Michael Cohen’s lawyer just reportedly accused Michael Avenatti of being a felon

Michael Avenatti and a lawyer for Michael Cohen played a game of “Who’s the felon?” in a Los Angeles-area courthouse Monday.

The men were at the courthouse for a hearing in the Stormy Daniels-related litigation when her lawyer Avenatti told Cohen’s lawyer Brent Blakely that he represents a felon, according to the Associated Press. Blakely fired back that Avenatti himself was a felon. (Cohen has pled guilty to several felonies; Avenatti was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence in Los Angeles last month.) Avenatti, in turn, replied that he’d never been convicted.

Nor has he been charged with one: Local prosecutors are weighing bringing a misdemeanor charge over the domestic violence arrest, but already decided to not charge Avenatti with a felony. Avenatti has said that he is innocent.

Avenatti and Blakely were at the courthouse thanks to a lawsuit launched by porn star Daniels, who very publicly broke her non-disclosure agreement about a 2006 affair she said she had with Trump. Daniels says Keith Davidson, her former lawyer, worked with Cohen to induce Daniels to deny the alleged affair, an accusation Davidson has denied.

In a separate case Monday, Avenatti also sought to fight a judge’s ruling that Daniels should cover President Donald Trump’s $389,000 legal fees, after U.S. District Court Judge S. James Otero threw out Daniels’ defamation lawsuit against Trump. Daniels sued Trump for defamation in April, after the president tweeted a forensic sketch of a man Daniels said threatened her, calling the sketch a “total con job.”

Otero said Trump’s comment was “rhetorical hyperbole” and protected by the First Amendment, according to NBC News. Charles Harder, Trump’s lead attorney on the case, said Trump’s legal fees were so high due to both the unique nature of the case and Avenatti’s pugnacious, publicity-seeking tactics, the Associated Press reported.

In a filing Monday, Harder also pointed out that, according to Cohen’s own comments about representing Daniels, Harder’s legal team actually bills less per hour than Cohen’s.

Daniels and Avenatti have patched things up since a high-profile blowout last week, when Daniels accused Avenatti of suing Trump for defamation “against my wishes,” according to a statement to the Daily Beast. She also said that Avenatti dodged her questions about how money from a crowdfunding campaign to support her legal defense and safety expenses was being spent.

On Sunday, however, Daniels tweeted, “Pleased that Michael and I have sorted shit out and we know the accounting is on the up and up. We are going to kick ass together on two coasts tomorrow.”

Cover image: LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 20: Michael Avenatti speaks onstage during Politicon 2018 at Los Angeles Convention Center on October 20, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for Politicon)