Avenatti Mocks Giuliani’s ABC Interview: ‘One Of The Worst TV Appearances By Any Attorney’

STEPHANOPOULOS: Stormy Daniels on Saturday Night Live last night, we’re joined now by her attorney. Michael Avanatti joins us live from Las Angeles this morning. Mr. Avenatti, thanks for joining us this morning.

You heard Mayor Giuliani say he thought you made a big mistake allowing your client to go on Saturday Night Live last night. He thinks this hurts your case.

MICHAEL AVENATTI, LAWYER: No, I — I think that’s ridiculous. I mean Donald Trump went on Saturday Night Live during the election. I — I don’t think it hurt our case at all.

But I just want to make sure, George, did that interview just happen? I mean I’m not being spoofed, right?

STEPHANOPOULOS: You heard — you heard the whole thing, what’s your reaction?

AVENATTI: It’s an absolute unmitigated disaster for Rudy Giuliani and the president. It’s a train wreck. I can’t believe that that actually just happened. I mean what we witnessed by Rudy Giuliani may be one of the worst T.V. appearances by any attorney on behalf of a client in modern times.

He now expects the American people to believe that he doesn’t really know the facts, that as to every key question you asked, he hasn’t communicated with the president about it. I mean this guy’s all over the map over the last 72 hours on some very simple facts that should be very straightforward.

I think it is obvious, George, to the American people that this is a cover up, that they are making it up as they go along, they don’t know what to say because they’ve lost track of the truth.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well let’s try to break down some of those points right there. Number one, do you have evidence that this was in fact a campaign related payment? We know the timing of it, but do you have other evidence, any communication between Michael Cohen and — and your client?

Any communication between Michael Cohen and the president that demonstrates this is connected to the campaign?

AVENATTI: There is significant amount of evidence, there is no question that this had everything to do with the campaign. In fact, if you go back and replay that interview, and that will be done I’m confident, and if you look at the answers, you’re going to find an inconsistency with what Rudy Giuliani just told you.

Early in the interview he told you it has nothing to do with the campaign, later in the interview you asked him if there was going to be inconsistencies between Michael Cohen’s testimony and Donald Trump and he equivocated.

He basically said that well it may have had something to do with the campaign, but it also has to do with personal issues. There’s no question this had everything to do with the campaign. You could look at the timing associated with the payment.

The president could have paid this money or Michael could have paid the money or negotiated this in 2007, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Let me stop you there though, because one of the points that Rudy Giuliani made was that it was your client who was pressing for it in — in — during the campaign because that’s when it was most valuable.

AVENATTI: That’s — that’s absolutely false, that is not what happened, my client was preparing to tell her story, my client did not approach Michael Cohen, did not have anyone approach Michael Cohen, Michael Cohen approached my client in her council in an effort to shut her up in the days before the election. And that’s —

(CROSSTALK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: And you can prove that?

AVENATTI: Yes. Absolutely. 100 percent. I wouldn’t be sitting here on television if I couldn’t, George. And look, all you have to do is look at what just happened in that interview to know that their attempting to snow (ph) the American people and when the facts and the evidence come out this is going to be a disaster for Michael Cohen, the president and now Rudy Giuliani. It is time for Rudy Giuliani to be put out to pasture.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Do you have any evidence that President Trump knew in real time about this agreement about this payment?

AVENATTI: George, we have evidence that the president knew in the — in the months at least following the campaign of this payment, certainly knew it long before his statement on Air Force One in April of this year where he effectively stood there and lied to the American people about not knowing anything about this payment. And then of course Rudy Giuliani a few days ago goes out and contradicts that.

And now they’re trying to claim that Rudy Giuliani doesn’t know the facts. I mean, any attorney that’s worth anything could have a 30 minute meeting or conversation with his client and get to the bottom of this. This is not a complicated matter that takes months or years to get to the bottom of, George. I mean, this is absurd.

STEPHANOPOULOS: One of the other points we made with Rudy Giuliani, he said he didn’t have any knowledge of payments made by Michael Cohen to other women but he — but he couldn’t rule it out either and has (ph) said that the payments might have been made if necessary. Do you have any evidence of any other — that any other women were paid by Michael Cohen or other agents of the president?

AVENATTI: Women have come forward and contacted our office, George, as I’ve stated in the past. And we haven’t completed vetting those stories but I think at the end of the day, there’s going to be evidence of such payments. But I think it’s also important to go back and — and think about what we’ve just heard and what we’ve heard the last few days.

According to Rudy Giuliani, this was basically commonplace. The president had effectively an extramarital affair slush fund that was administered by Michael Cohen and that he would just be expected to take care of these things. They were a regular occurrence. I mean, that in and of itself should be very disturbing. Most people of means, most people of wealth and celebrity, they don’t have extramarital affair slush funds and the suggestion is insulting.

STEPHANOPOULOS: That may — that may be but in this case, isn’t it possible that that would actually help the president’s case in showing that he — if he — if he did indeed make other payments not connected to the campaign, that this was a regular occurrence for him and so this was just a pattern of practice for him and it was not connected to the campaign?

AVENATTI: Again, George, I don’t think there’s any question that this was connected to the campaign. You’ve got to look at the timing of it, you’ve got to look at the establishment of the LLC and when it occurred. I mean look, what they’re trying to sell the American people is just not believable and they can’t even keep their facts straight or their lies straight.

STEPHANOPOULOS: A few weeks back you put out that computer disk that you then did not reveal. I’m going to show that to our viewers right there. There, we see it right there. This picture’s worth a thousand words. How many words is this worth? What is in that disk and when will you release it?

AVENATTI: Well George, I’m not going to disclose right now what’s on the disk and we’re going to be strategic and thoughtful about what evidence we’re going to reveal and when. I mean, we’ve got a piece of litigation that we’re in the middle of and I think that thus far, over the last few months we’ve been — we’ve — our batting average is — is pretty high and we’re going to be smart about it.

So I’m not going to disclose that right now. But what I will say is is that the more Rudy Giuliani talks, the more Michael Cohen talks, the more statements that the president gives on Air Force One, the better our case gets with each passing day.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Do you think that Rudy Giuliani in this and other interviews this week has waived attorney-client privilege with the president?

AVENATTI: Well, I think he might have. I mean, I — and I don’t think it was smart, the way that he’s gone about doing this. I think he’s done considerable harm to the president. I think his representation has been nothing short of a disaster and they would have been better off not saying anything than attempting to peddle what they’ve attempted to peddle over the last 72 hours, that’s for sure.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Michael Avenatti, thanks for your time this morning.

AVENATTI: Thank you, George.