Michael Avenatti Says Melania Trump 'Knows' Stormy Daniels Affair Happened and She Deserves 'Sympathy'
Stormy Daniels's lawyer Michael Avenatti claimed that Melania Trump "knows" that his client's claims of an affair she and Donald Trump allegedly had are credible, and expressed "a lot of sympathy" for the first lady.
Avenatti said "there's zero question" that Daniels, an adult film star whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, "was telling the truth during that interview" aired on 60 Minutes in March. She claimed she was paid $130,000 to sign a nondisclosure agreement on the affair, which she is now suing the president over.
"There's no question that he knows my client is telling the truth because he was there and this happened," Aventti told Salon of the president in a report published Monday. "I think 80 percent of Americans have viewed her '60 Minutes' interview and came away believing my client. I know people on the right that are staunch supporters of the president, and even they comment to me on how much credibility she had."
"Mr. Trump knows it, I think the first lady knows it," Avenatti continued "I think Mr. Giuliani knows it, they know exactly what happened here. I think Mr. Trump also knows that he participated in the cover-up relating to this $130,000 payment."
Donald Trump repeatedly denied having had an affair with Daniels, but his lawyer Rudy Giuliani said the president reimbursed his longtime attorney Michael Cohen for the hush payment, leading him to acknowledge the repayment.
The Salon reporter then asked Avenatti about Melania Trump, who has kept a lower profile since reports of the affair broke. "Do you feel like she is somebody that people should be viewing sympathetically at this time, given that she was cheated on and humiliated?" he asked.
"Absolutely, I have a lot of sympathy for the first lady," Avenatti responded. "I think that other people should have sympathy for her, from all indications, that she's a nice woman. I don't think she signed up for any of this."
Avenatti's comments on the first lady come five days after he slammed Giuliani for saying that Daniels has "no reputation" because she is an adult film actress.
"The business you were in entitles you to no degree of giving your credibility any weight," Giuliani said of Daniels. "Explain to me how she could be damaged. I mean, she has no reputation. If you're going to sell your body for money, you just don't have a reputation. I may be old fashioned, I don't know."
Giuliani added that he does not respect porn stars as much as "a career woman or a woman of substance" like Melania Trump.
Melania Trump's spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said last week that the first lady did not tell Giuliani she believed her husband's denials of the alleged affair.
