Stormy Daniels Lawyer: We Are Adding Defamation Claim Against Trump
RUSH TRANSCRIPT:
BLITZER: "New tonight, the president is tweeting about an alleged affair with stormy Daniels after her attorney released a sketch of a man they say tried to silence Daniels with the threat. The president issued this response, quote, a sketch years later about a nonexistent man, a total con job. Playing the fake news media for fools, but they know it. Closed quote. We're joined now by Michael avenatti, the attorney for stormy Daniels."
AVENATTI: "Thanks for having me.
BLITZER: "And what is your reaction to the tweet.
AVENATTI: "It is a gift from the heavens. He has no reason to tweet about me or my client while a party in litigation when it comes to making misstatements about his client. He is now told the American people that she's a liar, that she's a con, and that she has made up this threat and this sketch and I'm outraged by it and there is serious consequences for it.
BLITZER: "Like what?
AVENATTI: "We're likely amending our complaint and looking at doing that to add a defamation claim against the president and kons -- consequences and that will flow from that and the fact of his deposition much more likely. This is what happens when you have an undisciplined client like the president who wakes -- wakes up one morning and decides he's going to tweet nonsense about his clients.
BLITZER: "So this defamation claim -- this lawsuit you're going to file, that is a new development.
AVENATTI: "That is absolutely a new development. And we're likely to file it in the same case that we are already in and we're going to add a claim.
BLITZER: "And file it in California.
AVENATTI: "Correct.
BLITZER: "And the argument is that he's defaming your client by this one tweet?
AVENATTI: "There is no question that he defamed my client. He's calling my client a liar and stating that she made this up and it is a con. And wolf, the only con that has taken place here is the con that the president and Michael Cohen is trying to pull on the American people by trying to tell the American people that he didn't know about the agreement, he knew nothing about the payment and the cover-up. The cover-up is the con.
BLITZER: "A total con job. That is what the president tweeted. Playing the fake news media for fools but they know it. So when he said a total con job, you're accusing the president of calling her a con?
AVENATTI: "No, I'm not accusing the president of doing that. I'm stating that is exactly what he did. It is clear as day what he meant by that.