OPINION:
Social media has gone into overdrive over the news Michael Avenatti, the anti-President Donald Trump trash-talking attorney for porn star Stormy Daniels, was arrested for domestic abuse.
And why not? It’s not as if Avenatti, particularly to conservatives, presents as a likable guy, a guy of solid character, a guy of high moral principles who could be trusted around anyone’s daughters. By all appearances, his big claim to fame is exploiting a porn star, for goodness sake.
But then again — it was just a few short weeks ago conservatives were in the fight for their lives over a little concept called due process that nearly destroyed the reputation, character, career and perhaps even family of a man named Brett Kavanaugh.
Shouldn’t we wait at least a day or two for the media cycles to catch up with the police and court records, the formal statements and investigative results before giggling too loudly over the crash and burn of Avenatti?
’Lest the hypocrisy label be affixed, you know.
Yes, Avenatti blathers on about running for the presidency in 2020 and taking down what he characterizes as the detestable Trump.
Yes, he pretends like he’s fighting for good — his Twitter account reads, “Fighter for Good” — all the while riding his client’s back to celebrity-ism, media stardom and self-glorification.
Yes, he’s not really somebody who strikes to the casual observer, anyway, as all that concerned about the #MeToo movement, despite buttering his bread for months now with #MeToo-tied support.
Tucker Carlson introduces him as “creepy porn lawyer” on his Fox News show — and the name sticks because, well, Avenatti does present as somewhat of a creepy porn lawyer.
Now he’s been arrested for felony domestic violence, and the temptation — given his whole “creepy porn lawyer” persona, his penchant for arguing madly on national television, his seeming hatred for all-things-Trump, all-things-Trump-supporting — is to nod and say, yep, that’s about right, he had it coming.
But here’s the trap conservatives need to avoid.
Avenatti denies the accusations.
“I want to be clear: I DID NOT commit domestic violence nor have I ever committed domestic violence,” he wrote on Twitter. “I did not strike any woman nor have I ever. I did not strike my ex-wife in the face nor did I hit anyone else in the face. I am a decent man & I look forward to being exonerated.”
His ex-wife calls the accusations unbelievable.
“I have known @MichaelAvenatti for over 26 years,” Christine Avenatti Carlin wrote on Twitter.” [W]e met when he was 21 years old and we were married for 13 years. Michael has ALWAYS been a kind loving father to our two daughters and husband to me. He has NEVER been abusive to me or anyone else. He is a good man.”
His estranged wife Lisa-Storie Avenatti — who was at first erroneously reported as the victim of Avenatti’s alleged domestic violence — told CNN: “I haven’t seen Michael in months. [But this accusation is] a complete fabrication. It’s a lie. It’s all a lie. Bruises on my face? It is insanity. He wouldn’t hit anybody. Especially a woman. He’s got two daughters.”
On the other hand, Storie-Avenatti did file for divorce in December, and in May reported in court documents that her husband was “emotionally abusive” and “angry and vindictive.”
The takeaway: The facts of this arrest just aren’t clear. The truth is not yet known.
Admittedly, or perhaps, on top of that, Avenatti is an easy guy to detest.
But this is when principles are most put to the test — when they involve people who seem least deserving.
Avenatti’s arrest, for conservatives, for those of principle, for those who care about the concept of due process and the long-term of the Constitution, ought to be a somber news moment in public, a fair and balanced discussion on the media stage — at least until the facts are made clear.
Stow the Twitter jabs and social media slams, and save the crowing and mocking and celebrating for the behind-the-scenes, at least for the time being.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley.
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