NEW YORK (NewsNation Now) — Stormy Daniels said she wants her former lawyer, Michael Avenatti, to take ownership of and apologize for his wrongdoings after he was convicted of cheating her out of nearly $300,000 she was supposed to get for writing a book about an alleged tryst with former President Donald Trump.
“I want him to admit that he took the money and that he lied,” Daniels said Tuesday on “Dan Abrams Live.” “And he gaslighted me and played games, and then tried to shame me by, like, asking for these mental health records that don’t exist, by trying to paint me in a bad light.”
Avenatti was convicted Friday on counts of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
“The worst part about this was writing this book where I exposed myself and went through so much trauma, reliving this trauma to write this book and then he stole my money for it and I’m never going to get it,” Daniels said, adding that an apology from Avenatti will also “probably never” happen.
The trial was one of the more bizarre legal spectacles in recent memory. Avenatti fired his attorneys in the middle of the trial and decided to represent himself, leading to wild scenes in which he cross-examined Daniels for more than five hours.
“He doesn’t scare me,” Daniels said. “I’ve seen Donald Trump naked. Nothing Michael Avenatti can say will scare me.”
Avenatti asked Daniels about everything from her talking to the dead to whether she wanted him to get raped in prison to a paranormal doll.
“I think it was just an attempt to distract and confuse the jury,” Daniels said. “And I’m glad it didn’t work.”
Daniels initially hired Avenatti as she was trying to escape the terms of a $130,000 hush payment deal that kept her from speaking publicly about an alleged sexual encounter that Trump says never happened.
Daniels said she “should have cut him off way, way sooner” and that she saw red flags in their relationship, including a situation where Avenatti’s credit card was declined.
“The real turning point is how mad he got when I flat out refused to endorse him for president,” Daniels said.
Daniels says she plans to go to Avenatti’s sentencing in May. He faces the possibility of up to 22 years in prison.
Daniels says she wants to see how he acts in the next few months before requesting a sentence.
“Part of me is still like, God, he was my friend and I feel a little bad for wanting him to not see his children and stuff like that,” Daniels said.
As for who she is more mad at (Avenatti or Trump), Daniels said she is far angrier at her former attorney.
“Michael Avenatti betrayed my trust in every way possible,” Daniels said. “He lied to my face. He lied about me. He put me on a stand for five and a half hours and called me names.”
After the verdict, Avenatti promised to appeal.
