Michael Avenatti withdraws request to intervene in Michael Cohen case after judge tells him to end 'publicity tour'

Michael Avenatti, a lawyer for former adult film actress Stormy Daniels, on Wednesday withdrew his request to intervene in court proceedings involving Michael Cohen after a federal judge told him he would have to end to his “publicity tour” if he wanted to participate.

Judge Kimba Wood of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York chastised Avenatti during a hearing Wednesday after Avenatti filed a motion to formally intervene in the case on the FBI’s raid of Cohen’s office, hotel room and home.

“You cannot declare your opinion as to Mr. Cohen’s guilt, which you did. You would not be able to give publicity to documents,” Wood said, according to reports.

Wood told Avenatti he would have to “change your conduct” and “stop your publicity tour," CNN reported.

“I say publicity tour not in a derogatory sense. You’re entitled to publicity. I can’t stop you — unless you’re participating in a matter before me,” she continued.

Avenatti frequently appears on television to criticize Cohen and President Trump. He has continued with his campaign against the president and members of his legal team on Twitter, and this month posted a document that purported to disclose bank transactions from an account tied to Cohen.

Avenatti withdrew his motion to intervene in the case after the hearing concluded. He could still refile the motion in the future.

Lawyers for Cohen and the government gathered Wednesday to update Wood on the review of records seized during the FBI's raid in April.

Avenatti claimed during the proceeding that there were secret audio recordings involving Cohen and Daniels’ former lawyer, who negotiated a $130,000 payment Daniels received from Cohen in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair she had with Trump.

Documents related to the $130,000 payment, made to Daniels just before the 2016 election, were reportedly swept up in the raid.

Avenatti and Cohen have filed two lawsuits against the president, one for defamation and a second to invalidate the confidentiality agreement Daniels signed.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/michael-avenatti-withdraws-request-to- intervene-in-michael-cohen-case-after-judge-tells-him-to-end-publicity-tour

White House: Trump made the call to reignite trade war with China

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Wednesday that it was President Trump's decision to push once more for the imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods, even though Trump a month earlier removed the threat of tariffs and said the U.S. and China would negotiate.

"The president ultimately makes the decisions on trade, and when he does, we announce them," Sanders told reporters. "And that's exactly what's taking place in this process."

Trump cooled trade tensions in late April by saying he would negotiate with China before imposing tariffs. But this week, Trump seemed to reverse course by saying new tariffs would be imposed on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods.

The tariff move, which was accompanied by new restrictions on Chinese investment in the U.S., was meant to retaliate against China's ongoing failure to enforce intellectual property rights and its requirement that companies invest in China as a condition of doing business there.

When pressed on the apparent decision to reverse course, Sanders said the White House never said how long it would try negotiating with China.

"I didn't say it was on hold indefinitely," Sanders said.

She also said the decision wouldn't hurt the ability of the Trump administration to negotiate with China on other issues, like North Korea.

"The president continues to have a good relationship with President Xi, but what the president's concerned about is making sure he stops the unfair trade practices that China's engaged in for decades," she said. "Stopping the intellectual property theft that China has been engaged in, and making sure that we no longer allow China to play on a different playing field than the rest of us."

"He's not going to allow American workers to be taken advantage of," Sanders added. "He's going to call that out and he's going to step up and make those changes."

The White House said it would publish a final list of Chinese goods affected by the proposed 25 percent tariff on June 15.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house-trump-made-the-call-to-reignite-trade-war-with-china

>>1589189

Agreed

Trump plays hardball on North Korea summit, just like Reagan did

President Trump defied all expectations when he announced in March that he would meet with North Korean strongman Kim Jong Un to negotiate the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. For the first time ever, a U.S. president would sit with a North Korean dictator to negotiate peaceful disarmament. And the president has played his cards well, using a combination of sweeteners and threats in the lead-up to the summit to ensure he gets the best deal available.

In advance of the summit between the two leaders, Kim attempted to position himself as a cooperating negotiating partner, meeting with then-CIA chief Mike Pompeo, suspending nuclear and long-range missile tests, and ordering the release of three Americans who had been imprisoned. But despite these shows of goodwill, the North Korean regime was still holding back on the one issue that mattered most: denuclearization.

The Trump administration made clear from the very beginning that it would settle for nothing less than total disarmament of North Korea’s nuclear weapons, missiles, and nuclear test facilities. With the United States offering an easing of economic sanctions, a softening of military pressure, and a guarantee of Kim’s physical safety, Trump showed the North good faith.

But as the date for the meeting drew closer, North Korea stopped being a good faith negotiating partner. Instead, North Korean officials snubbed a White House advance team last week in Singapore, even as a senior member of the North Korea leadership labeled Vice President Mike Pence a “political dummy” and boasted of a “nuclear-to-nuclear showdown” between the two nations.

President Trump’s business background and understanding of "The Art of The Deal" prepared him to work with unreliable partners. He knows when to give and get concessions, and when to walk away. So last Thursday he sent a letter to Kim declaring the June 12 summit canceled.

Trump is not the first president to walk away from the table when faced with a recalcitrant negotiating partner: At the October 1986 Reykjavik summit between President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, Reagan walked away from the table over Gorbachev’s demand that the United States restrict its research into Reagan’s beloved Strategic Defense Initiative. By refusing to yield to Gorbachev’s demand, Reagan set himself up for a successful negotiation a year later, when he and Gorbachev agreed to the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty – the first time ever that an entire class of nuclear weapons had been eliminated by treaty. And just a few years later, the Soviet Union itself dissolved, ending the Cold War just the way Reagan had envisioned – we won, they lost.

Was Trump’s Thursday letter meant to declare an end to international efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula? Of course not. Since sending Thursday’s letter, Trump has remained optimistic that there will be denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and determined that it will be on the United States’ terms. A White House advance team works in Singapore, and U.S. and North Korean diplomats continue to meet in hopes that the June 12 summit can take place as originally scheduled – or, if not, at some point in the near future.

President Trump wants verifiable and irreversible developments, and the fulfillment of North Korea’s promises, before he sits down with Kim Jong Un. He is playing hardball with Kim. He is right to do so, and Kim would be wise to recognize that and act accordingly.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/trump-plays-hardball-on-north-korea-summit-just-like-reagan-did

Poll: Huge support for Trump-Kim summit, 7-1 back negotiations

As with most things Trump, the public isn’t high on how he’s working toward a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but they back the negotiations by a whopping 7-1.

The latest YouGov/Economist poll finds that 67 percent believe that the summit, still scheduled for mid-June, will occur.

“Two-in-three Americans interviewed in the last few days believe a summit between the two leaders remains likely, and by seven to one, the public supports those negotiations,” said the survey analysis.

The summit to discuss the denuclearization of North Korea was set to happen until last week when President Trump changed his mind amid some tough talk from the communist nation. Since then, Kim has been working to get things back on track and both sides are back to talking up the chances for a face-to-face meeting.

Most polled do not expect the outcome to produce all the U.S. wants, but that rarely happens in any negotiation.

In addition, Trump’s handling of the talks has taken a hit since he flipped on the summit. “Two weeks ago, more approved than disapproved. Last week, opinion was evenly divided. This week, slightly more disapprove,” said the survey analysis.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/poll-huge-support-for-trump-kim-summit-7-1-back-negotiations