Avenatti Speaks Out After His Arrest On Suspicion Of Domestic Violence

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Michael Avenatti, the brash lawyer and cable news fixture who came to prominence after he sued President Donald Trump, was arrested Wednesday in Los Angeles on suspicion of domestic violence, police said.

The Los Angeles Police Department said he was booked on a felony domestic violence charge, with a $50,000 bail.

“This is an ongoing investigation and we will provide more details as they become available,” the department wrote on Twitter. The incident happened Tuesday, said LAPD spokesman Jeff Lee.

Avenatti has made himself a nearly household name through his relentless media appearances as he represents adult-film star in two lawsuits against Trump. He has vowed to depose the president and said he is considering running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

In a statement released by his law office, Avenatti said that the allegations against him were “completely bogus.”

“I wish to thank the hard working men and women of the LAPD for their professionalism,” he said. “I have never been physically abusive in my life nor was I last night. Any accusations to the contrary are fabricated and meant to do harm to my reputation. I look forward to being fully exonerated.”

The police gave few other details about the incident. In the Century City neighborhood near Beverly Hills, the area around where police said Avenatti had been arrested was quiet Wednesday night except for a couple of news media crews. Police said he had been arrested around 2 p.m.

TMZ, which first reported the arrest, had written that Avenatti was arrested after his “estranged wife” filed a felony domestic violence report, but later amended its story after his ex-wife Lisa Storie-Avenatti said through a lawyer that the assertion was not true.

“Ms. Storie-Avenatti was not subject to any such incident on Tuesday night. Further, she was not at Mr. Avenatti’s apartment on the date that this alleged incident occurred,” Storie-Avenatti’s statement said. “My client states that there has never been domestic violence in her relationship with Michael and that she has never known Michael to be physically violent toward anyone.”

Avenatti spoke briefly to reporters after he was released from custody on Wednesday evening, again thanking the Los Angeles Police Department for its professionalism.

“They had no option in light of the allegations,” he said. “Secondly, I have never struck a woman. I never will strike a woman. I have been an advocate for women’s rights my entire career.”

Avenatti is one of many media personalities who have grown into political celebrities in the contentious and lightning-quick news climate of the Trump era. His combativeness and swagger, on television, in interviews and on Twitter, have helped keep him in the public eye, and his musings about a potential presidential run have been covered extensively despite questions about his background and qualifications.

Trump lawyer Charles Harder noted that three legal motions in the cases are scheduled for oral arguments in a Los Angeles federal court on Dec. 3.

The Vermont Democratic Party announced late Wednesday that it was canceling events scheduled with Avenatti in light of his arrest.

“The Vermont Democratic Party has canceled Mr. Avenatti’s forthcoming scheduled appearances in Vermont, and will be refunding all ticket sales,” state party spokesman R. Christopher Di Mezzo said in a statement.

(c) 2018, The Washington Post · Elise Viebeck, Eli Rosenberg 

{Matzav.com}


6 COMMENTS

  1. I am so sorry, Michael, but YOU were the one who taught us that we MUST believe the survivors – the women with claims of abuse….. and I do!

  2. Why would the WHITE State of Vermont cancel this white choir boy’s appearance? Why would the WHITE Bernie Sanders or the WHITE Pat Leahy allow this cancellation to take place? Btw, google this white Mr. Mezzo character. He is a real sick demented pervert with a minor in “Gender and Sexuality” studies from St. Lawrence University. A perfect match for a tawdry lawyer like Avenatti.

  3. We in the Charedi community are not immune to the perverted method of women filing false reports to obtain the upper hand in divorce. Said women are violating Torasainu H’kdosha by being shakranim, moserim and utilizing arkois r’l. The Chillul Shem Shamayim r’l is incalculable. Anyone assisting them is mesyah l’dvar averia .They should be ostracized.There is a fellow in Lakewood NJ who has formed a grass roots effort to raise awareness and bs’d have the Rabbanim shlita address this travesty.

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