So exactly who is paying Michael Avenatti? And is he a lawyer, an opposition researcher, a journalist or a campaign operative?
He wants to make the discussion all about where Michael Cohen, President Trump’s personal attorney, got his money but, to have clean hands, Avenatti needs to come forward with exactly who is financing his operation, who his sources were for detailed banking information, and whether he really is an attorney solely representing Stormy Daniels or just using her as cover to wage a political operation.
From the beginning, this has been fishy. Daniels’s previous lawyer advised her to stick to her agreements. In contrast, Avenatti OK’d her violating with impunity her nondisclosure agreement on “60 Minutes” despite a binding arbitration judgment against her. She has acknowledged on Twitter that she is not paying for her lawyer. So who is? And did he indemnify her against all multimillion-dollar penalties?
But this release of a “report” by Avenatti also raises the question of where and how did he get this detailed financial information — because he didn’t find it on Google. This is the kind of information that would have been known only by the Treasury Department, his banks or by prosecutors, raising some serious questions about what kind of operation Avenatti is running. Is there a team of people digging this up? Are they paying off sources? Is Fusion GPS involved? Are there political donors behind it that could make this campaign work? He can’t be both an attorney and then participate as an officer of the court in trafficking illegally obtained information.
Congrats on outing your fed source. Keep us updated on their trial: SAR confidentiality provisions clarify that both the SAR itself and any information that would reveal the existence of a SAR are confidential, and shall not be disclosed. 3 31 U.S.C. §§ 5318(g)(2), 5321, and 5322
— Thomas Paine (@Thomas1774Paine) May 9, 2018
You wouldn’t know about about SARs unless you have pipeline of feds providing illegal Intel. FINCEN data and breaches/access is a federal crime. 3 reports = 3 crimes. Congrats on outing your sources. @USTreasury should audit this FINCEN file immediately, see who fed this leach. https://t.co/dhE9BCZAg4
— Thomas Paine (@Thomas1774Paine) May 9, 2018
[give_form id=”79809″] [contentcards url=”http://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/387088-who-is-paying-michael-avenatti” target=”_blank”]Exactly my question… pic.twitter.com/bG5LIzN8z7
— AmericaTheBeautiful (@Monet1279) May 10, 2018