Disgraced former attorney Michael Avenatti willing to testify for Trump in hush money trial

The world's attention will likely be trained on Manhattan this week as former President Donald Trump's hush money trial begins in earnest.

As the New York Post reports, one unexpected twist that many would not have predicted could well be afoot, given that disgraced former attorney and convicted felon Michael Avenatti has declared his willingness to testify for Trump.

Avenatti enters the fray

Despite his onetime status as one of Trump's harshest critics, Avenatti has recently suggested that he could play a significant role in the business records case currently being heard in New York.

Avenatti has indicated that he has been in regular contact with Trump's attorneys and is ready and willing to offer testimony contradicting that of Stormy Daniels, his former client.

Currently serving a lengthy prison sentence in California for a slew of financial crimes, Avenatti told the Post that Trump's team had indeed contacted him and added, “I'd be more than happy to testify. I don't know that I will be called to testify, but I have been in touch with Trump's defense for the better part of a year.”

Stunning turnabout

Though he once voiced his belief that criminal charges needed to be brought against Trump, Avenatti now holds a different view about the former president's legal situation, as made clear by his eagerness to get involved in the hush money trial.

Avenatti stated, “There's no question [Trump's New York trial] is politically motivated because they're concerned that he may be reelected.”

“If the defendant was anyone other than Donald Trump, this case would not have been brought at this time, and for the government to attempt to bring this case and convict him in an effort to prevent tens of millions of people from voting for him, I think it's just flat out wrong, and atrocious,” he went on.

Serving up his own predictions as to what Trump's legal troubles could mean in terms of his electoral prospects in November, Avenatti held little back.

“I'm really bothered by the fact that Trump, in my view, has been targeted. Four cases is just over the top and I think there's a significant chance that this is going to all backfire and is going to propel him to the White House,” he stated.

Battle of the convicts

If Avenatti is called to testify on Trump's behalf, it would pave the way for an odd clash of disgraced former lawyers, given that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's case is thought to rely substantially on the testimony of former Trump fixer and convicted felon Michael Cohen, as NBC News has noted.

As always, witness credibility goes a long way toward shaping a jury's assessment of a case, but given the liberal slant many assume characterizes the jury in these proceedings, Cohen's admitted history of dishonesty may well be pushed aside if doing so helps facilitate a Trump conviction.