Stormy Daniels‘ attorney Michael Avenatti does not appear to believe that Michael Cohen is ready to part ways with President Donald Trump–at least not just yet.
In a Monday morning tweet, Avenatti wrote:
Mr. Cohen is trying to get Trump to pay his legal bills & is playing games. If he has info & truly loves this country then he needs to come forward NOW. There is nothing stopping him. If not, it will be obvious he lied to the public in an effort to paint himself as a good guy.
Mr. Cohen is trying to get Trump to pay his legal bills & is playing games. If he has info & truly loves this country then he needs to come forward NOW. There is nothing stopping him. If not, it will be obvious he lied to the public in an effort to paint himself as a good guy.
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) July 2, 2018
Avenatti’s tweet appears to be directed at recent reports in which Cohen has telegraphed that he is reconsidering his loyalty to the 45th president. In an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Cohen said, “To be crystal clear, my wife, my daughter and my son, and this country have my first loyalty.” President Trump’s longtime friend and fixer also said:
I will not be a punching bag as part of anyone’s defense strategy. I am not a villain of this story, and I will not allow others to try to depict me that way.
Avenatti clearly doesn’t buy Cohen’s possible change of heart. And it appears to be the televised nature of the supposed about face which has ignited such suspicions.
In response to Avenatti’s original tweet, journalist and Trump critic Ed Krassenstein said, “There is no reason to even hint that you would be flipping unless you wanted Trump to do something for you and unless you knew that he knew that you knew something damning.”
To which Avenatti replied, “Exactly.”
Law&Crime reached out to Mr. Avenatti for additional comment and clarification on this issue, but no response was forthcoming at the time of publication.
[image via Mario Tama/Getty Images]