If true, these charges will harm not only Mr. Avenatti, but also the Democratic Party, which was recruiting him to speak at local events. I saw him myself at a fundraiser last summer. He made some excellent political points. What a shame either way.
Nike running slave labor camps under deplorable conditions to fuel their obscene profits? It's all good. Anyone attempting to hold the corporate super predators to account must be destroyed!
Good ol capitalism.
Good ol America.
An apparently very successful attorney who has filed several times for bankruptcy and embezzled from a client, and now tries high-profile extortion, -- has major problems lurking that have impelled desperate measures. These are classic signs, though more spectacular due to celebrity, of alcohol, drug addiction, gambling, no self-control? -- something is eating away at what might have been at one time a reasonably intelligent mind.
2
It's interesting how quickly the NYT relegated this story... to the sports section. Wow, how quickly Avenatti - a once hopeful Presidential candidate and a darling of the Democratic party - disappears from WaPo featured articles...
Democrats on Avenatti:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcBo7CKs23c&t=168s
"Avenatti is the one who stands out...he is not a politician"
"He can stand toe-to-toe with Trump... he has a chance"
"They need a fighter... high road does not work any more"
"Democrats need someone who can win... Avenatti, why not?"
2
IMHO, this has the stench of Trump's retribution on it.
4
This will be fun because now Nike is under investigation for the very wrong Avenatti tried to use to blackmail them. Nike may now join Adidas in the investigation. Should be fun.
3
In the never ending world of doing the wrong thing, corporate greed attracts all manner of folks willing to do, well, the wrong things.
Michael, we hardly knew ye! And for a while there you were our champion, taking on The Donald, even contemplating a run for the White House.
Our knight in shining armor turned out to be the Black Knight and all for money.
Interesting commentary here on this article. Many people confuse extortion with "negotiating" for the client. Big difference. Lawyers like Avenatti are the reason for all those negative lawyer jokes. You let us down Michael.
2
It sounds like vendetta against to Mr. Avenatti . This attorney is the one who crack wide open trump’s affair and the illegal payments.
2
is there another western democracy that has a culture as sleazy and corrupt as the usa?
too much money and too many desperate people.....a bad combination.
1
Appears to be a hit job similar to what was done to Elliott Spitzer. Not the first shot corporate thugs have taken at Avenatti. Nike needs to be investigated (just like the SEC in the Spitzer case). Say too much and you will be silenced. Russia's oligarchs employ a simpler method.
1
You would think that the people who handle bookings for all of these TV programs would do a better job of vetting their guests.... Oh, but wait, its all about the ratings, the ad dollars and, let's not forget, the politics.
Anderson Cooper, The View, CNN.... the Emperors and Empresses wear no clothes!!!
1
Like most thinking Americans, I believe Trump is a joke. When Avenatti came on the scene last year, it was obvious he is a joke as well. A shameless self-promoter and charlatan, even though he *might possibly* be a decent lawyer he is still an obstreperous, bombastic hack.
So many people thought he was the second coming and defended his tactics. I called them rubes then and they laughed at me. I can’t help but enjoy the Schadenfreude now.
1
One wonders, if he was the first lawyer representing Stormy Daniels, would he have demanded Michael Cohen’s job or another? Avanetti uses his clients like checkers. He is willing to sacrifice them, until the part when he says “king me”.
1
Just another low-life getting caught with his hands in the cookie jar.
1
None of this changes the fact that Trump was caught paying off a porn star with whom he cheated on his wife, nor does it change the fact that Kavanaugh has been implicated by his own former classmates of engaging in sexual misconduct/assault.
2
I would give ANY amount of money to see the look on Avenatti’s face when the handcuffs were rolled out in that meeting! A duplicitous liar and extortionist, all rolled into one. No wonder he is a ardent Democrat. They have a lot in common, methinks.
1
" Avenatti is accused of giving phony tax returns to a bank" L.A. times
Sounds familiar ?
Cal it intuition, but the first time I ever heard of him when the media hounds thrust him in the limelight to represent his infamous client, I felt there was a darker side to his persona. It's apparent that he and disgraced former attorney to the President, are men of the same cloth. Leaves a cloud of suspicion in the air wondering how many other uncouth lawyers are out there for their own interests as opposed to what's best for their clients.
