Increasingly controversial, former “lawyer of the year” Michael Avenatti, who is currently serving multiple heavy prison sentences for various convictions including defrauding and stealing from his former client Stormy Daniels, has opined on the New York hush money case against Donald Trump. Once known for his sound judgement, Avenatti’s series of convictions certainly shed a critical light on his comments concerning the hush money case.
Avenatti’s remarks occurred during an appearance on MSNBC’s The Beat with Ari Melber, a program he joined from federal prison. Unexpectedly, Avenatti criticized the timing and venue of the case, calling it the “wrong case at the wrong time”. He argued that the matter is ‘stale’ given the conduct occurred eight years ago and suggested that it should not be happening in the New York state court.
“I think that the case is, in many ways, stale at this juncture. You’re talking about conduct that occurred some eight years ago. I think the fact that it’s occurring in state court in New York is a mistake, and I think that when you are going to potentially deprive tens of millions of Americans of their choice for the presidency of the United States…I think it’s a mistake to do it based on a case of this nature.”
While he trashed District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s hush money case, Avenatti still anticipates Trump’s conviction, though he expressed skepticism about the conviction holding up on appeal.
“And I think it’s going be tested on appeal when Trump is convicted. And again, I think he will be convicted. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going hold up. I believe if you’re going bring a case against a sitting president or a former president, who tens of millions of people support, especially in today’s day and age with how divided we are, I think it needs to be a rock-solid, lock tight, nearly perfect prosecuted case. Because otherwise, you run a huge risk as to what it’s going mean for the country.”
Despite his bold proclamations, doubts remain about Avenatti’s understanding of the nuances of the New York appellate scene, given his own encounters with the law. The full appearance can be watched here.