Michael Avenatti: Stormy Daniels’ meeting canceled by prosecutors

A reported meeting between Stormy Daniels and prosecutors in the Michael Cohen case has been canceled, prompting her attorney to publicly suggest something fishy was going on in the case.

The Washington Post first reported Sunday afternoon that the prosecutors’ meeting with the porn star whose real name is Stephanie Clifford had been scheduled for Monday.

But the meeting was promptly canceled, according to lawyer Michael Avenatti, who tweeted Sunday night:

So I was just informed by the US Attys office that they are canceling the mtg tmrw scheduled with me and my client (for weeks) because the press found out about the mtg and they can’t handle a few cameras outside their offices. If they consider this a big deal, how will they…

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) June 25, 2018

The meeting, which also to have included Mr. Avenatti, was intended to prepare Ms. Clifford to appear before a grand jury in Southern District of New York.

Mr. Avenatti, in a rare step for a reportedly cooperating witness, publicly hooted at the explanation that the meeting was canceled because of the leak.

“If they consider this a big deal, how will they ever bring any serious criminal charges against Cohen et al., let alone handle a trial, in such a high profile matter” he wrote, going on to say something was rotten in Denmark and to talk about his and his client’s cooperation in the conditional tense.

“We have bent over backwards to accommodate them. This is unheard of. We remain willing to cooperate but something isn’t right,” he said.

The grand jury is investigating the $130,000 that Mr. Cohen, President Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, paid Ms. Clifford as part of a non-disclosure agreement about the affair she claims to have had with Mr. Trump in 2006-07.

Ms. Clifford and Mr. Avenatti have reportedly provided documents about the payment to prosecutors. Mr. Cohen is being investigated on possible bank fraud and campaign-finance violations.