Stormy Daniels and Avenatti to face off at trial over allegations he defrauded her

Stormy Daniels, the porn star who catapulted herself and the lawyer Michael Avenatti to fame with lawsuits against Donald Trump, will have a starring role in court in Manhattan when prosecutors try to prove the attorney cheated her of $300,000 in book proceeds.

Opening statements are set for Monday. Daniels is not expected to testify until Tuesday, at the earliest.

Avenatti, 50, has pleaded not guilty to the charges in what will be his third criminal trial in two years.

Last year, a mistrial resulted in California on charges that he cheated clients there. He awaits retrial.

Cohen played a role in a $130,000 hush-money payment to Daniels to buy her silence 11 days before the 2016 presidential election. He eventually pleaded guilty to charges and served a year behind bars before finishing his three-year prison term at home.

With Daniels as a client and a growing reputation as a Trump critic, Avenatti found himself in demand on cable television news programs. He became so popular in some circles that he considered a run for president.

After Daniels signed a book deal the pair remained close, and Avenatti was enlisted to write the forward to Full Disclosure, which was released in the fall of 2018. In the book, Daniels revealed details about what she described as her sexual encounter with Trump and communications afterward.

But a half-year after the book was published, Avenatti was charged in three criminal cases, including the fraud he was alleged to have carried out against Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford.

After his arrest, Avenatti insisted in Twitter posts that no money related to Daniels was ever misappropriated or mishandled and that he mostly worked unpaid for Daniels with an agreement that he would receive a percentage of any book proceeds.