Commentary: Questions Remain About Who Was Financing the Creepy Porn Lawyer

Did Hillary Clinton or the Democratic National Committee ever pay Michael Avenatti?

The question isn’t exactly new. It was at least hinted at as early as May 10, 2018. That day, Mark Penn, a former advisor to President Bill Clinton, published an op-ed in The Hill newspaper. At the time, the news was filled with the rantings of Avenatti, who gained his fame and notoriety representing former porn star Stormy Daniels. Daniels was claiming she was paid to cover up an affair with Donald Trump before he was elected president.

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Judge Grants Michael Avenatti Mistrial in Embezzlement Case

A judge granted Michael Avenatti a mistrial on Tuesday in a case accusing him of stealing millions of dollars from his clients, according to multiple reports.

U.S. District Court District Judge James Selna, who was nominated by President George W. Bush, said prosecutors failed to provide financial evidence to Avenatti before the trial started, Law.com’s Meghann Cuniff reported live from the Santa Ana, California, courtroom.

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‘Creepy Porn Lawyer’ Michael Avenatti Cries as He’s Sentenced to Prison for 30 Months for Trying to Extort Nike

Disgraced former attorney Michael Avenatti was sentenced Thursday to 30 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for trying to extort millions from the sportswear company Nike.

The former media gadfly and anti-Trump resistance hero reportedly cried in court as he made a statement thanking his family. According to Washington Post reporter Devlin Barrett, Avenatti admitted “I and I alone have destroyed my career, my relationships, my life, and there is no doubt that I deserve to pay, have paid, and will pay a further price for what I have done.”

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Avenatti Might Have Violated Terms of Release Again, Prosecutors Say

Attorney Michael Avenatti might have violated terms of his temporary release from jail again, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors with the U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District of California said in a filing made Sunday that Avenatti, who represented porn star Stormy Daniels, might have used his friend’s computer to write and file five different documents, according to CNN.

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Avenatti Pleads Not Guilty to Extorting Nike, Ripping Off Stormy Daniels

  Lawyer Michael Avenatti pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges that he extorted Nike Inc, just hours after entering a not guilty plea to defrauding porn star Stormy Daniels, the client who propelled him to fame as an outspoken adversary of U.S. President Donald Trump. “I am now facing the fight of my life against the ultimate Goliath, the Trump administration,” Avenatti, 48, told reporters after leaving the courthouse, reiterating previous assertions that he is being targeted for political reasons. “I am confident that when a jury of my peers passes judgment on my conduct, justice will be done and I will be fully exonerated.” Dawn Dearden, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Richard Berman’s office, which is prosecuting the cases, declined to comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Avenatti entered his pleas to extortion, communication with intent to extort and two counts of conspiracy in connection with Nike at an afternoon hearing in federal court in Manhattan. As U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe read each of the four counts, the lawyer responded four times, “100 percent not guilty.” Earlier in the day, public defender Sylvie Levine entered a not guilty plea for…

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Report: Avenatti to be Indicted on Charges Related to Stormy Daniels

by Chuck Ross   Prosecutors will indict disgraced celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti on federal charges related to his former client, Stormy Daniels, ABC News reported. The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan is expected to issue the indictment, sources told the network. The same prosecutors are handling another extortion case involving Avenatti, who was once a prominent guest on CNN and MSNBC. Avenatti was indicted in New York on March 25 on charges that he tried to extort Nike, the sports apparel company. The disgraced lawyer was also indicted in California on charges that he evaded taxes and bilked clients out of settlement money. Avenatti allegedly hid a $4 million settlement that was supposed to be paid out to a mentally ill, paraplegic man he represented in a lawsuit in Los Angeles. Avenatti said Tuesday he expected to be indicted again, but he did not say that the case involved Daniels. “I expect an indictment to issue from SDNY in the next 48 hrs charging me in connection with my arrest in March,” he tweeted. “I intend on fighting these bogus/legally baseless allegations, and will plead not guilty to ALL CHARGES. I look forward to the trial where I can begin…

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Commentary: The Eternal Conflict of the Progressive Mind

by Victor Davis Hanson   One of the strangest things about the series of psychodramas that surround the ongoing effort to remove President Trump before the 2020 election is progressive schizophrenia. In teenage fashion, one moment a player in the Trump removal intrigue is deemed by the media-progressive nexus a demigod. The next moment, he’s a devil. It depends solely on his perceived sense of utility. Robert Mueller, Saint to Sinner  When Robert Mueller was appointed in May 2017 as special counsel to investigate alleged Trump campaign “collusion” with Russia following the firing of FBI Director James Comey, he was practically canonized as a secular saint. The media was giddy over his “all stars” and “dream team” of almost all liberal lawyers who shortly would prove the supposedly obvious: sure winner Hillary Clinton lost only because the vile Trump conspired with Vladimir Putin to sabotage her campaign by leaking John Podesta’s emails. As the Mueller investigation lumbered along over the last 22 months, the media periodically announced that their newfound hero had inside information, privileged but unnamed sources, and high-ranking anonymous officials who confirmed “the noose was tightening,” the “walls were closing in,” and “a bombshell” was about to go…