What got him arrested because he wanted to shake up the status quo of shoe apparel companies going after potential star athletes before they turn pro. Too many vested interests[NCAA, AAU, Shoe Companies, the kids themselves to name a few] don't want the apple cart overturned.
7
You don't shake up the status quo by promising to remain silent in exchange for millions of dollars.
@damon walton
If he wanted to "shake up the status quo of shoe apparel companies," all he had to do was call the press conference and reveal what he knew. For free. But that isn't what he did.
What he did was threaten to reveal the info unless Nike gave him $20 million. That isn't someone who wants to shake up the status quo - that's an extortionist.
1
As an American citizen I will be forever grateful to Michael Avenatti on account of his fierce opposition to Donald Trump and his fearless exposure of the lies and misdeeds of Trump's enablers including Michael Cohen, Donald, Jr, Chuck Grassley, David Pecker, Rudy Giuliani, et al.
On March 6, 2018, slightly more than one year ago, as Americans were awakening to the harsh reality that we elected a highly dishonest, corrupt, immoral man as president, it was Michael who helped us understand the depth of Trump's corruption and immorality.
Via the Stormy Daniels lawsuit, Michael cracked open the door to Trump's criminal underworld and showed Americans how the president of the United States sought to harm and control his victims via harassment, threats, intimidation, buying them off, and lying about them. It was not a fight for the faint of heart or for cowards. It was a fight that required enormous bravery, skill, strength of mind, and Michael demonstrated those excellent qualities in spades.
The nation owes a huge debt of gratitude to Michael Avenatti. Thank you Michael!
12
I think we don’t know all the facts at this point. Avenatti has bounced back from the legal jaws of death before. All is not what it seems at first.
6
Was there misconduct by Nike in the recruitment of basketball players? This also needs to be addressed.
11
I was no more fooled by him than I was by Donald Trump. They're both snakes. How can people actually not see it? I don't understand.
5
I guess we are back to the Joe McCarthy days.So trump said he was going after all of his enemies. Perhaps I should not even comment. I hope our country can make it's way back to decency.
6
Now THIS is a witch hunt.
9
Sometimes there is actually a witch.
Will Avenatti have to pay Nike's legal fees?
2
This is yet another demonstration of the ruination of the American economic culture by greed - not just by Mr. Avenatti, but by the entire swamp of so-called "business people" who are ruining sports by trying to monetize every item of potential value for personal gain at the expense of the public. There is simply no ethics or morals left in American business practices. Where did the honest, ethical people go?
4
Where did they go? They left decades ago.
Who is the boss of the federal prosecutors? And does he have a boss, too?
1
Will this scuttle his run for president or make it more likely?
16
Michael Avenatti joins Don Siegelman, Eliot Spitzer, John Walsh, and how many others?... soon after these men justifiably offended powerful right wingers, or sought political offices coveted by the same; had their lives turned upside-down for questionable reasons.
3
This is not “questionable”. Not is it the first time Avenatti has run afoul of the law (note his shady bankruptcy shenanigans). It was a long time coming..
5
Isn't NIke the company that habitually exploits Asian workers?
I'm not crying about Avenatti tried to hold them up. Nike extorts money from its employees, so it can reap massive profits all over the world. Yeah, two wrongs don't make a right, but Nike packs a much larger punch.
7
How is this any different or more egregious or illegal than myriad things Trump has threatened and said publicly?
That said, I think Avenatti is being framed. I think he is on Trump's list of enemies, and Trump has stated as a matter of public record that he intends to go after his enemies. I wonder if this is why The Times is being so obsequious now. NeoMcCarthyism trials are imminent... (Let's call it "McConnellism" probably need by drama queen Trump cheerleader, Graham.)
7
His 15 minutes may turn into 15 years!
15
When Avenatti first appeared on the public scene, when he was arguing simply the legal case for Stormy Daniels, I remember being impressed. But very early on, in his media appearances, he began to pontificate as if he was a political pundit, as if he was an expert on everything.
