The lawyer for adult film actress Stormy Daniels claimed on Friday that he was representing three more women paid hush money to conceal affairs with Donald Trump.
"Time for Michael Cohen and Donald Trump to come 100 percent clean with the American people," Michael Avenatti tweeted in a reference to Trump's former personal attorney.
"All the documents, all the tapes. NOW," Mr Avenatti added. "No more lies or lip service."
The attorney, speaking to reporters late on Thursday in Los Angeles, said the three women "were paid hush money prior to the 2016 election."
Ms Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is suing Mr Trump to invalidate a non-disclosure agreement that prevents her from discussing their alleged intimate relationship that began in 2006.
Mr Cohen, Trump's attorney, paid Daniels $130,000 just days before the presidential election in exchange for her silence.
A recording surfaced this week of Mr Trump and Mr Cohen discussing how to buy the rights to the story of another woman, a Playboy model who claims she had an affair with Mr Trump in 2006 as well.
Mr Cohen, who no longer works for Mr Trump, is under investigation in New York for his business dealings and reportedly whether hush payments violated campaign finance laws.
The tape involves Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who says she had a months long fling with Mr Trump after they met 12 years ago.
On the tape, Mr Trump and Mr Cohen talk about buying the rights to McDougal's story, which she had sold to the National Enquirer for $150,000. The tabloid never published the story.
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Read more:
Michael Cohen says US president knew about Trump Tower meeting with Russians
Tape of Trump discussing hush money for alleged affair released
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Mr Cohen, meanwhile, is asking a federal judge in Los Angeles to consider a gag order against Mr Avenatti, and to grant Mr Cohen another 90-day delay in proceedings in Daniels's lawsuit.
US District Judge S James Otero heard arguments in the case but made no immediate ruling, and gave no indication of when he might announce his decision.
"We are confident, based on his statements, that the efforts by the president of the United States and Michael Cohen to silence me and prevent me from presenting the truth and evidence to the American people, that those efforts are going to fail as they should," Mr Avenatti said after the hearing.
Mr Cohen's lawyer, Brent H Blakely, argues that a restraining order is necessary because Mr Avenatti has appeared more than 170 times on television and posted over 500 tweets smearing Mr Cohen in order to litigate his case "in the court of public opinion," according to documents filed in the case.
Judge Otero ordered a three-month stay of the case in April in light of a federal criminal investigation of Mr Cohen. The lawsuit also accuses Mr Cohen of defamation over comments he made about Ms Daniels's truthfulness.
Ms Daniels filed a separate defamation suit against Mr Trump in New York, alleging the president libelled her by saying she lied about a man she claims threatened her to force her to keep quiet about the alleged affair with Mr Trump.
"I think there's a reason why the press and the media continue to invite us to come on television and talk about this case," Mr Avenatti added.
"And that is because there's a significant interest, and there should be, because this is about a cover-up at the highest level of our government, which is always an incredibly important thing in the United States."
LIST OF INVITEES
Shergo Kurdi (am)
Rayhan Thomas
Saud Al Sharee (am)
Min Woo Lee
Todd Clements
Matthew Jordan
AbdulRahman Al Mansour (am)
Matteo Manassero
Alfie Plant
Othman Al Mulla
Shaun Norris
Kill
Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal
Rating: 4.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ROUTE TO TITLE
Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
Quarter-final: Beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2
Semi-final: Beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4
Final: Beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2
The Specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 118hp
Torque: 149Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Price: From Dh61,500
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Monday's results
- UAE beat Bahrain by 51 runs
- Qatar beat Maldives by 44 runs
- Saudi Arabia beat Kuwait by seven wickets
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
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Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
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Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000
