From being hyped as a prospective Democratic presidential opponent against then-President Donald Trump to a disgraced convict, attorney Michael Avenatti's life has certainly changed in just a few short years, and all of it is his own fault.
On Friday, the disgraced "creepy porn lawyer," as Fox News' Tucker Carlson called him, was sentenced to four years behind bars for stealing some $300,000 in book proceeds from client Stormy Daniels, a porn star whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
Avenatti reportedly expressed some remorse while in the courtroom last week, but that didn't sway a federal judge, who sentenced him to three additional years as part of a prison sentence he has been serving since last summer, according to Courthouse News Service.
Avenatti told the court: “Because of my actions I will never practice law again. I will forever be branded a quote-unquote disgraced lawyer and worse. I have destroyed my career, my relationships and my reputation, and have done collateral damage to my family, and my life.”
The outlet adds:
The disbarred lawyer is already serving a 2 1/2-year sentence on a separate conviction for trying to extort Nike, and U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman denied requests earlier this week to let Avenatti wear a suit for his sentencing Thursday morning and to appear remotely.
The latest sentencing follows Avenatti’s conviction in February on counts of wire fraud and identity theft for diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars that a publisher was paying the adult film actress Stormy Daniels for her tell-all in 2018.
During his trial, Avenatti insisted that he'd told Daniels, who at the time was his client, that he needed to keep some $300,000 of an $800,000 advance she received for her autobiography, "Full Disclosure." But she ultimately testified that no, she had not given him permission to keep those funds.
“Your honor, there is no doubt I made a series of mistakes and exercised poor judgment,” Avenatti told the court, officiated by U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman, on Thursday. “I own the conduct for which I was convicted, am accountable for it, and deserve just punishment.
“I have brought embarrassment and ridicule upon myself, and innocent third parties including my family, my children, my friends and the legal profession,” he continued. “Some have forgiven me; Many, most, never will.”
Earlier, Furman denied a request from Avenatti to wear a suit to his sentencing hearing last week and to appear remotely.
The judge gave Avenatti a four-year sentence -- two years for each of the counts for which the former California lawyer was convicted. The judge did allow Avenatti to serve 18 months concurrently with his Nike sentence. At the end of that sentence, he will have to serve another 30 months in prison for his conviction on defrauding Daniels.
The lawyer came to represent Daniels during then-President Donald Trump's term. She retained Avenatti as she sought to go public about an alleged affair she said she and Trump had ten years earlier. She also alleged that attorneys for the former president paid her $130,000 in so-called 'hush money' to remain quiet about the alleged affair head of the 2016 presidential election. Trump has vehemently denied he ever had sex with Daniels, much less an affair.
At the time Daniels retained Avenatti, his law firm was failing financially.
A federal judge tossed a defamation lawsuit she filed against Trump in October 2018 and ordered her to pay his legal fees.
The New York Post noted:
The case stemmed from a Trump tweet that called Daniels, who claims she had an affair with him, “a total con job.” Trump has denied the affair.
Judge S. James Otero, a US District Court judge in Los Angeles, said Monday the comments made in the president’s tweet appeared to be an opinion protected by the First Amendment.
“The tweet in question constitutes ‘rhetorical hyperbole’ normally associated with politics and public discourse in the U.S.,” the ruling reads. “The First Amendment protects this type of rhetorical statement.”
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