Michael Avenatti appeared on MSNBC Friday night, on the day that Michael Cohen's lawyer attempted to bar him from intervening in a lawsuit filed in Manhattan.
After a relatively quiet few days, Avenatti came out firing to interviewer Lawrence O'Donnell.
"Of course they want to bar me from the courtroom in the proceeding because we've made considerable inroads over the last eight weeks," Avenatti said. "We've disclosed some damaging, accurate information relating to Michael Cohen and his activities. And we're not going anywhere, Lawrence. Regardless of what happens by way of this motion before the honorable judge Kimba Wood... I'm not going anywhere and my client is not going anywhere. We're going to see to it that the truth of what happened here is laid bare for the American people and the evidence is laid bare for the American people."
Avenatti poked at Cohen throughout the interview, deriding him for the poor choice of lawyer he sent out to battle on cable news, and his subsequent silence.
"It's obvious why they want to take us off the playing field, because we're kicking a lot of butt," Avenatti said.
What happens if he is not allowed to appear in this case?
Avenatti conceded that the Stormy Daniels case has "nothing" to do with Cohen's troubles in the Southern District of New York, where documents were sized from his office.
"We sought to intervene as it relates to some documents we want to make sure are protected," he said. "So in the event we were not able to proceed, it wouldn't have a drastic impact on our abilities."
Avenatti also blasted Cohen's attorneys for having an apparent conflict of interest—in addition to representing Trump's personal attorney, they are representing Qatari interests which may diverse from Cohen's. Stephen Ryan is representing Cohen and whose firm represents the Qataris.
"I think it's probably a complete conflict of interest, especially if those payments are at the center of the Mueller probe or may find their way into the criminal action in the Southern District of New York. And if that's the case, I don't know how Mr. Ryan stays in the case. The last thing he should be worried about is me and my ethics—he needs to worry about him and his ethics."
Watch below.
