'He stole from me' - Stormy Daniels testifies at her ex-lawyers trial

Adult film actress Stormy Daniels has taken the stand in the federal trial against Michael Avenatti, her ex-lawyer who is now accused of defrauding her.

Avenatti represented her when she publicly described an alleged affair with Donald Trump, breaking a non-disclosure deal with Mr Trump's lawyer.

Prosecutors say he withheld funds owed to Ms Daniels for her book deal. He is representing himself and cross-examined his ex-client on the stand on Thursday.

Avenatti, 50, has denied the charges.

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."

Prosecutors allege that Avenatti - who leveraged his representation of Ms Daniels into a platform as a top Trump critic - pilfered almost $300,000 (£225,000) from his former client by forging her signature on publishing contracts for her book Full Disclosure.

Speaking from inside a glass box with a filter due to Covid precautions, she told the jury "He lied to me almost every day for five months," by allowing her to believe that her publisher was withholding payment when it was actually being pocketed by Avenatti.

She testified that she hired Avenatti in 2018 to represent her in her public claims about a sexual relationship with Mr Trump before he became president. Mr Trump has denied any sexual relationship with her.

Ms Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 days before the presidential election by Mr Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, in order to keep quiet.

Avenatti represented her in her successful bid to throw out the non-disclosure agreement.

On the stand, she said that she paid Avenatti $100 as a retainer to serve as her lawyer. She testified that he used the money to pay for their lunch in Los Angeles.

A crowdfunding website was later used to raise $650,000 to pay for Avenatti's services, but she said that no formal agreement was ever made to pay him more than $100.

Avenatti has denied her claim, saying that it was always agreed that he would share in future profits off her book and any other ventures. He has pleaded not guilty to wire fraud and identity theft.

"When it came to a book deal, movie or documentary, we would discuss it later," Ms Daniels told the court.

Avenatti told the court that he plans to question her for six hours on the stand after he dismissed his lawyers over disagreements and decided to represent himself.

Avenatti's questions to Ms Daniels began cordially, according to NBC News. He asked her if she had any written proof that he never offered to forgo payment and she replied "no".

He asked her about her belief in ghosts, telling the court that she claims to have "the ability to see and speak to dead people."

"You've also claimed that you have the ability to speak to a haunted doll named Susan?" Avenatti said, referring to her TV programme Spooky Babes.

"Susan speaks to everyone on the show. She's a character on 'Spooky Babes,'" Ms Daniels replied. "She has her own Instagram."

He will resume cross-examination on Friday.

During Mr Trump's presidency, Avenatti became a fixture on cable news and was even rumoured to be considering a run for US president.

In 2019, he was charged with stealing from Ms Daniels, defrauding other clients and attempting to extort $25m from Nike.

He is currently fighting the other fraud case, and is also appealing a two-year prison sentence for the Nike case.