Appearing in a Manhattan court on Thursday, Ms Daniels said: "I hired a new attorney because he [Avenatti] stole from me and lied to me."
He was found guilty on both counts of wire fraud and identity theft for wrongly pocketing about $300,000 of the $800,000 advance that was paid to Daniels for her book, "Full Disclosure," which included details about an affair she says she had with Donald Trump.
Her testimony, which lasted over three hours and will continue Friday, was a highly anticipated moment at the trial of a man who parlayed his representation of Daniels in her legal battles against the president in 2018 into a high-profile role as a Trump adversary.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the decision. The president's personal lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen, paid $130,000 to Daniels, who filed the suit under her legal name Stephanie Clifford. After Trump's election, Daniels sued to void the agreement.
Daniels' suit over the non-disclosure agreement was dismissed before going to trial or a settlement because the parties were no longer quiet. Trump's lawyers said Daniels didn't win the case and therefore wasn't entitled to lawyer fees, but Judge Robert Broadbelt III disagreed in his ruling Monday, posted online by Daniels' lawyers.
The defamation lawsuit was thrown out and Daniels is appealing the decision and an order to pay Trump almost $300,000 in attorney fees. A judge in that case ruled Trump's statements on Twitter were protected speech under the First Amendment.
Meanwhile, Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance charges and lying to Congress, among other crimes, and was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018. The Associated Press.
The order in Superior Count in Los Angeles determined Daniels won her lawsuit against Trump over the agreement that was signed 11 days before the 2016 presidential election. As a part of that deal, the losing party would pay the lawyers fees.
The president's personal lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen, paid $130,000 to Daniels, who filed the suit under her legal name Stephanie Clifford. After Trump's election, Daniels sued to void the agreement.
Trump's lawyers also argued Daniels didn't prove the president was a part of the non-disclosure agreement which was made under the name “David Dennison," but Broadbelt wrote there was a large amount of evidence showing Cohen chose Dennison as a pseudo nym for Trump.