A Canadian man with the same name as U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 private lawyer says he鈥檚 been mistakenly swept up in the high-profile legal battle between adult film actress Stormy Daniels and the president.
Daniels鈥� lawyer, Michael Avenatti, released a seven-page trove of private banking records on Tuesday. He claimed the documents proved that Trump鈥檚 lawyer, Michael Cohen, was selling access to the president, pitching himself to companies like AT&T, Novartis and a company linked to a Russian billionaire.
In total, Cohen raked in $4.4 million, Avenatti claims.
Avenatti says that money was transferred into the same bank account Cohen used to pay Daniels $130,000 in hush money over an alleged affair with Trump in 2006. Trump has denied the relationship.
Among the dossier files is a Canadian connection. One document alleges that "Mr. Cohen received a wire transfer in the amount of $4,250.00 from Actuarial Partners Consulting SDN BHD to an account in Toronto at Toronto Dominion Bank."
But the Malaysia-based company says it鈥檚 "a case of mistaken identity" involving a former Canadian consultant also named Michael Cohen.
In an interview with CTV鈥檚 Richard Madan, the Ottawa-based Cohen addressed the puzzling incident.
"Obviously there was a mistake here,鈥� Cohen told 麻豆影视 from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where he is on assignment. 鈥淏ut having woken up in the morning and having this email, it was a bit of a shock.鈥�
He also has concerns about how the information was released. Avenatti has not disclosed how he got ahold of the documents.
"I was rather concerned that my personal financial privacy had been breached,鈥� Cohen said.
Cohen is demanding that Avenatti fix the record. He also wonders if any other Michael Cohens may have been falsely implicated.
"There may be other Michael Cohens, so I think you have to be extremely careful,鈥� he said. "I'm not even in the same country as him, we have nothing in common whatsoever."
New court filings show that lawyer Stephen Ryan, who is representing the American Cohen in court, is citing the Canadian Cohen as an example of Avenatti鈥檚 mistakes. The filing cites 鈥渘umerous incorrect statements to the public in an apparent attempt to prejudice and discredit Mr. Cohen."
Avenatti did not return calls from 麻豆影视. Cohen鈥檚 lawyers argue that Avenatti has a credibility problem, and that they鈥檒l try to fight it in court.
Trump鈥檚 lawyer responded to questions in New York about Avenatti鈥檚 dossier.
鈥淗is document is inaccurate,鈥� he said.
With a report from CTV鈥檚 Washington Bureau Correspondent Richard Madan
