'Sheer incompetence': Michael Avenatti rips Trump's 'staggeringly' bad legal team after 3 months of negotiating

It's been three months since Stormy Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti began going toe-to-toe with Donald Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen — and he continues to be shocked by the incompetence of his legal opponent and others associated with the president.

"This is one of the great mysteries of this case," Avenatti told Esquire in a new interview. "Frankly, I am shocked at the complete level of incompetence exhibited by lawyer after lawyer for Mr. Cohen and Mr. Trump."

The attorney told Esquire's Jack Holmes that he finds it "astounding" that of "all the lawyers in America, these are the best they can find.

"I think it speaks volumes as to the lack of respect that both Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen command when dealing with professionals and people of a significant intellectual capacity," he said.

"I have, in my career, never before seen anything approximating the sheer level of incompetence that I've witnessed on the other side in these cases," Avenatti said. "It's quite staggering, and it's the biggest surprise that I've had during this entire process over the last three months."

When Holmes asked Avenatti why he thinks higher-caliber attorneys won't touch Trump's legal issues, the attorney offered a plausible theory.

"I don't think people want their reputations soiled by the representation of Mr. Cohen or Mr. Trump," he said. "People are concerned about ultimately getting paid and ultimately; I think that professionals are concerned that Mr. Cohen and Mr. Trump can't be trusted."

"I think they're correct in all of those thoughts," Avenatti concluded.

Read the entire tell-all interview with Avenatti via Esquire.