Michael Avenatti has been a ubiquitous guest on CNN and other Democrat-friendly news outlets which have helped sell him to the public as a man willing to fight for abused and mistreated women — particularly those abused and mistreated by the president and his Supreme Court nominees. But on Wednesday, the lawyer of porn star Stormy Daniels and Julie Swetnick found himself in front of cameras outside a jailhouse stating emphatically that he has “never struck a woman” and “will never strike a woman” after being arrested for suspected felony domestic violence.
“I have never struck a woman. I never will strike a woman,” Avenatti told reporters after making his $50,000 bail for the charges brought against him. “I have been an advocate for women’s rights my entire career, and I’m going to continue to be an advocate. I am not going to be intimidated from stopping what I am doing. I am a father to two beautiful, smart daughters. I would never disrespect them by touching a woman inappropriately or striking a woman. I am looking forward to a full investigation at which point I am confident that I will be fully exonerated.”
Donald Trump Jr. is among the many Avenatti critics who has found the turn of events too ironic to ignore. Don Jr.’s first post on the case was a retweet that included Avenatti’s adamant denial online of the charges. “I want to be clear: I DID NOT commit domestic violence nor have I ever committed domestic violence,” wrote Avenatti, who has since suggested that he’s being framed. “I did not strike any woman nor have I ever. I did not strike my ex-wife in the face nor did I hit anyone else in the face. I am a decent man & I look forward to being exonerated.”
As Trump Jr. highlights via a tweet by Newsmax TV’s John Cardillo, Avenatti’s statements sound similar to those made by the man he accused repeatedly without any corroborating evidence of heinous actions when he was in high school 35 years ago:
Trump then tweeted out TMZ’s coverage of Avenatti’s arrest, underscoring that he is a would-be “Democratic presidential candidate”:
Retweeting a post by The Daily Wire’s Ryan Saavedra, Trump drew attention to all the publicity and credibility CNN attempted to give the so-called “creepy porn lawyer,” yet now is glaringly ignoring the unignorable story:
The Avenatti arrest was first reported by TMZ, which provided some ugly details from unnamed law enforcement sources about what supposedly went down:
We’re told Wednesday afternoon the woman was on the sidewalk on her cellphone with sunglasses covering her eyes, sobbing and screaming on the phone, “I can’t believe you did this to me. I’m going to get a restraining order against you.”
We’re told security brought her inside the building, took her upstairs and Michael showed up 5 minutes later and ran into the building. He screamed repeatedly, “She hit me first.” We’re told he angrily added, “This is bulls***, this is f***ing bulls***.” We’re told he tried getting into the elevator but security denied him access.
Avenatti has since suggested that the whole thing is a set-up by 20-year-old “right-wing Twitter troll” Jacob Wohl. “First Mueller and now me. When we are fully exonerated I am coming for you Jacob Wohl aka Surefire,” Avenatti tweeted Thursday.
Avenatti’s accusation comes in response to a cryptic post by Wohl’s group seeming to take credit for his arrest. “Surefire Intelligence strikes again,” the group wrote.
Wohl responded to Avenatti’s post by denying any involvement. “Michael ‘She Hit Me First’ Avenatti is now blaming ME for the fact that he was arrested for brutally beating a woman — This guy is a SICKO!” he wrote. “Michael Avenatti seems to believe that I am responsible for him raising his hand to a woman. I am not. Will he release the pictures of his battered victim?”
After leveling outrageous and evidence-less accusations against then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Avenatti and his client Julie Swetnick have been referred by the Senate Judiciary Committee to the Justice Department for submitting false statements to the committee in violation of federal law. Avenatti is also suspected of potential witness tampering in the Kavanaugh investigation.
UPDATE: Prosecutors Decline Felony Charges For Avenatti, May Face Misdemeanor Charges
Related: Stormy Daniels Responds To Domestic Violence Allegations Against Avenatti