Cohen Ramps Up Bid for Gag Order on Stormy Lawyer

In a single-page court order last month, U.S District Judge S. James Otero struck down Cohen’s request and set a standard briefing schedule for the issue. The judge said Blakely and Cohen have “not demonstrated in the application that immediate, irreparable injury would occur in the absence of emergency ex parte relief.”

In a phone interview Monday, Avenatti said he and Daniels are "confident [Cohen's] motion will be denied."

Otero’s order didn't keep Blakely from blasting Avenatti on Monday, claiming he has “repeatedly crossed the line, routinely accusing Cohen of criminal acts.”

Avenatti took “it upon himself to obtain, apparently illegally, Cohen’s bank records and then disclosed them to the world to see,” said Blakely, who added the release of bank records is an example of the risk Avenatti poses to the case.

“Like a small-town carnival magician who attempts to confuse the audience with smoke and mirrors, Avenatti attempts to somehow justify his conduct by pulling the First Amendment out of his tiny bag of tricks while at the same time pointing his finger at others.” Blakely said. “However, Cohen’s application is not being decided by Avenatti’s Twitter followers, but rather by this court.”

Daniels says Cohen paid her $130,000 to keep quiet during the 2016 presidential election about a one-night stand she claims to have had with Trump in 2006.

Her California lawsuit against Trump, Cohen and Essential Consultants – a company Cohen set up to facilitate the payment – argues the nondisclosure agreement she signed is invalid since Trump never signed it. She has offered to repay the money to Cohen.

Daniels sued to get out of the agreement and added defamation claims over statements Trump and Cohen have made about her and the agreement in the press and on Twitter.

Trump and the White House continue to deny the affair with Daniels took place.

Last month, the Office of Government Ethics released Trump’s financial disclosure form, which describes a 2016 expense incurred by Cohen in the amount of $100,001 to $250,000.

“Mr. Cohen sought reimbursement of those expenses and Mr. Trump fully reimbursed Mr. Cohen in 2017,” the report states.

Also on Monday, in a related lawsuit filed by Daniels against Cohen and her former attorney Keith Davidson, Otero gave Cohen until July 9 to respond after he and Blakely missed the deadline last week.

Daniels claims Davidson, who represented her in 2016, colluded with Cohen without her knowledge or consent in an attempt to discredit her story of the alleged affair with Trump. Her claims against the pair include breach of fiduciary duty and aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty.

Avenatti told Courthouse News that “instead of engaging in ad hominem personal attacks, Mr. Cohen and Mr. Blakely should be more focused on meeting basic court deadlines.”

Cohen responded shortly Monday afternoon, asking Otero to deny Daniels’ request to move the case back to state court given a stay order in the case and Daniels and Avenatti’s “utter contempt” of it.

The stay order – which Cohen said Monday “could not have been any clearer” – is meant to protect his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination since there is a potential factual overlap between the New York criminal proceedings and Daniels’ case against Trump, Cohen and Essential Consultants.

Since the stay order was issued, Avenatti and Daniels have continued their “unprincipled publicity tour” and filed two new lawsuits meant to “circumvent and otherwise undermine” the stay order, Cohen said. Furthermore, Cohen called Daniels’ lawsuit against him and Davidson “another attempt at judge and forum shopping” and should have been part of her lawsuit against Trump, Cohen and Essential Consultants.

Accordingly, Cohen asked Otero to dismiss the action for lack of personal jurisdiction.

Cohen and Blakely filed another response late Monday, mostly invoking Cohen's Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. He also called Daniels' complaint "vague and unintelligible."

For his part, Davidson has also filed a countersuit accusing Cohen of invading his privacy by recording several phone calls between the two men, in an alleged violation of California law.

Davidson also says Avenatti, whom he added as a defendant to counterclaims, made “countless reckless and false statements” about him.

Avenatti responded Monday, denying most of Davidson’s allegations and demanding a jury trial as to a link to a Daily Beast article he posted on Twitter that said Davidson was suspected of extortion but not charged. He asked Otero to dismiss Davidson’s counterclaims and for attorney’s fees for representing Daniels in this case.

As for Cohen’s request for dismissal, Avenatti called it “complete nonsense” in an email sent Monday afternoon.

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