I remember turning to my friend and saying "This guy is just another Trump, in Democrats' clothing."
5
Next thing you know, they’ll place him at the spa with Kraft and the Nike story will tie in with the college admissions scandal.
3
Most people only knew that the stripper had a lawyer that spent a lot of time on cable news. The vast majority likely did not find his name memorable. When he got arrested on the assault charge, I did not recognize him. It is easier to remember a name like Stormy as your point of reference than Avenatti.
Who could have imagined this?
5
Reading the comments it is clear that Democrats will defend a person who is anti-President Trump no matter how despicable they are. The MSM and the Democrats have become a farce that will be ignored. Keep America Great—Trump Pence 2020!
12
The funny thing is this. Mr. Avenatti was clearly and consistently able to beat Mr. Trump at his own sleazy, celebrity game. Avenatti (like his client Stormy Daniels) was better looking, better on CNN in front of the cameras, smarter, and more articulate. Avenatti might very well be just as sleazy as Trump who should have spent time behind bars beginning eons ago. All the same, Avenatti ran circles around the man who spends his days in the White House in his bathrobe ranting at the TV and verbally abusing his subordinates.
15
Birds of a feather form a, uh, circle together.
3
@Robert
It's sad to think that somebody that is presumably of voting age is so clueless. You wrote that "Avenatti was clearly and consistently able to beat Mr. Trump at his own sleazy, celebrity game..." What? Avenatti lost his lawsuits against Trump not once, but twice, and then was ordered by the court to pay Trump's legal fees; that almost never happens. That, my friend, is about as bad as one can lose.
14
I'm really not a conspiracy person. But is this the norm for those who vociferously speak out against Trump ? Avenatti may not be a choir boy in his approach - but isn't posturing part of the game ? This kind of reeks of dictatorial authoritarianistic retributory behavior. If he has behaved outside the legal bounds of accepted attorney behavior, the appropriate course of action is to strike a mark against his law license, not jail him. I find this whole episode to be very scary.....
16
@LisaG No, Lisa, it just seems to be the norm these days for those who speak out against anyone opposed by others... and vice versa.
@LisaG
Extortion is a crime. What next, you want to give mob bosses convicted of extortion to lose their membership privileges to their local "social club"
Oh how the mighty have fallen!
5
"...once Nike heard Mr. Avenatti’s claims, it acted to inform federal officials of the allegation that the company’s employees were paying players..."
So, Nike only acted once it was contacted by Michael Avenatti:"Our employees are paying off amateur players BUT since we're being blackmailed, we'll cooperate."
11
@Candlewick It is possible that the individuals contacted by Avenatti had no idea of the pay offs to anyone.
Good luck with that Mr. Avenatti. The fact that college athletics is corrupt and Nike is paying players is well understood by everyone. What makes you think that they will pay you $25 Millon for to hide obvious facts?
5
Avenatti should have retained the National Enquirer's lawyers and offered to split the proceeds with them. They don't seem to be having any trouble with their Bezos thing.
2
@Michael
The difference is that, unlike Avenatti, the National Enquirer guys weren't dumb enough to get caught on tape. 3x.
3
Now, he releases the info he has, if its real. And Nike can be so happy that he's been arrested... and take the hit.
1
It's correct that no elected Democrats endorsed Avenatti for president. However, his airdrop into the Kavanaugh hearings, with a totally outlandish witness in Julie Swetnick, was applauded by MeToo and Democrats. He was treated as some kind of a hero to wome; he presented himself as one. The interests and rhetoric of Avenatti and Democrats explicitly coincided in those hearings.
Yes: a hero to women. He who was charged with battery against his girlfriend; who has been fired by his most famous client, Stormy Daniels, for dishonesty; who is in bankruptcy and in angry litigation with a former partner; and who is now indicted. He who considered a run at the Democratic nomination.
Avenatti is the Democrats' problem; they have to answer for the legitimacy they conferred on him.
17
The TIMING! Jailing your political proponents...
Are we officially a dictatorship?
10
@ NN. I think you mean opponents but I’m not surprised you are confused.
