Stormy Daniels' lawyer Michael Avenatti weighs in on her arrest and his possible 2020 aspirations
Michael Avenatti, the attorney representing Stormy Daniels, said that the porn star and exotic dancer's arrest in Ohio will be proven to be politically motivated.
"I think at the end of the day there will no question that it will be proven that it was politically motivated. The only question is how far up the chain will it show that it came from," Avenatti said of Daniels as he co-hosted "The View" on Friday.
"Were these just some rogue officers or were others involved? I think this is going to be very interesting," he said.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was arrested in Ohio on July 11 on suspicion of sexually touching a patron while on stage at the Sirens Gentlemen's Club in Columbus, but the charges were quickly dismissed.
Avenatti is representing Daniels in her ongoing case relating to her claims of receiving a payment from President Donald Trump's attorney Michael Cohen before the election in connection to an alleged affair with Trump, which the president denies.
During his appearance on "The View," Avenatti weighed in on the Trump case and the recent revelation that Cohen taped some of his conversations with Trump.
"Michael Cohen should not have been recording his client... but in retrospect I'm glad Michael Cohen did take those recordings," he said, noting that it was not illegal under New York state laws.
"You deserve to know what happened in connection to this," Avenatti said to the audience. "Everyone should be demanding the release of these tapes. They're of critical importance."
Avenatti, who regularly makes media appearances, defended himself against claims that his ubiquity may make him seem less credible.
"I think it adds to my credibility," he said, adding that he has received a number of tips from the public as a result of his appearances.
"If I was not out there, that would not be happening," he said.
"This is not your standard case. This is a case that has huge public attention," he said of Daniels' case.
At the end of the episode, Avenatti said he was "strongly considering" running for president after reportedly being approached by some people asking him to throw his hat in the ring.
"2020 is going to prove to be a critical election in our nation's history," Avenatti said.
"The Democrats have to nominate somebody that can actually beat Donald Trump," he said.
Then as the show came to a close, he said: "I'm going to strongly consider it."
