Michael Avenatti Arrested for Suspected Felony Domestic Violence

Michael Avenatti was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence on Wednesday, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

A report for the alleged abuse was filed Tuesday, a Los Angeles police spokesman said.

Avenatti is Stormy Daniels’ attorney. He has made a name for himself by going after President Donald Trump and his White House.

Avenatti was booked Wednesday afternoon, police said. His bail was set at $50,000.

“I wish to thank the hard working men and woman [sic] of the LAPD for their professionalism they were only doing their jobs in light of the completely bogus allegations against me. I have never been physically abusive in my life nor was I last night. Any accusations to the contrary are fabricated and meant to do harm to my reputation. I look forward to being fully exonerated,” Avenatti said in a statement later on Wednesday provided by his law office.

Lawyers for Lisa Storie-Avenatti, his wife, also provided a statement on Wednesday, responding to earlier reports that she was involved in the alleged incident: “Ms. Storie-Avenatti was not subject to any such incident on Tuesday night. Further, she was not at Mr. Avenatti’s apartment on the date that this alleged incident occurred. My client states that there has never been domestic violence in her relationship with Michael and that she has never known Michael to be physically violent toward anyone. My client requests that the media respect her privacy and that of the parties [sic] young son.”

Finally, Avenatti’s first wife, Christine Avenatti-Carlin, also gave a statement on Wednesday, saying, “I’ve known Michael for the last 26 years, we met when he was 21 years old and we were married for 13 years. Michael has always been a loving kind father to our two daughters and husband. He has never been abusive to me or anyone else. He is a very good man.”

The lawyer, who rose to fame as the attorney for Daniels (nee Stephanie Clifford) in her defamation lawsuit against President Trump, has emerged as a vocal and harsh critic of the president in seemingly ubiquitous appearances on cable news, in fiery tweets and in public appearances. “There’s only one way that these tweets and this behavior and this conduct and this misogyny is going to end, and it’s only going to end if you displace Donald Trump from the presidency of the United States,” the lawyer said recently at Politicon.

Avenatti has been hinting at a 2020 bid for the U.S. presidency, recently visiting states including Iowa, Ohio, Florida, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Illinois. He has also been engaging with potential supporters in Hollywood. “A number of people have stepped forward and said that they would do whatever I needed in the way of financial support, as well as introductions, hosting events, things of that nature,” Avenatti told THR in August.

Since he began suggesting he would run for president, Avenatti has come under intense scrutiny for financial decisions. A report by The Daily Beast said that former companies owned by the lawyer owed millions in unpaid taxes and judgments. He also was ordered in October to pay $4.85 million to an attorney at a former law firm as part of a lawsuit over back pay.

Later on Wednesday, Avenatti took to Twitter to say he will “not be intimidated into stopping my pursuit of justice and what is right,” and issued another statement. “I want to be clear: I DID NOT commit domestic violence nor have I ever committed domestic violence,” he wrote. “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.”