Media

Show starring Avenatti, Scaramucci pitched to CNN, MSNBC: report

by Joe Concha - 05/17/18 3:13 PM ET

A prominent television executive reportedly pitched CNN and MSNBC in recent weeks on a cable news show featuring Stormy Daniels’s attorney Michael Avenatti and former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci.

The New York Times reports that Jay Sures, a co-president with the United Talent Agency (UTA), discussed with executives at the two cable networks the idea of having a program where Scaramucci and Avenatti would square off.

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Avenatti, who has appeared on CNN and MSNBC dozens of times since early March to discuss Daniels’s lawsuit against President Trump and his longtime lawyer Michael Cohen, appeared to dismiss the report Thursday on Twitter.

“I have no interest in television right now. I’ll leave that to the experts. I enjoy practicing law and look forward to prevailing on behalf of my client Stormy Daniels. That’s where my focus is,” Avenatti tweeted.

Lol. I have no interest in television right now. I’ll leave that to the experts. I enjoy practicing law and look forward to prevailing on behalf of my client Stormy Daniels. That’s where my focus is. #focused #basta

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) May 17, 2018

Avenatti was the center of similar speculation in April after Vanity Fair reported that he had approached MSNBC President Phil Griffin about hosting a show after the two were spotted chatting at an NBC after-party following the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner late last month.

Scaramucci, who also frequently appears in interviews across the cable news spectrum as a guest, is a former host of “Wall Street Week” on Fox Business.

He tweeted later on Thursday that the hypothetical show should be called “not happening.”

How about: Not Happening https://t.co/lMlAOoSYZm

— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) May 17, 2018

A source close to Scaramucci told The Hill earlier in the day that he didn’t see the show materializing since Scaramucci “is focused on possibly doing a show that has more of a financial focus than a political one.”

In 2017, the Wall Street financier also held the role of White House communications director for 11 days before resigning following a profanity-laced tirade during an interview with The New Yorker directed at then-chief of staff Reince Priebus and then-chief strategist Stephen Bannon.

Avenatti and Scaramucci were eyed being openly friendly to each other at a party to celebrate the WHCA dinner last month. The pair posed for photos together at the bash, which was sponsored by UTA, the talent agency whose executive recently pitched CNN and MSNBC about a cable program, according to the Times report.

CNN has not immediately responded to request for comment on the Times report Thursday, while MSNBC declined comment.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is locked in a legal battle led by Avenatti with Trump over a $130,000 payment she received weeks before the 2016 election. The payment was part of a nondisclosure agreement, which Daniels says was regarding an alleged affair with Trump a decade earlier.

-Updated 6:57 p.m.

Tags Anthony Scaramucci Donald Trump Reince Priebus stormy daniels lawsuit TV