An attempt by attorneys for Michael Cohen to keep Michael Avenatti, counsel for adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, out of the legal proceedings around the government's raid on Cohen's offices and home last month are legally unsubstantiated and should be denied, according to a filing by Avenatti late Monday.

The memorandum of law in support of Avenatti's pro hac vice application called the request by McDermott Will & Emery partner Stephen Ryan “completely devoid of merit.”

In his filing last week, Ryan cited Avenatti's disclosure of information about his client's dealings with numerous companies shortly after President Donald Trump's election last year as “extremely troubling” behavior that should lead U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood of the Southern District of New York to deny the pro hac request.

“Mr. Avenatti has … deliberately distorted information from the records which appear to be in his possession for the purpose of creating a toxic mix of misinformation,” Ryan said in his letter to the court.

Avenatti previously released a report that allegedly detailed millions of dollars' worth of payments by companies, both U.S.-based and foreign, to Cohen, utilizing a shell company account that Cohen allegedly used to pay hush money to Avenatti's client, who goes by the stage name Stormy Daniels.

In his filing Monday, Avenatti said that almost all of the information that was released about Cohen ended up being confirmed either by the very companies involved or through public reporting by news outlets. One of those companies, AT&T, had gone so far as to acknowledge the hiring of Cohen was “a big mistake,” Avenatti noted.

“That Mr. Cohen may be dismayed that these damaging revelations have come to light and have been proven true does not come remotely close to justifying a denial of Mr. Avenatti's right to appear before this court,” the filing Monday stated.

Avenatti went on to argue that he had a First Amendment right to make public information about Cohen, himself a public figure, in matters “that are, without dispute, of the utmost public concern.” Furthermore, questions raised by Cohen about the legality of both the possession and distribution of the information about Cohen were moot, Avenatti said, because the laws restricting such disclosures do not apply to third parties.

This isn't the first time Avenatti has requested to be admitted to practice in the district, the filing noted. His application to appear in a class action over KPMG tax shelter sales in Arnold V. KPMG was approved by U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty in 2007.

Avenatti argues that Cohen's opposition ultimately doesn't suggest why the application for admission requirements haven't been satisfied.

“Given the dearth of legal or factual support relating to anything having to do with Mr. Avenatti's right to advocate on behalf of his client in this court, Mr. Cohen's argument's must be summarily rejected,” the memo stated.

During a hearing earlier this month, Avenatti told Wood he would seek to have Clifford intervene in the proceedings, stating that potentially privileged communications between her former attorney, Keith Davidson, and Cohen may be among those seized by the government.

The request has been held in abeyance by Wood at the request of prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, pending ongoing discussions between the office and Avenatti.

Cohen's attorneys did not respond to a request for comment on Avenatti's memo.