In a statement provided to The Daily Beast, Ms. Clifford, who is known professionally as Stormy Daniels, alleged that Mr. Avenatti had also repeatedly ignored her requests for accounting information about a legal defense and safety fund that has drawn support from donors; in the meantime, she said, Mr. Avenatti launched another crowdfunding campaign without her knowledge, attributing words to her that she never wrote or said. I recently made an offer to return the $130,000 I was previously paid if it was agreed that I could simply tell the truth publicly. “I haven’t decided yet what to do about legal representation moving forward,” Ms. Clifford said in her statement to The Daily Beast. “Michael has been a great advocate in many ways. I’m tremendously grateful to him for aggressively representing me in my fight to regain my voice.  The pornographic film actress Stephanie Clifford moved on Wednesday to distance herself from the lawyer Michael Avenatti, saying he had filed a defamation suit against President Trump against her wishes and sometimes spoke on her behalf without her consent. I’m deeply grateful to my supporters and they deserve to know their money is being spent responsibly. But in other ways Michael has not treated me with the respect and deference an attorney should show to a client.” 
 
 “I don’t want to hurt Michael, but it’s time to set the record straight,” her statement continued. “The truth has always been my greatest ally.” I need funds to pay for: attorneys' fees; out-of-pocket costs associated with the lawsuit, arbitration, and my right to speak openly; security expenses; and damages that may be awarded against me if I speak out and ultimately lose to Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen.
– Stormy Daniels is again making serious public allegations, but this time they're against her own attorney. In a statement to the Daily Beast, Daniels goes after Michael Avenatti on two main fronts. The biggest beef is about money, specifically the cash raised for Daniels on a crowdfunding site. She alleges that Avenatti refuses to provide details of how the money is being spent even after her repeated demands. "Instead of answering me, without my permission or even my knowledge Michael launched another crowdfunding campaign to raise money on my behalf," she wrote. "I learned about it on Twitter." Avenatti insists that everything is aboveboard, with the money going toward legal fees as agreed, but another allegation made by Daniels might be more damaging for him. In her statement, Daniels alleges that Avenatti filed a defamation suit against President Trump in her name but against her wishes. (A judge ended up tossing the suit.) "If he filed the case with her name when it was clear that she told him not to, then he could be sued for that," New York University Law School prof Stephen Gillers tells the DB. "If true, she has a malpractice case against him. I emphasize if true." As of now, Daniels is still represented by Avenatti, though she says she's considering whether to sever ties. Avenatti, meanwhile, still has two other suits against Trump pending, notes the New York Times. (The attorney faced negative headlines earlier this month on a different matter.)