Michael Cohen asks for restraining order to bar Michael Avenatti from media appearances

President Donald Trump's lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen filed for a restraining order Thursday night against Michael Avenatti to prevent him from speaking publicly about the case of his client, Stormy Daniels.

The legal motion was first reported by Emily Jane Fox of Vanity Fair.

Avenatti represents Daniels, a porn star whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, in her lawsuit against Cohen and Trump which aims to overturn a hush money agreement she signed to stay quiet about an affair she says she had with the president. Avenatti has become a staple of cable news in recent months and frequently criticizes Trump and Cohen on air.

The court documents read as follows:

Defendant Michael Cohen (“Mr. Cohen”) will and hereby does move ex parte for an order restraining Plaintiff's counsel of record, Michael Avenatti, from communicating with the pros and/or public regarding the merits of this case.

As this Court has probably already surmised, Ms. Avenatti’s actions are mainly driven by his seemingly unquenchable thirst for publicity. Mr. Avenatti’s publicity tour, wherein he routinely denigrates Mr. Cohen with claims of alleged criminal conduct, is contrary to the California Rules of Professional Conduct, likely to result in Mr. Cohen being deprived of his right to a fair trial, and threatens to turn what should be a solemn Federal Court proceeding into a media circus.

Avenatti responded to the motion on Twitter in short order.

"The motion for a gag order is a complete joke and baseless," he said. "Mr. Cohen and Brent Blakely can’t deal with the truth, the facts, and the law, so they have to resort to unethical, meritless motions. This must be their birthday present to Mr. Trump."