Stormy Daniels news – Michael Avenatti begins cross-examination of porn star in his own fraud trial
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Stormy Daniels testified today in a Manhattan court against her former lawyer Michael Avenatti, who is alleged to have swindled her out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Mr Avenatti has said he will question her for “six hours”, but the judge seemed unimpressed by the suggestion.
His cross-examination of Ms Daniels began just ten minutes before the end of Thursday’s proceedings. Mr Avenatti took over representation of himself from his legal team on Tuesday, saying it is “the best chance at winning” the case.
The California lawyer is accused of stealing $300,000 of the money Ms Daniels was owed for her autobiography. He is charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Mr Avenatti became well known nationally in 2018 as he represented Ms Daniels in lawsuits against Donald Trump. He was briefly something of a hero for many anti-Trumpers, but come 2020 he began a spectacular fall from grace that saw him sentenced to jail for trying to extort Nike out of millions of dollars.
The missing second payment
After being paid her book advance in April 2018, Ms Daniels worked with a ghost writer named Kevin, who had been recommended to her by St Martin’s. The book was finished in July.
Ms Daniels says Mr Avenatti told her a second payment had not been sent.
A text message from September 2018 is read by Ms Daniels to the court: “I did not get paid today. I am not f***ing happy. They are in breach of contract by about four weeks.”
Ms Daniels has set up a second bank account due to problems with her husband and some funds being set aside for production and wanted to keep the book money separate.
Daniels says Avenatti said nothing about third payment
A new exhibit is introduced to the court — a cashier’s check sent to Mr Avenatti’s office.
Ms Daniels says she was “confused and annoyed” that it had been sent there, to which she says the defendant responded: “At least we got it”.
She claims he offered to deposit the check for her.
When asked what Mr Avenatti said anything about having received a third payment from the publisher, Ms Daniels replied that he did not say anything to her.
Ms Daniels texted Mr Avenatti on 29 October 2018 saying that the payment would be one week late the following day.
He responded that “they are on it”.
She testifies that she did not know then that he already had the payment.
In another text exchange from 20 November 2018, Ms Daniels asked for an update on the payments for her book, and Mr Avenatti said he was on the case.
She testifies that he told her they were being difficult, and he may have to write them a letter.
'My dragons’
Ms Daniels called her security guards her “dragons” and paid them $26,00 which was to be paid back by Mr Avenatti from the legal defence fund.
She enquired about the reimbursement and how much was left in the fund.
Ms Daniels is asked where in the messages submitted as evidence Mr Avenatti told her she was supposed to pay for her “dragons” herself.
Flashback: Stormy Daniels promotes her book on ‘The View'
‘I’m tired of finding s*** out on Twitter’
Direct examination continues with Ms Daniels explaining how she learned that Mr Avenatti had set up a second legal defence fund through text messages sent between them.
Ms Daniels explains that she was asking about a second legal defence fund Mr Avenatti had set up and that she knew nothing about.
“My email and social media were blowing up with people asking me if I was broke,” she said.
After posting about it on Twitter, Mr Avenatti texted her that attacking him put her in a bind.
Ms Daniels says she texted him back on 29 November 2018 and asked if her was threatening her, adding that checks have bounced and: “I’m tired of finding s*** out on Twitter. I’m not a liar. You have balls of steel. I will always respect you. But I have not been paid.”
Mr Avenatti claimed to have sent a letter about the payment seeming to repair the relationship.
He asked her to tweet: “Now that Michael and I have sorted everything out and we know the accounting is on the up and up, we are going to kick ass together on two coasts tomorrow. #TeamStormy.”
She did so, adding a curse word.
“Had to add a curse word so no one would be suspicious,” she said explaining with a laugh that her fans knew she had a “potty mouth”.
Asked if she knew whether Mr Avenatti had sent a letter to the publisher about payment, Ms Daniels responds that she had no way to know.
She asked him when the publisher would cough up the money and said she would blast them publicly if they did not.
Ms Daniels also said she was going to fire Luke Janklow asking why she should pay someone a 15 per cent cut and not have them respond to you.
The prosecution asks if the defendant ever told her that he had told both Mr Janklow and the publisher not to contact her. Mr Avenatti objects but is overruled.
She says that she told Michael that she was going to send a certified letter to the publisher as she was trapped in a house with her ex until she gets paid.
From Ms Daniels’ testimony it appears that Mr Avenatti was trying to make excuses as to why she had not seen her third payment from the publisher.
Nevertheless she continued her pursuit of the payment with the trial being shown that she sent the defendant her banking information on 4 February 2019.