be admitted to practice in New York on behalf of Ms. Clifford, professionally known as Stormy Daniels. Mr. Avenatti had sought to be heard in the case because he believes materials related to his client may have been swept up in a raid by federal agents last month on Mr. Cohen’s premises.
About an hour after the hearing, Mr. Avenatti withdrew his motion in a court filing, without explanation. The filing said the motion would be “refiled, if necessary, at a later time.”
The bid to be admitted, known as a pro hac vice motion, is related to a second motion Mr. Avenatti previously filed to formally intervene as a party in the case. That motion has been on hold since last month.
Ms. Clifford received a $130,000 payment from Mr. Cohen just before the 2016 election to keep her from discussing what she alleged was a past sexual encounter with Mr. Trump. Mr. Cohen and White House representatives have denied any sexual encounter took place between Mr. Trump and Ms. Clifford.
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Motions such as Mr. Avenatti’s are routinely granted in federal court and rarely opposed. But in Wednesday’s hearing, Stephen Ryan, a lawyer for Mr. Cohen, said he had “never seen an attorney conduct himself in the manner Mr. Avenatti has,” citing Mr. Avenatti’s outsize media presence and his “intentional, malicious and prejudicial” release earlier this month of a document detailing bank transactions by Mr. Cohen.
In court on Wednesday, Mr. Avenatti denied any improper behavior, saying Mr. Ryan’s accusations were “without any evidentiary basis.” Mr. Avenatti said he hasn’t been contacted by law enforcement or other authorities about the document. The Treasury Department’s inspector general has opened an investigation into the possible leak of those records.
Mr. Avenatti had earlier argued to participate in the case, citing alleged communications pertaining to Ms. Clifford. In court, he said a media outlet had contacted him about an audio recording between Mr. Cohen and Ms. Clifford’s former lawyer, Keith Davidson, that contained “attorney-client information” about Ms. Clifford, suggesting that somebody associated with Mr. Cohen had leaked it to the press.
Mr. Ryan said if any such recording existed, it would be kept “under lock and key.”
In a brief press conference outside the courthouse, Mr. Avenatti demanded that Mr. Cohen’s lawyers release any audio recordings made by Mr. Cohen.
Mr. Ryan and Joanna Hendon, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, also raised questions about Mr. Avenatti’s law practice, citing a $10 million judgment issued by a federal bankruptcy judge against the California-based law firm Eagan Avenatti LLP after finding it “acted with malice, oppression and fraud.”
In an affidavit filed this week, Mr. Avenatti said Eagan Avenatti has never represented Ms. Clifford.
Ms. Hendon countered that assertion in open court, presenting emails that showed lawyers from that firm communicating with Mr. Trump’s lawyers, on Ms. Clifford’s behalf, in pending litigation Ms. Clifford has brought against the president.
“He was not straightforward with the court,” Ms. Hendon said. “When someone, especially a lawyer, is prepared to be…misleading with the court on the tiniest of matters,” it raises questions about more serious matters, Ms. Hendon said.
Throughout the hearing, Mr. Cohen sat flanked by lawyers, occasionally shaking his head when Mr. Avenatti spoke. The Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office has said it is investigating Mr. Cohen for his personal business dealings.
The investigation was referred to the office by special counsel Robert Mueller, who leads a probe into whether Mr. Trump’s associates colluded with Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election. Mr. Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion, and Moscow has denied meddling in the election.
Lawyers for Mr. Cohen have until June 15 to complete their review of the materials seized by the government in the April raid and designate which communications they see as protected by attorney-client privilege. Judge Wood has appointed a special master to oversee that review and decide whether those communications can be seen by government investigators.
Mr. Cohen’s lawyers say they have received 3.7 million files from the government. Prosecutors said they have given copies of nearly everything they seized from Mr. Cohen to his lawyers, but are still working to produce the contents of a shredding machine and two BlackBerry phones.
