Friday’s conviction of Michael Avenatti for cheating the actress in adult-film Stormy Dans of almost $300,000. She was to be awarded this amount for writing a book on an alleged affair with President Donald Trump.
As the verdict was read, Avenatti looked straight ahead. After briefly being a prominent antagonist on cable news, Avenatti was again crushed by the verdict.
Avenatti stated that he was disappointed by the verdict of the jury outside New York’s federal courtroom. “I look forward to a full adjudication on all of the appeal issues.”
U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman directed Avenatti to surrender to U.S. marshals of California on Monday. Avenatti is now serving a 2 1/2 year sentence in prison for his 2020 conviction in an exortion case. He is also waiting for the book proceeds trial in California and the retrial in fraud case in California federal court.
The sentencing date was set for May 24, Prosecutors stated that Daniels would likely speak at sentencing.
After the jury foreperson had sent a note to judge stating that one juror refused to examine evidence, the verdict was delivered hours later. She also stated that she was deciding the case based upon her emotions and feelings.
The note stated that “She doesn’t believe she needs evidence to prove her side” and refused to explain how she came to her conclusion. “She is not going to take any evidence and has all her emotions. She does not understand the job of a juror.”
However, the verdict was unanimous.
It was the culmination of an unusual trial, in which Avenatti ditched his lawyers to represent himself on day two. This set up a face-toface confrontation with Daniels, his former client who appeared as a star witness.
Avenatti stated after the verdict, that he didn’t regret representing himself.
Prosecutors painted Avenatti as a serial liar and common thief. Avenatti countered, attempting to portray himself as a white knight who saved Daniels until he was defeated.
He questioned her for two days about her allegations of swindling her of book proceeds and ghost stories she had told to make a show about the supernatural.
Avenatti is still facing other legal issues.
He is yet to start the 2 1/2-year sentence that he was given in 2020 for trying extort $25 million from Nike, a sportswear company.
In Los Angeles, he is also awaiting a retrial on charges of ripping off clients and other people for millions of dollars. Six weeks of representation by himself in last year’s case resulted in a mistrial.
Daniels initially hired Avenatti because she wanted to escape the $130,000 hush-payment agreement that prevented her from speaking out about an alleged sexual encounter. Trump claims that it never took place.
Avenatti turned his representation with Daniels into a series of cable news appearances in which he baited and mocked Trump.
Avenatti was present at the federal courthouse when Donald Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen was raided by FBI agents in connection to tax evasion, payments made to women and payments made on Trump’s behalf.
After Daniels revealed that Avenatti took a portion of Daniels’ $800,000 book deal, the relationship fell apart.
Avenatti claimed he was innocent from wire fraud and aggravated ID theft.
After opening statements and the testimony of two witnesses, he renounced his lawyers and faced witnesses by himself. He then began questioning Daniels, whose legal name was Stephanie Clifford.
Avenatti inquired about what she had said about a possible program called “Spooky Babes”, about New Orleans living in a haunted home.
Daniels, among other things, had spoken out about an invisible assailant attacking her spouse and communicating with dead persons and with a doll who calls herself “mommy.”
Prosecutors claimed that Avenatti tried to paint Daniels as insane — what they called a “blame the victim” defense that failed to support Daniels’ claim that he owed money after spending millions representing Daniels.
“Whether you believe it’s crazy to believe in paranormal phenomena, or not, it doesn’t matter what your opinion is. Mathew Podolsky, Assistant U.S. attorney, told the jury that she can believe anything she likes and still be taken from by the defendant.
Prosecutors claimed that Avenatti lied repeatedly to Daniels when she asked him when he would pay the large installment she owed for the book deal. They claimed that Avenatti had already spent the money on food, airfare, and payroll for his debt-ridden legal firm.
Podolsky compared Avenatti to a cashier at a store taking $1,000 from a register because he believed he had worked hard and deserved a bonus.
Avenatti claimed that the government had failed to prove its case at the end of the two-week-long trial.
“I’m Italian. I like Italian food. “Madame and Messieurs, the case that you are being fed by the government has a huge cockroach on the middle of the plate,” he said to the jury. “Would it be okay to eat this dish, or to send it back?” I would like to send it back.
