Page 11 - Time Magazine-November 05, 2018

Nation

The woman approached michael dozens of immigrant parents separated
Avenatti with obvious purpose. A 79-year- from their children at the Mexican bor-
old retired physicist with long blond hair, der, and jumped into the controversy over
she wore a blue T-shirt that saidaVenaTTi Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Su-
iSmY SpiriTanimal. It was mid-August, preme Court, producing lurid, uncor-
and Avenatti had just finished giving a roborated allegations from a client, Julie
rousing speech at a county Democratic Swetnick, who says Kavanaugh was pres-
picnic in New Hampshire. As he threw ent at parties in the early 1980s at which
his arm around her and grinned for the teenage girls were gang-raped.
umpteenth selfie of the day, she slipped a Avenatti’s knack for inserting himself
folded piece of paper into his hand. into the liberal crusade of the moment
Later, as he checked into his luxury has made him ubiquitous on cable TV.
hotel near Manchester, Avenatti took This fall he has become equally visible
the paper out of his pocket and unfolded on the campaign trail, headlining rubber-
it. It was a check for $1,000, made out to chicken dinnersin 15 states to raise money
“Avenatti for President.” In the memo line, for Democrats as he explores a run for
the woman had written, in precise lower- President. All this has clearly been good
case print: “Our hopes are in your hands.” for Avenatti, whose Twitter followers now
This is the effect Michael Avenatti number nearly 900,000 and whose main
has on many of the Democratic faithful: occupational hazard, he tells TIME, is tell-
he thrills them to the core. His presence ing apart the naked pictures sent by politi-
at the picnic had instantly tripled ticket cal opponents trying to entrap him from
sales. Pink-hatted students mingled with those sent by sincere admirers.
retirees in Single paYer now tees as the But is it good for the Democrats? Does
state party chairman, one of the country’s a party that spends its every waking mo-
leading Democratic power brokers, in- ment deriding Trump as a divisive ego-
troduced him as “Donald Trump’s worst maniac really want to rally behind an-
nightmare, Michael Avenatti!” to raptur- other pugilistic neophyte? And who is
ous cheers. And the idea that the 47-year- Michael Avenatti, anyway? Even as he aspirations “silly” and “narcissistic.” But
old lawyer could be the Democratic presi- fought for Stormy, Swetnick and sepa- the party’s rank and file will have the final
dential nominee in 2020 began to appear rated mothers, he has been embroiled say: Democrats recently put much of the
not entirely unrealistic. in personal and professional disputes, a power to pick their presidential nominee
If it suddenly seems like Avenatti is TIME investigation shows, including IRS in the hands of the grassroots by weak-
everywhere, that’s because he is. Just a probes, long-running lawsuits against ening the superdelegate system. And the
few months ago he was a successful but him and his firm, and a contentious, ex- base is out for blood: more than 6 million
virtually unknown Los Angeles plain- pensive divorce. Republicans could tell people have signed a petition calling for
tiff’s lawyer with fewer than 600 Twit- Democrats a thing or two about what it’s Trump’s impeachment.
ter followers—mostly “friends, relatives like to let a cocksure but seemingly harm- Avenatti says his political foray is
and opposing counsel,” he says. That was less entertainer throw red meat, collect- driven by duty, not ambition. “For the
before he met Stormy Daniels, the adult- ing lots of checks for the party along the longest time, people tried to make me the
film actor whom Trump paid $130,000 way, only to realize too late that you’ve face of the Resistance, and I fought it for
days before the 2016 election to keep created a monster you can’t control. many months,” he says, leaning back in
quiet about a one-night stand she alleges For now, the Democratic establish- an easy chair in his well-appointed New
she had with him in 2006. With Avenatti’s ment sees Avenatti as a sideshow. “There Hampshire hotel suite. “I was hired to do
help, Daniels’ lawsuit metastasized into a is some market for someone who will a job, hired to represent a client.” But over
criminal probe of Trump’s attorney Mi- punch Trump in the nose,” says Presi- time he came to a realization. “I began to
chael Cohen that has produced the first dent Obama’s former strategist David wonder,” he says, “if maybe this was big-
sworn allegations in open court of crim- Axelrod, but he’s “a long way from being ger than me.” PHILIP MONTGOMERY FOR TIME
inal behavior by the President. Avenatti a truly viable candidate forPresident.” Jon
has exposed Cohen’s multimillion-dollar Lovett, the former Obama speechwriter, is AvenAtti drinks approximately 15
influence racket, taken up the cases of less charitable, calling Avenatti’s political shots of espresso each day—and makes
82 Time November 5, 2018