Avenatti is focused on $500,000 in payments linked to a Russian oligarch and $400,000 fro a pharmaceutical giant to an LLC controlled by Michael Cohen (pictured)

The Treasury Department’s inspector general has launched an investigation into the source of leaked documents that made their way into lawyer Michael Avenatti's hands and onto the internet.

Avenatti is the attorney to Stormy Daniels - the porn star alleging she had an affair with Trump before he was president.

He revealed millions in payments that were funneled into an LLC set-up by former Trump attorney Michael Cohen weeks before the 2016 election.

Avenatti published documents detailing the payments, then used them to ridicule Cohen Wednesday for big corporate payments that showed up in his bank account for 'advice' he provided.

Cohen used the same LLC to transmit $130,000 to Daniels.

'Who knew Mr. Cohen was such a brilliant renaissance man?' quipped Avenatti online, in reference to all the firms lining up for the Trump confidant's guidance on health, telecom, industry, and other policy matters.

Stormy Daniels lawyer Michael Avenatti did a TV and Twitter tour Wednesday where he mocked longtime Trump attorney Michael Cohen

While Avenatti put the initial focus on a Russian oligarch connected to a firm that paid Cohen $500,000, major U.S. companies have confirmed they also made six-figure payments to Cohen after the election.

'Priceless = Watching all of the companies that sent money to the LLC slush fund come up with different alleged reasons for hiring Mr. Cohen – 'accounting advice,' 'real estate consulting,' 'insight,' etc. Who knew Mr. Cohen was such a brilliant renaissance man? #nonsense #basta,' said Avenatti.

He was referencing corporate statements like one from AT&T, which said: 'Essential Consulting was one of several firms we engaged in early 2017 to provide insights into understanding the new administration.'

A pharmaceutical giant also confirmed big payments to Cohen, but a spokesman said 'any agreements with Essential Consultants were entered before our current CEO taking office in February of this year and have expired,' NBC reported.

Avenatti replied: 'And now Novartis claims they hired Mr. Cohen for "healthcare" matters (they paid him approx $1 Million). Wow - he's a doctor as well!! Very talented guy this Mr. Cohen. #basta.'

'#Basta' is Avenatti's signature hashtag for 'enough.'

The Washington Post said Wednesday afternoon that Treasury Inspector General Eric Thorson had launched an investigation into the document leak in response to media report's on Cohen's banking records.

Avenatti declined to tell the Post how he obtained the documents that he'd been asking the Treasury Department to make public. He's said for weeks the government entity should share copies of all of Cohen's suspicious transactions.

Cohen is currently under investigation by the feds. The FBI raided his dwellings over the payment he made to Daniels that he said at the time he had not been financially compensated for by the president.

The government could find that the payoff amounted to an illegal campaign contribution because it was made with the presidential election in mind.

Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani revealed last week that the president paid Cohen back for the favor -- and wrote him checks for a whole lot more.

On ABC's 'Good Morning America' Wednesday, Avenatti tried to keep the pressure on President Trump. 'Michael Cohen and the president can clear this up this morning very easily,' he said.

Avenatti mocked Cohen as a 'brilliant renaissance man'

Stormy Daneils lawyer Michael Avenatti did a TV and Twitter tour Wednesday where he mocked longtime Trump attorney Michael Cohen

'Each company has given a different reason for retaining Michael Cohen,' Avenatti told host George Stephanopoulos.

'Real estate, business consulting health care consulting – the list goes on and on,' he continued. 'There may in fact be something wrong. For the following reason: He’s not a registered lobbyist. He hasn’t made required disclosures relating to lobbing activities.'

Lobbying rules require disclosure when actively lobbying Congress or the administration, but not necessarily for consulting activities.

When Stephanopoulos pointed out that AT&T says Cohen did not lobby for the firm, Avenatti responded: 'Then what’d they hire him for then? It’s unclear right? Clearly it’s unclear. In fact the more you dig, the more stories we hear from this company,' he said.

'If he’s taking money from a foreign national that could pose a significant legal problem for him as it relates to taking dollars from overseas companies,' he continued.

Giuliani told the Huffington Post on Wednesday afternoon that Cohen's latest legal woes had nothing to do with Trump.

'There’s not involvement of the president in any of that,' he said. 'We can’t be responsible for what Michael Cohen is doing.'

The former New York mayor said he wouldn't appreciate finding out that his attorney had been accepting large sums of money in exchange for access to his office, but he said, 'I wouldn’t be investigated for it.'

Avenatti also alleges that the payout to Daniels could be linked to a large sum of money Cohen received for a Russian oligarch.

He said Tuesday evening that the oligarch, Viktor Vekselberg transferred approximately $500,000 to Cohen in 2017. The funds came in several installments in 2017.

Daniels' lawyer was the first to reveal that payments came through a company called Columbus Nova, a U.S. investment vehicle that he claims is controlled by Vekselberg.

The transfer came months after Cohen wired $130,000 to Daniels.

A lawyer for Columbus Nova said the firm is entirely American – although the statement did not address the prior composition of the firm before sanctions went into effect.

The financial records cited by Avenatti were later confirmed as authentic by The New York Times and NBC News.

Following Avenattis allegations, CNN subsequently reported that special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators had questioned the oligarch about the nature and reason for the payments. The network said it also had reviewed documents purporting to show the payments to Cohen.

Adult film actress Stormy Daniels (Stephanie Clifford) and her lawyer Michael Avenatti. Avenatti produced an investigation he says shows suspicious payments to Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. Avenatti alleges that a Russian oligarch reimbursed longtime Trump lawyer Michael Cohen following his payment to the porn star who claims she had an affair with President Trump

The payments to Cohen came from Vekselberg and his cousin, Andrew Intrater, in the form of eight installments, Avenatti claims.

