Michael Cohen Request For Restraining Order Against Michael Avenatti Denied By Judge

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, asked for a restraining order against adult film star Stormy Daniels’ lawyer, Michael Avenatti, from a federal court last Thursday.

Brent Blakely, Cohen’s lawyer, reportedly requested Avenatti be prohibited from discussing Daniels’ lawsuit against Trump, which alleges the president never signed the non-disclosure agreement regarding their reported affair she was paid $130,000 by Cohen to remain silent on, according to the court filing. The motion said that, “Mr. Avenatti’s actions are mainly driven by his seemingly unquenchable thirst for publicity.”

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Avenatti responded on Twitter, calling the gag order “a complete joke and baseless” and said Cohen and Blakely “can’t handle the truth.”

U.S. District Judge James Otero ruled Friday that Cohen failed to meet the bar for the rush restraining order he had requested to keep Avenatti silenced, writing that, “[Cohen] has not demonstrated in the application that immediate, irreparable injury would occur in the absence of emergency ex parte relief.”

Otero instead set a briefing schedule for both parties to submit their arguments, as is customary for non-emergency restraining orders. Avenatti’s is due first on June 25.

Blakely emphasized that “the court did not deny the restraining order” in an email to the New York Daily News. Avenatti, however, still counted the ruling as a victory.

“They can’t beat us on truth, the facts and the law so they’re doing everything in their power to shut me up,” Avenatti told the Daily News. “We were very confident that they would deny the emergency restraining order and I’m confident they will deny it at the hearing as well.”

According to Cohen’s restraining order request, Avenatti has made 121 television appearances to discuss Daniels’ case and has tweeted about it more than 400 times. Cohen and Blakely accuse Avenatti of “routinely denigrating” Cohen with claims of criminal conduct and is therefore violating California Rules of Professional Conduct.  

Article by Kaitlyn Martin