Michael Avenatti Shuts Down Trump-Backing Alan Dershowitz Over His Poor Record of Accuracy: 'Don't Interrupt Me'
Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for adult film star Stormy Daniels on Sunday shut down frequent Donald Trump defender Alan Dershowitz, who attempted to admonish Avenatti for claiming to be privy to more tapes made by former Trump attorney Michael Cohen.
Avenatti and Dershowitz were speaking on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” about a report, published Friday in the New York Times, that revealed Cohen secretly taped at least one conversation with the Trump. Avenatti repeated a claim he’s made before, namely that “there are multiple tapes of President Trump number one.”
“That ultimately is going to prove to be a big problem for the president, you know, that old adage—you live by the sword and die by the sword—will be true in this case because the president knew his attorney had a predisposition towards taping conversations with people, and Cohen had shared tapes with the president along the way during the ten years of legal representation,” Avenatti said. “Donald Trump knew better, and it's shocking to me that he now expresses shock about being taped.”
“I have a question for Michael Avenatti,” Dershowitz later said. “How do you know there are other tapes? You're not in a position where you could possibly know that properly. How do you know there are other tapes involving the president of the United States? Are you privy to what was seized from the office? That's a very important question. I wish you would answer it.”
“I'm not going to answer your question because I don't have to answer your question, but suffice it to say, Alan, that my accuracy rate over the last six months has been a lot better than yours as it relates to this matter,” Avenatti remarked.
“I’m not getting into anything personal,” Dershowitz replied. “I just want to know how you know.”
“Please don't interrupt me,” Avenatti said. “Please don’t interrupt me, okay? My accuracy rate over the last six months has been spot on in this case and if I'm wrong, why don't we have Mr. Trump or his attorneys come forward today, right now, and claim there are no other tapes? You're not going to hear that because—you’re not going to hear that because there are other tapes, period.”
“You miss my point,” Dershowitz said. “My point is you're probably—if you're right, if you are right, we have a real problem. Not if you are wrong. If you're right, then you have access to information that's supposed to be sealed and supposed to be secret. How do you have that information? How are you right? How did you get that information that nobody else knows? You're not in a position where you have been given that information properly. So I think you do have an obligation to answer that question.”
“I would think he could have had access to the information before this investigation into Cohen began,” Dan Abrams (this reporter’s former boss, full disclosure) suggested. “I don't know the answer to, that but that's my guess. It hasn't always been a criminal investigation, and apparently this has been happening according to Michael Avenatti for years.”
“That's one possibility,” Dershowitz relented.
“Alan, let me say this,” Avenatti said. “All the information the FBI seized, that's not under lock and key. The only way it would be improper for me to have it is if the FBI gave it to me. I could have receive it from Michael Cohen, one of his counsel, or others. There is a host of ways I could have obtained it.”
“How?” Dershowitz demanded.
“I could have received it from Michael Cohen I could have received it from Michael Cohen’s counsel,” Avenatti explained. “… If I’m wrong about it Let them come forward and state that I'm wrong.”
“You're right about it and you shouldn't have the information,” Dershowitz insisted.
“Do you know what Michael Cohen has shared with me?” Avenatti asked.
“I don’t,” Dershowitz said.
“Thank you,” Avenatti replied.
Watch below.
