Far-right media outlet One America News Network on Monday published an unsubstantiated story alleging that Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s one-time personal lawyer, had an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels and “fabricated” a scheme to extort money from her. was forced to withdraw. Former President.
OAN’s March 27 article was based on a single, unconfirmed social media post that said the infidelity allegations came from Michael Avenatti, the attorney who initially represented Daniels.
Avenatti denied the claims in a statement from prison, saying, “You should be smarter than believing this nonsense.”
The article was titled, “Whistleblower: Avenatti claims Cohen Daniels affair since 2006, Trump extortion plot before 2016.”
Both Cohen and Daniels are key figures in Trump’s silencing trial underway in a Manhattan courtroom. The case hinges on claims that Trump falsified business records to conceal payments he made to avoid allegations of an extramarital affair just before the 2016 election. (Trump denied the incident and pleaded not guilty.)
Self-described investor and “CIA/NSA contractor/whistleblower” Tony Seruga, author of the post cited by OAN, wrote that Avenatti once told him that Daniels and Cohen had a romantic relationship. Seruga wrote that Cohen “fabricated” “an entire hush-money scheme” to “extort” the Trump Organization.
OAN writer Brooke Mallory inserted the post into her article and said that “if confirmed,” the man’s claims “would shatter the narrative surrounding Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump that Biden and the liberal mainstream media have held on to for years.” “It is,” he wrote.
It’s unclear whether Mallory took any steps to verify the claims.
Avenatti denied making any comments about the alleged affair between Daniels and Cohen.
“This withdrawal is part of the agreement reached with Michael Cohen. Mr. Avenatti denied these claims. “OAN apologizes to Mr. Cohen for any harm the publication may have caused him,” a statement from the network said.
It continued. “Mr. Cohen warned OAN about the misrepresentation. OAN immediately investigated and learned that Mr. Avenatti denied the allegations. To be clear, there is no evidence that Mr. Cohen and Mr. Daniels had an affair, nor is there any evidence that Mr. Cohen ‘fabricated’ a plan to extort the Trump Organization before the 2016 election.”
Cohen said he was glad the story had been retracted.
“The idea that I would make $130,000 that I did not own right before the election by robbing a man I passionately supported and believed would be president is beyond outrageous. It’s just stupid,” he said in a statement.
Avenatti’s statement about Cohen’s agreement with OAN was made through a legal assistant, according to OAN’s statement.
Avenatti’s statement, apparently referring to Seruga, said, “This story is completely fabricated, untrue, fake and nothing more than a foolish attempt by this idiot (source) to try to escape from a nothing existence.”
Avenatti is serving a 19-year sentence in a Los Angeles-area federal prison after being convicted in 2022 of stealing money from clients and evading taxes.
