Avenatti cites family in deciding not to run for president in ’20
LOS ANGELES — Celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti, who was arrested three weeks ago on suspicion of domestic violence, announced Tuesday that he will not seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.
In a statement on Twitter, the attorney for porn actress Stormy Daniels said it was at his family’s request that he was declining to join the race.
“But for their concerns,” he said, “I would run.”
Avenatti, who is in the midst of divorcing his second wife, has three children.
For months, Avenatti’s personal, financial and po- litical troubles have been mounting. In October, he was hit with a personal judgment of $4.85 million for his failure to pay a debt to a former colleague at his longtime firm, Eagan Avenatti.
That same day, the California company won a court order evicting his law practice from its Newport Beach offices because Eagan Avenatti had skipped four months of rent. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office enforced the eviction last week, and the landlord locked out Avenatti and his staff
Most politically damaging was Avenatti’s arrest last month in an alleged domestic violence incident at his home in a Century City apartment tower. Actress Mareli Miniutti, 24, alleged that a fight over money led Avenatti to shove her, twist her arm and drag her out of the apartment.
Avenatti has denied wrongdoing. Los Angeles County prosecutors have sent the case to the L.A. city attorney for possible misde- meanor charges.
“I will continue to represent Stormy Daniels and others against Donald Trump and his cronies and will not rest until Trump is removed from office, and our republic and its values are restored,” Avenatti said.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is sui ng President Donald Trump to void the confidentiality pact that bars her from talking about their alleged 2006 sexual encounter in Lake Tahoe.
Daniels also sued Trump for defamation over a presidential tweet attacking her credibility, but Judge S. James Otero of U.S. District Court in Los Angeles dismissed the case. Otero is weighing a request by Trump that Daniels be ordered t o pay nearly $800,000 in legal fees and penalties.
Daniels said last week that Avenatti filed the defamation suit against her wishes. A few days later, Daniels tweeted that she and Avenatti had sorted out their differences.