Meghan McCain Defends Stormy Daniels Amid Michael Avenatti Lawsuit: “We Owe Stormy Daniels an Apology”

After an off-the-rails Wednesday, the women of The View had plenty to talk about on Thursday morning. The panel shuffled through multiple Hot Topics this morning, including President Trump’s Rose Garden “meltdown,” the Harriet Tubman $20 bill, and Michael Avenatti’s recent legal battle. The View‘s co-hosts came out strongly against Avenatti, who was charged yesterday with stealing $300,000 from his client, adult film star Stormy Daniels, but Meghan McCain‘s voice rose above the rest when she insisted that “we owe Stormy Daniels an apology.” Said McCain, “What this woman has been put through — she’s had lawyer after lawyer take advantage of her.”

Moderator Whoopi Goldberg could barely get through her introduction of the recent Avenatti developments without laughing. She noted that he denies all allegations levied against him, and instead claims that he simply “flew too close to the sun,” as he told Vanity Fair. “Seriously, man? That’s how you’re seeing this?” asked Goldberg. Co-host Joy Behar added that Avenatti “fooled” her, although she also admitted she was fooled by Trump, John Edwards, and Mitt Romney “the other day.”

McCain chimed in to say that Avenatti is “facing 300 years” for his alleged criminal activity, including wire fraud, identity theft, and extortion. She continued, “On a serious note, I think we all owe Stormy Daniels an apology in the media.” McCain said that while she “was not fooled by him” and “thought he was a total con artist from day one,” she empathizes with Daniels. “What this woman has been put through, she has had lawyer after lawyer take advantage of her, men take advantage of her,” said McCain. “Her story is still very valid. Her relationship with President Trump — it’s one that we should know. I think all of us in the media… we owe Stormy Daniels an apology.”

Behar fired back, saying, “We didn’t say anything about her.” When McCain replied that she “feels bad” for Daniels because “she had her money stolen,” Behar didn’t seem to get it. “Why do we owe her an apology? I’m not clear, why do I owe her an apology?” asked Behar. “Because we put a fraudster up with her,” said McCain. “We had him on the show a lot.”

Watch The View‘s co-hosts discuss Michael Avenatti in the clip above.

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