It's no secret that Stormy Daniels had a crowdfounding campaign to help raise money for legal fees she was bound to rack up suing President Donald Trump. Many have wondered how much money she's paid Creepy Porn Lawyer Michael Avenatti and his team. To help "clear the air," Avenatti tweeted a document breaking down Daniels' legal expenses.
There has been a lot of misreporting about the money @StormyDaniels and I raised for her legal costs/expenses. See the real facts below. As you can see, we did not do this for the money. We did it because it was the right thing to do. And we will continue to do so. #Basta pic.twitter.com/q7DYtpeguv
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) December 3, 2018
Based on the number of billable hours Avenatti's firm spent on Daniels' case and the amount of money he says his firm would typically generate in this case, Avenatti's firm's charges $688.11 an hour.
Based on the number of billable hours and the total Avenatti says they've racked up on Daniels' expenses, they're charging her roughly $267.71 an hour.
Does that mean Daniels is responsible for that $50,019.18 difference or will they crowdfund for that? Which leads to question number two: who exactly is donating to this campaign? Obviously, ant-Trumpers but who else? Most would think a porn star could fork up the cash for an expensive lawsuit, especially one she's perusing herself. Plus, she's been partaking in a cross-country tour at various night clubs. Where's the money from that going, in her pocket or towards the lawsuit?
To make matters even more interesting, Trump wants Daniels to pay double his legal fees if he wins the defamation lawsuit. Should that happen, Daniels would be slapped with a legal bill of $778,806, Bloomberg reported.
Trump wants double the fees if he wins to send a stark warning to Daniels: to deter her against filing frivolous lawsuits in the future.
U.S. District Judge S. James Otero did question whether Trump's lawyer, Texan Charles Harding, billed excessively at 600 hours. He also wanted Harding to show other case law hailing from Texas to support making Daniels pay double.
Avenatti did object to the idea of Daniels paying double the fee, calling the request “gross and excessive.”
Judge Otero will also be responsible for deciding the original lawsuit Daniels brought against Trump in which she alleges he paid her $130,000 in hush money before the 2016 presidential election for an affair the two allegedly had years prior.
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