7
Michael Avenatti is many things but he is not stupid. I find it hard to believe he would try to brazenly extort a major brand. I mean, seriously? We'll see where this goes, hopefully there's some recorded tapes of the "Ruh Roh" variety.
10
@Bob G.
also charged with bank fraud (submitting false tax returns to secure a loan to bail out his coffee company). Paul Manafort faced similar charges, among others.....
Great job Trump. It only took a draft-dodging President two years to turn the United States into a banana republic.
11
Avenatti was also indicted in CA today for bank fraud, wire fraud, and embezzlement - from his former law firm, Tulley’s Coffee Co, and his clients.
9
This is a man the cable news networks could not get enough of. It seemed like he was on every day for while. While I reject the president's fake news charges you really have to wonder about the judgement of the people running these networks. Why did they book Avenatti? He was a loud, over the top, Trump hater. Nothing else comes to mind.
15
@Todd. To be clear: CNN. They got on bed with any and every sleazy snuck they could find that would say something negative about Trump.
7
@Todd I'm sure they booked him because at that time he was representing one of two women willing to go public with a pay off she got from Michael Cohen at Trump's behest right before the 2016 election. At that point it was newsworthy, just as it would have been if any other sitting or former president was so accused. Regardless of his past or future behavior which was likely unknown at the time. What rationale would there be for a network not to run it? If sound ethical, moral and legal behavior were a standard for being on television or running for President, Trump would get zippo coverage. Come on now be fair.
Interesting that Anenatti was attempting to extort Nike for college basketball scandals. It’s a total shame that he didn’t attempt an different venue, minus his greed for money. Nike deserves exposure for how they are paying families of highly talented high school basketball players to direct them to specific schools; e.g., Duke, Kentucky to name a few. How Marvin Bagley III or Zion Williamson landed into Duke is suspect. Bagley III’s family were bankrupt in Phoenix and landed in LA, living in a gated community while their son attended a private school with a yearly tuition of $30,000 per year. All of this with his father coaching a summer Nike sponsored team. I don’t believe in coincidences.
6
I’m a politics junkie. I can’t help it but I’m so shocked by the Mueller report and now this stuff with avenetti that I’m going to take some time away from all this media frenzy. I’m not changing my vote for president but I’m just a tad bothered by this presentation by experts and so on. God help us right this ship.
9
“The prosecutors said Mr. Avenatti and the coach had threatened to release the evidence in an attempt to damage Nike’s reputation and market capitalization unless the company paid them at least $22.5 million.”
What law school did Avenatti attend? Apparently extortion wasn’t in the curriculum.
3
Sounds to me like he's just doing what lawyers do. I've had some experience with them.
9
This feels like the first implementation of Trump's promise to attack his attackers now that Mueller's white-wash has been released. I think the legal community should be respond by suspending any and all negotiations in federal cases and drown the court system, at least in the southern district of NY, by bringing every single pending action to trial.
5
Throw this guy is jail. End of story.
10
Along with her attorney, Julie Swetnick was referred to federal officials for criminal investigation regarding a potential “conspiracy” to provide false statements to Congress and obstruct its investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations levied against Kavanaugh.
Funny how the NYT neglected to include this.
17
West Coast entertainment/sports bizz lawyers are a genus by themselves.
1
Trump's hand picked US Attorney enacts his overlord's revenge.
6
He is a plaintiffs' attorney. He may have crossed the line here, but in general, as a group, their tactics are without rules, driven by ego. Come to Phila - the top ones are all related to US Senators,(Casey, Spector) and they throw that around along with how much they have the judges in their control.
1
Question: If Avenatti already announced that he plan to disclose the information in a public hearing, could the extortion claims still stand because he is no longer willing to hold back the damaging information in return for a big pay day.
Once you make the threat, the deed is done. You do not have to carry out the threat and cannot make the crime disappear by actually exposing the info.
5
It’s pretty much the same as if you lie to the FBI or attack investigators or tamper with witnesses in order to disrupt an investigation, you’re guilty of ibstruction of justice no matter what.
