Celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti has figured out why he’s being prosecuted for allegedly extorting Nike and defrauding adult film star Stormy Daniels: the California and New York states’ attorneys are doing the bidding of a “vindictive” President Donald Trump.
In a series of filings and appearances before courts in both states, Avenatti’s lawyers claim that the outlandish attorney “made some very, very powerful enemies” when he tangled with Trump over an alleged affair — and subsequent “hush” agreement — with Daniels, and when he attacked Trump adviser and personal counsel, Michael Cohen.
Those enemies, Avenatti’s lawyers claim, include prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, where Avenatti is facing charges of “federal extortion and interstate threat,” and “fraud and aggravated identity theft,” according to documents filed with the court back in March and May, respectively.
Attorneys with the Southern District of New York allege that Avenatti “attempted to extract more than $20 million in payments from a publicly traded company [Nike] by threatening to use his ability to garner publicity to inflict substantial financial and reputational harm on the company if his demands were not met.” They later added the fraud charges, noting that Avenatti allegedly “used misrepresentations and a fraudulent document purporting to bear his client’s name and signature to convince his client’s literary agent to divert money owed to Avenatti’s client to an account controlled by Avenatti. Avenatti then spent the money principally for his own personal and business purposes.” – READ MORE