Michael Avenatti, the former lawyer of adult film actress Stormy Daniels, has recently taken to Twitter from prison to accuse a key witness in the New York hush money trial against former President Donald Trump of perjury. This comes as part of an ongoing trial in which Trump is accused of making a $130,000 payment to Daniels in an attempt to silence her during the 2016 election – a claim he has categorically denied.
In a surprising turn of events, Avenatti tweeted on Thursday night that Keith Davidson, another attorney involved in the case, had lied under oath. He claimed that after confronting Daniels with her own text messages, she admitted to him in early 2019 that she and Davidson had extorted Trump in October 2016. This revelation was one of many reasons why he terminated his professional relationship with her as a client in February 2019.
“Davidson testified in court on Thursday with his version of the events surrounding the supposed “hush money” payment Trump allegedly made to Daniels in an effort to keep her from speaking out about their alleged affair.”
“Davidson told prosecutor Joshua Steinglass that he worked out the “hush money” deal with Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen just days before the election in 2016, but claimed Trump never signed the paperwork.”
“According to Davidson, the paperwork included an “unenforceable” $1 million penalty for breaching the agreement.”
Avenatti is currently serving a 19-year prison sentence at Terminal Island, a minimum-security federal prison in Los Angeles, for multiple federal crimes including extortion, tax evasion, fraud, and embezzlement. Despite his predicament, he maintains contact with Trump’s legal team and has expressed willingness to testify against his former client.
The former lawyer has been one of Trump’s most vocal critics in the past but seems to have had a change of heart. He now believes that the trial against Trump is politically motivated and an attempt to prevent him from being reelected. Avenatti also feels that both he and Trump have been targeted by politically motivated prosecutions.
It’s important to note that Avenatti denies seeking a pardon from Trump should he win a second term. Instead, he expresses regret over ever having met Stormy Daniels, stating “I wish I would have never met Stormy Daniels. I should have left her where I found her.”