Intrater is the CEO of Columbus Nova, a U.S. subsidiary of Renova Group, a company Vekselberg founded which is focused on the Russian energy sector.

While Vekselberg is barred by U.S. law from making political donations, Intrater has American citizenship.

The FBI was able to interview Vekselberg after his private plane stopped in New York on travel. Agents also questioned Intrater, according to the network.

Intrater has drawn scrutiny because he has no history of making significant donations to politicians before the 2016 elections.

It has been reported that he donated $250,000 to Trump's inaugural committee; $35,000 to the Trump Victory Fund; $29,600 to the Republican National Committee; and $2,700 to the Donald J. Trump for President Campaign.

The donations are unusual given that in previous election cycles he had given quite modestly.

In 2008, he donated $1,200 to Democrat Bill Richardson, who ran for the presidency.

In 2014, he gave $2,600 to Chris Day, who ran for a Congressional seat in New York.

The payments to Cohen came from Vekselberg (left) and his cousin, Andrew Intrater (right), in the form of eight installments, Avenatti claims. Intrater is the CEO of Columbus Nova, a U.S. subsidiary of Renova Group

Renova Group also donated between $50,000 and $100,000 to the Clinton Foundation, though it is not clear when those contributions were made.

Columbus Nova released a statement to CNN after it reported the payments.

'Columbus Nova is a management company solely owned and controlled by Americans,' the statement said.

'After the inauguration, the firm hired Michael Cohen as a business consultant regarding potential sources of capital and potential investments in real estate and other ventures.

'Reports today that Viktor Vekselberg used Columbus Nova as a conduit for payments to Michael Cohen are false.

'The claim that Viktor Vekselberg was involved or provided any funding for Columbus Nova's engagement of Michael Cohen is patently untrue.

'Neither Viktor Vekselberg nor anyone else other than Columbus Nova's owners, were involved in the decision to hire Cohen or provided funding for his engagement.'

'After significant investigation, we have discovered that Mr. Trump's atty Mr. Cohen received approximately $500,000 in the mos. after the election from a company controlled by a Russian Oligarc [sic] with close ties to Mr. Putin. These monies may have reimbursed the $130k payment,' Avenatti wrote on Twitter.

The CEO of Novartis, Vas Narasimhan, is one of several company heads who met with Trump during the president's trip to Davos, Switzerland

According to his seven-page document, Cohen 'inexplicably accepted these payments while he was the personal attorney to the president and holding himself out at times as employed by the Trump Organization.'

Aventti also outlines what he calls 'suspicious financial transactions in the amount of $400,000 from big pharmaceutical company Novartis that went to Essential Consultants, LLC, which was created by Cohen.

Trump met with the CEO of the firm during his trip to Davos, Switzerland.

The then-incoming CEO, Vas Narasimhan, is one of several company heads who met with Trump.

Cohen had established an LLC, Essential Consultants, in October of 2016, just weeks before the presidential election, and used it as a vehicle to pay Daniels.

Cohen negotiated the NDA with Daniels' then-lawyer, using pseudonyms for Trump and Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

Avenatti's report notes that Cohen has claimed in the past he got the funds from a home equity loan.

Avenatti writes that, 'Mr. Cohen inexplicably accepted these payments while he was the personal attorney to the President and holding himself out at times as employed by the Trump Organization (with few other clients). This was occurring at the same time significant questions were being raised relating to (a) the involvement of Russia and Vladimir Putin in the 2016 Presidential Election and (b) the extent of the relationship between Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump.'

Avenatti also stated that AT&T provided $200,000 in four payments to Essential Consutants in 2017 and 2018, while a company called Korea Aerospace Industries provided $150,000.

AT&T confirmed the payments in a statement to Reuters – saying they were made to gain 'understanding' of the new Trump administration.

In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper on Tuesday evening, Avenatti said these payments had the hallmarks of a 'pay-to-play' scheme run by Cohen in order to 'sell access to the president of the United States.'

'From the series of payments made through the US entity of the oligarch, it appears this may be your typical pay-to-play scenario where you have someone close to the president of the United States selling potential access to [him],' Avenatti said.

'[Cohen] had to have been receiving the money for something, and it's unclear what the excuse is as to why he was receiving this money.'

When asked if the payments had any connection to the $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, Avenatti said it is possible.

'We don't know yet [for sure],' Avenatti said when asked if the payment was to 'replenish the coffers' that were emptied by the Daniels transaction.

The payments to Essential Consultants were made months after the payment was arranged for Daniels just before the November 2016 elections.

Soon after Avenatti posted the information on Twitter, Giuliani bashed the attorney.

'I have no idea how he would know that,' Giuliani told Bloomberg News. 'I have no reason to believe that anything he says is true,' Giuliani said.

'I consider [Avenatti] now sort of a guy who books for Saturday Night Live.

'The guy is a pretty unsuccessful lawyer - can't remember a case he's ever had that meant anything - and I think he's desperate for money.'

The Saturday Night Live reference was in response to Daniels' appearance on the most recent episode in which she lampooned Trump and called on him to resign.

Avenatti responded angrily to Giuliani on Twitter.

'Mr. Giuliani - you just called me a 'pretty unsuccessful lawyer' and stated that you 'can't remember a case he's ever had that meant anything',' Avenatti tweeted on Tuesday.

'1st, you obviously can't remember much. 2nd, check my bio and you will find over a BILLION worth of verdicts and settlements. #dumb'