Federal prosecutors cancelled a Monday meeting with adult film star Stormy Daniels over concerns about media attention surrounding the meeting, Daniels’s lawyer told The Associated Press.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was set to meet with prosecutors for the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan. But prosecutors called her attorney, Michael Avenatti, on Sunday and cancelled the meeting after it was reported in the media, Avenatti said.
“I was shocked at that response,” Avenatti told the AP.
He said he offered to move the meeting to another location and that Daniels was prepared to talk to the prosecutors, but that the federal officials decided to cancel the meeting.
Daniels is suing President Trump and his longtime personal attorney, Michael Cohen, to void a nondisclosure agreement she signed to remain quiet about an alleged affair with Trump. She is also suing both men for defamation.
Cohen is currently under federal investigation.
A person familiar with the case told the AP that the interview was in preparation of Daniels's possibly appearing before a grand jury in the Cohen investigation. The same person said that Daniels and Avenatti had complied with a federal subpoena for documents surrounding the $130,000 payment Cohen made to Daniels to stay quiet about the alleged affair with Trump.
Avenatti, who regularly appears on TV to discuss Daniel’s case and is vocal on social media, announced the meeting's cancellation in a series of tweets late Sunday.
“We have bent over backwards to accommodate them. This is unheard of. We remain willing to cooperate but something isn’t right,” he tweeted.
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) 25 June 2018
ever bring any serious criminal charges against Cohen et al., let alone handle a trial, in such a high profile matter? We have bent over backwards to accommodate them. This is unheard of. We remain willing to cooperate but something isn’t right...
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) 25 June 2018
The lawyer also posted a copy of a letter he sent to the U.S. attorney’s office after prosecutors first said they were considering calling off the meeting.
“We believe cancelling the meeting because the press has now caught wind of it is ridiculous. We do not think it was any secret that at some point you were going to meet with my client. And the fact that cameras may be present outside of your office is of no moment,” the letter reads.