Fight! Lawyers duke it out over Trump in Russia, porn star cases

WASHINGTON: Big name lawyers are duking it out as Donald Trump braves two storms threatening his rocky presidency: the Russia election meddling probe and adult film actress Stormy Daniels’ allegations that she had a steamy fling with him.

The battles have featured some headline-grabbing casualties — a big deal considering that defending the president would seem to be an attorney’s dream assignment.The roster of heavyweight lawyers at the heart of the legal fights looks like this:

Daniels’ lawyer Michael Avenatti has piercing blue eyes, a golden California tan and a life fueled by adrenaline rushes. He has vowed to be Trump’s worst nightmare by making him fess up to the sexual encounter the actress says she had in 2006 with the president. Trump denies it.

A professional race car driver and frequenter of jet set outings and the Grand Prix circuit, on his law firm’s web site he displays pictures that boast of his passion for racing.But he is also a feared presence in the halls of justice. The bachelor, in his 40s, has a lucrative business litigation practice.

Last year, he won a fraud conviction and $454 million in damages for clients in a class action suit involving defective surgical gowns manufactured by the firm Kimberly-Clark.Avenatti has accused Trump of lying when he denies claims made by Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

But this lawyer — who positively loves TV cameras — says that’s not the worst part. Rather, Daniels is threatened all the time by the Trump legal team.Avenatti also says that a non-disclosure agreement that she signed in 2016 with Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, is not valid because the president himself did not sign it. “It is just the beginning,” said Avenatti. “We have a whole host of evidence. This is not going away. And Mr. Cohen better come clean for the American people, and they better do it quickly.”

He promised bombshell revelations over the next few weeks and months.Last week Avenatti tweeted a photo of a CD, suggesting he might have compromising photos of the president.

Avenatti is backed by the organization Common Cause, which has filed suit accusing Cohen of violating campaign finance laws by paying $130,000 to Daniels just days before the 2016 election.

“This was a payment to influence an election. It should have been reported by the Trump campaign. It was not. That’s violation number one of federal campaign financing law,” said Paul Ryan of legal watchdog Common Cause.

“Then violation number two is that Michael Cohen is only allowed to give $2,700 to a US candidate. He effectively gave $130,000 to Donald Trump through this in-kind contribution by paying Stormy Daniels to stay quiet,” said Ryan.

Cohen is Trump’s long-time personal attorney and has been described as defending him like a pit bull.The Long Island native used to be a Democrat before switching to the Republicans. He has invested in several Trump real estate deals and started working for the Trump Organization in the 2000s. Later, he would go on to become a Trump spokesman during the presidential race.