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Lawyer Avenatti Charged in California with US Fraud, Tax Crimes

Lawyer Michael Avenatti was charged with 36 counts of fraud, tax evasion, identity theft and other financial crimes in an indictment made public by federal prosecutors in Los Angeles on Thursday. The indictment came about three weeks after Avenatti, best known for representing adult film star Stormy Daniels in her legal battles with U.S. President Donald Trump, was arrested in New York on two separate criminal complaints filed by federal prosecutors in New York and California. The indictment means the grand jury has found the California prosecutors have probable cause to pursue their charges. Avenatti has said he is innocent. https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/1116345651489435650 “I intend to fully fight all charges and plead NOT GUILTY. I look forward to the entire truth being known as opposed to a one-sided version meant to sideline me,” Avenatti wrote on Twitter on Thursday. The Los Angeles prosecutors have accused Avenatti of misusing a client’s $1.6 million settlement to pay for his own expenses as well as those for his coffee business, and with defrauding a Mississippi bank of $4.1 million in loans by submitting false tax returns for 2011 to 2013 that inflated his income. The New York prosecutors have separately accused Avenatti of trying to…

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Avenatti Proclaims Innocence in ‘David Versus Goliaths’ Court Fight

Attorney Michael Avenatti made a brief appearance in federal court in California on Monday, proclaiming his innocence on the courthouse steps as he was jeered by onlookers. Avenatti, best known for representing pornographic film star Stormy Daniels in her legal battles with U.S. President Donald Trump, did not enter a plea to fraud and embezzlement charges lodged against him in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana. He is charged in a separate federal indictment in New York with what prosecutors said was an attempt to “shakedown” Nike for more than $20 million. “For nearly 20 years I’ve represented Davids versus Goliaths as an attorney. Throughout that entire time period, I’ve relied upon the justice system and judges sitting in courthouses just like this,” Avenatti said following the eight-minute hearing. “I will spend the time in connection with this case and the one in New York relying on that same justice system. … And I am highly confident that when the process plays out that justice will be done,” he said. As Avenatti spoke to reporters, onlookers shouted “creepy porn lawyer!” and “lock him up!” Avenatti is free on $300,000 bond in the New York case. U.S. Magistrate Judge John Early…

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Avenatti Arrested in LA on Domestic Violence Charge, Denies Allegations

  Michael Avenatti, who skyrocketed to fame as a critic of President Donald Trump and the lawyer for porn actress Stormy Daniels, was arrested Wednesday and booked on a felony domestic violence charge, Los Angeles police said. The victim in the case had visible injuries, according to Officer TonyIm, a police spokesman. But Avenatti slammed the allegation as “completely bogus” in a statement released by his law firm. Avenatti, who has said he’s mulling a 2020 presidential run, was being held on $50,000 bail. He was arrested about 2 p.m. on the same block where he lives in a skyscraper apartment. Police declined to provide details about the victim, including the victim’s relationship to Avenatti. “I wish to thank the hard working men and woman of the LAPD for their professionalism, they were only doing their jobs in light of the completely bogus allegations against me,” Avenatti said in a statement released through his law firm. “I have never been physically abusive in my life nor was I last night.  Any accusations to the contrary are fabricated and meant to do harm to my reputation. I look forward to being fully exonerated.” Avenatti became famous as Daniels’ lawyer and pursued…

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Avenatti May Sue Tucker Carlson for Defending His Own Daughter

by Jessica Kramer   “Creepy Porn Lawyer” Michael Avenatti is representing a person trying to sue Fox News Anchor Tucker Carlson over a restaurant incident a month ago when Carlson’s daughter was allegedly harassed by Aventatti’s client Juan Granados. Carlson claims his daughter was called a “whore” and a “c*nt” by Avenatti’s client, who is a gay Latino and a LGBTQ activist. Avenatti is claiming Carlson attacked the man and told him to “go back where he came from.” The country club has revoked Granados’s membership. DCNF reporters comment on whether or not Carlson’s reaction and defense of his daughter was justified. [ RELATED: MAGA Hats Vs. Swastikas: Which Is Worse? We Asked And They Compared Trump To Hitler ] – – – Jessica Kramer is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation. Follow Jessica on Twitter               Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].

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