Michael Avenatti, the lawyer representing adult film actress Stormy Daniels, said Wednesday that his legal case is in some ways ahead of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
Avenatti filed a defamation lawsuit against Trump on his client’s behalf Monday, which followed a prior suit about the hush agreement Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen allegedly made with Daniels. Avenatti chided Trump for being undisciplined and then compared himself to Mueller, who is leading the special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
"I don't think that [Trump] certainly is disciplined by any stretch of the imagination," he said. "When you have a litigant that's not disciplined in litigation and you have lawyers on the other side that are aggressive–whether it is our case or Bob Mueller and his team–that makes for a very, very bad situation for the individual that's not disciplined."
Velshi made the case that the president can be subpoenaed and interviewed under oath and inquired about where Avenatti is in that picture.
"I think we're going to get a swing at the pitch before Bob Mueller. I think there are a number of reasons for that," Avenatti said. "I think that our case is not as politicized by any stretch of the imagination compared to the Bob Mueller investigation and where that is."
In Avenatti’s estimation, Daniels’ case against Trump — which is based on Trump tweeting that Daniels was lying about being threatened to stay silent — does not entail the political pressure Mueller is dealing with. He even said Mueller may be fired before he concludes his investigation.
"I think that [Mueller] and others associated with him are under a lot of pressure politically. Anybody who claims otherwise, I think, doesn't understand how the process works. I think that there's is a high likelihood that Bob Mueller may, in fact, be terminated or fired depending on what transpires in the coming weeks and month."
Avenatti went on to say it would be "atrocious" but not surprising if Trump fired Mueller, and so–according to his view–there's a greater opportunity with his suits to depose the president.
"I think it would be atrocious if it happened, but it wouldn't surprise me by any stretch of the imagination," he said. "I just think that the president is more likely to sit down for a deposition or be ordered to sit down for a deposition in connection with one of our two cases."