Stormy Daniels's lawyer releases policy position paper as he teases 2020 presidential bid
Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for Stormy Daniels, released an outline of general policy positions on Tuesday after opining in Iowa this weekend that he may seek a run at the presidency.
The Democrat, in a document titled "What I Believe," outlined his support for Medicare for all, the path to citizenship for DREAMers, workers' "right to organize and bargain collectively," the federal decriminalization of marijuana, the establishment of "background checks and bans on assault weapons," and opposition to the construction of a border wall. Avenatti also called for an infrastructure plan that he would label the "Real Deal."
In an interview last weekend with NBC News, Avenatti also rejected others' calls to abolish the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
"I do not believe ICE should be abolished under any circumstances -- that's similar to telling people that we should abolish the police force," he said. "However, we need to curtail what ICE's policies and procedures are, and the way they conduct themselves."
When asked in that same interview what missteps, if any, the Obama and Trump administrations had made in Syria, Avenatti responded: "There's no question that the U.S. should play a larger role in the Middle East. I think that the U.S. has to be a stabilizing force."
But he also acknowledged needing to understand past U.S. policy in the country more, noting: "As it relates to the particular missteps of the Obama administration or more recently in Syria, I haven't educated myself admittedly enough on that topic to be able to speak intelligently about it. But what I do know is that certainly what has been done in the past has not worked."
Avenatti also stated in his policy paper that he would reject all corporate PAC money and called on candidates for the Democratic nomination to "refund all corporate PAC money" that they have received since 2016.
In a tweet, Avenatti said more "details will follow" on his positions, and added: "Most importantly, I didn't have to hire a pollster or political consultant to tell me what to say or what to believe."
--Mike Memoli contributed.