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Michael Avenatti, the esteemed attorney who gained notoriety by bringing a sexual assault lawsuit against President Donald Trump, was arrested on a domestic violence charge.
On Wednesday, Avenatti was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department on “suspicion of felony domestic violence” at 3:44 p.m. local time.
The LAPD tweeted and confirmed the charge Nov. 14.
“Update: We can confirm that Michael Avenatti (DOB: 02-16-71) was booked this afternoon on a felony domestic violence charge (273.5 PC). His bail is set at $50,000,” the tweet said.
TMZ originally reported the story that involved his estranged wife, Lisa Storie-Avenatti. However, BuzzFeed News reported her lawyer disputed the account.
Her attorney said “there has never been domestic violence in her relationship with Michael and…she has never known Michael to be physically violent toward anyone.”
Fox News previously published court documents Storie-Avenatti filed where she accused her husband of emotional abuse. Fox News reported that Avenatti denied the allegations.
Avenatti represented porn actress Stormy Daniels in a lawsuit regarding an affair she had with President Donald Trump. The Wall Street Journal broke the scandal the president had paid her $130,000 nondisclosure agreement in Oct. 2016.
Daniels, whose birth name is Stephanie Clifford, alleged she had a “sexual encounter” with Trump in July 2006. The story, with Avenatti at the center, continually broke news headlines. Daniels did a 60 Minutes interview with Anderson Cooper, and Trump’s legal team has demanded $20 million for violations of the nondisclosure agreement. It has been one of the most highly-publicized allegations against Trump.
Avenatti sent out a series of tweets after the news story broke on Wednesday, one in which he thanked his supporters for reaching out to help. He also declared a message denying any domestic assault.
I want to be clear: I DID NOT commit domestic violence nor have I ever committed domestic violence. 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.
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) November 15, 2018
On Thursday, Avenatti tweeted that the news leaks are incorrect.
There is a lot of inaccurate reporting out there. For example, (1) I have NOT been charged with anything, let alone a felony; (2) Lisa wasn’t even with me Tues; etc. Numerous other “facts” being reported are completely bogus. Why is TMZ’s news “standard” the new standard?
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) November 15, 2018
Both of his ex-wives, Storie-Avenatti and Christine Avenatti-Carlin, publicly came out in support of their previous partner.
Avenatti-Carlin is the mother of his two daughters. She tweeted:
I have known @MichaelAvenatti for over 26 years we met when he was 21 years old and we were married for 13 years. Michael has ALWAYS been a kind loving father to our two daughters and husband to me. He has NEVER been abusive to me or anyone else. He is a good man.
— Christine Avenatti Carlin (@avenatticarlin) November 15, 2018
