00:00The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Michael Avenatti was arrested on suspicion of felony
00:04domestic violence on Wednesday. According to a Los Angeles police spokesman, a report for the
00:09alleged abuse was filed Tuesday, and Avenatti was booked Wednesday afternoon with bail set at $50,000.
00:15Avenatti, who rose to prominence representing Stormy Daniels in her legal battle against
00:19President Donald Trump, released a statement Wednesday, reading,
00:22"...I wish to thank the hard-working men and women of the LAPD for their professionalism.
00:27They were only doing their jobs in light of the completely bogus allegations against me.
00:32I have never been physically abusive in my life, nor was I last night.
00:36Any accusations to the contrary are fabricated and meant to do harm to my reputation.
00:41I look forward to being fully exonerated."
00:43Lawyers for his wife Lisa Storey-Avenatti also provided a statement on Wednesday,
00:48responding to earlier reports that she was involved in the alleged incident.
00:51Ms. Storey-Avenatti was not subject to any such incident on Tuesday night.
00:55Further, she was not at Mr.Avenatti's apartment on the date that this alleged incident occurred.
01:00My client states that there has never been domestic violence in her relationship with Michael,
01:04and that she has never known Michael to be physically violent toward anyone.
01:08My client requests that the media respect her privacy and that of the party's young son.
01:13Additionally, Avenatti's first wife, Christine Avenatti-Carlin, also gave a statement on Wednesday, saying,
01:18I have known Michael for the last 26 years. We met when he was 21 years old and we were married for 13 years.
01:24Michael has always been a loving, kind father to our two daughters and husband.
01:28He has never been abusive to me or anyone else. He is a very good man.
01:32Avenatti has been outspoken in his criticism of Trump and his administration,
01:36and has hinted at a 2020 bid for the U.S. presidency.
01:39Since he began suggesting he would run for the top job,
01:42the attorney has come under intense scrutiny for financial decisions.
01:45A report by the Daily Beast said that former companies owned by the lawyer
01:48owed millions in unpaid taxes and judgments.
01:51He also was ordered in October to pay $4.85 million to an attorney at a formal law firm
01:56as part of a lawsuit over back pay.
01:58Later on Wednesday, Avenatti took to Twitter to say he will not be intimidated
02:01into stopping my pursuit of justice and what is right, and issued another statement.
02:07I want to be clear. I did not commit domestic violence, nor have I ever committed domestic violence,
02:11he wrote. I did not strike any woman, nor have I ever.
02:15I did not strike my ex-wife in the face, nor did I hit anyone else in the face.
02:19I am a decent man, and I look forward to being exonerated.
02:22To read more on this story, head to THR.com.
02:24For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Lindsay Rodriguez.
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