Stormy Daniels's lawyer Michael Avenatti tweeted a plea for more monetary donations to represent his client on Monday, just a few days after he claimed to have rejected hundreds of thousands of dollars from GOP supporters and denied he sought funds from Democratic operatives.
"This promises to be a very busy week but our effort does not run itself. There are numerous expenses associated with cases like this and here, security costs alone are astronomical. We are short of our goal and need some help," Avenatti tweeted, and linked a crowdfunding page for Twitter users to "please" go to and contribute.
The crowdfunding page for adult film star Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, as of Monday afternoon had received more than $543,600 of its $850,000 goal, with 11 days to go. The page stated that the money raised so far came from 15,750 people.
Avenatti's legal fees to represent Daniels, who is suing President Doanld Trump over a nondisclosure agreement she signed to stay silent on their alleged affair, have stirred controversy especially among Avenatti's critics.
After a former adviser to ex-President Bill Clinton questioned who was paying Avenatti, the lawyer reiterated it was through the crowdfunding page, and stated last month "no political part or PAC is funding this effort. No left wing conspiracy group is behind this. And no big fat cat political donors are leading the charge. Get over it."
Last Friday, Avenatti claimed he turned down $200,000 from Republican Party supporters aimed at harming Trump. On the same day, he denied reports that he personally reached out to top Democratic operatives for money, and that a member of his law firm contacted two people linked to huge Democratic donors.
While Avenatti has not disclosed how much he is making, Maryland-based tax attorney Gerald Kelly told Newsweek recently that an amount in the six-figure range "would be reasonable."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
A Los Angeles native, Jessica Kwong grew up speaking Spanish, Cantonese and English, in that order. Her journalism career started ... Read more
