by Joe Simonson
Stormy Daniels might not have such a massive cash reserve to fight President Donald Trump in court thanks to her lawyer’s, Michael Avenatti, personal business problems.
After a court found that Avenatti’s firm owes a former attorney $10 million, that same lawyer has just asked a bankruptcy judge to confiscate a large portion of the $577,000 legal fund Avenatti has raised to help pay costs related to Daniels’ battle with the president.
Daniels started a crowdfunding effort in March of this year to cover legal bills and other expenses for her lawsuit against Trump over a confidentiality agreement signed in 2016.
Over 16,500 people have donated to the fund as of Tuesday, which is hosted by CrowdJustice.
Avenatti objected to the motion, according to The Los Angeles Times. In an e-mail to the paper, he dismissed the effort to seize the legal funds as baseless and said his old firm, Eagan Avenatti, does not even represent Daniels.
Still, when The Daily Caller News Foundation has called Avenatti in the past, a receptionist has referred to his firm as Eagan Avenatti. In multiple correspondences with him, his signature line still says he’s a partner at the firm.
As the LA Times notes, Avenatti has used an Eagan Avenatti email address when corresponding with Trump’s attorneys.
“A signature block means nothing,” Avenatti told the LA Times, “and you have no evidence the firm ever represented Ms. Clifford.”
Avenatti claims that Daniels is represented by Avenatti & Associates, a “completely different law firm,” according to him.
According to corporate papers viewed by the LA Times, Avenatti & Associates is owned entirely by Avenatti and listed its business type as “Eagan Avenatti.”
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