The most heinous and destructive action Avenatti has taken is convincing a confused woman, Julie Swetnick, to follow his prompting in accusing Brett Kavanaugh of sexual offenses.
He built up the anticipation, and then wrote out the accusation, and talked his client into signing it. This, unlike Professor Ford, was devoid not only of evidence but of social norms of either the boys or girls that was congered up -- of a young women performing the role of prostitutes for gangs of fellow students.
Shamefully, , his "victim" was immediately embraced by Schumer and other Democrats, uncritically challenging the actual SUBJECTIVE conflicting recall of both Ford and Kavanaugh, This was consistent with long term memory coding under the influence, that was validated by many medical professionals.
Julie Swetnick within a week after the accusation said in an MSNBC interview that she could not be sure whether Kavanaugh was even in attendance at the events -- if they occurred at all.
To some degree this abusive act by Avenatti, embraced by Democrats, could be reflected in Kavanaugh's animosity towards the political party that joined in the false accusation. And he will be in office for a long long time.
17
@Call Me Al And now back to the Nike story . . .
@Call Me Al
Ford's accusations were baseless as well. She has not one shred of proof.
7
Piece of advice, O Trumpist...stay well clear of the phrase, “baseless accusations.” Honest, it brings stuff to mind.
1
Avenatti is arrested and charged on the same day it is announced that Trump will not be charged.
The worm turned.
21
This of course has nothing to do with the Stormy Daniels affair, and Donald Trump can of course imply a moral connection anyway. “Look,” he can say. “Here’s an example of the kind of people who are trying to bring me down. Lowlifes!”
The connection and the insult by association will be wrong, but there’s still a lesson here for us. Sleazy lawyers and grasping prostitutes are neither heroes nor fit allies. We should watch them play their own game without applauding.
7
@Longstaffe
Stormy is not a prostitute.
1
I can't decide if this is like a Texas politician getting revenge by having his buddy the police chief park outside the bar to catch the person having the revenge placed on him caught drunk driving, or if it's more like John Delorean of the Delorean auto comapny getting caught with cocaine right as his business was taking off. Maybe Avenatti is really guilty, who knows...
3
It would be hilarious if Avenatti ends up in the same prison as Michael Cohen.
7
He has taken the script from Trump's lawyers on how to be nasty and perhaps crooked ,shame ,shame.shame but Trump's lawyers have no shame.
Go Nike!
2
its seeming like registered Democrats are a clear and present threat to the United States
12
Avenatti acts like he is applying for Cohen's old job.
6
Karma
9
These people are all slithering reptiles; Avenatti, Cohen, Trump.
Trump dragged them with him, along with sundry porn stars, massage parlor officionadoes and TV thought leaders, as he weaseled his way out of New York and onto the national stage.
We can only hope it will all be over after the next election.
7
Amen!
1
No wonder he thinks he's qualified to be president
8
@bob,
Perfect!
2
Mark Geragos is a regular and esteemed panelist with CNN. How credulous I was in believing what he said. The past months, I thought CNN was beginning to be shrill and partisan. Now I realize my perception was correct.
8
@edgardomoreta
I believe CNN was partisan more than a couple of months ago.
8
@edgardomoreta CNN just follows the Fox News formula of partisan entertainment, just for people of a different political leaning.
It apparently is a lot more profitable than fact based news. We do live in a capitalist society.
1
Interesting. Avenatti is supposedly "best known" for representing Ms. Daniels, but quizzing even the most media- and scandal-savvy members among my cohort garnered this reaction to his name: "Who?"
Geragos, on the other hand, is a name everyone knows, so small wonder that Avenatti joined with Geragos to leverage his client's position vis-a-vis sports behemoth Nike.The only problem with blowing the whistle on payments to college (and/or high school) athletes? Other than the N.C.A.A., absolutely nobody seems A) at all surprised, or B) to care one whit.
If Mr. Avenatti really did say "pay up, or I'll set out to destroy you," that does sound an awful lot like extortion. It's a fine line, but there is a difference between "settle or we'll sue" and "settle or we'll mercilessly and strategically slander you, and you WILL go down."
Until the N.C.A.A. rules are modernized, modified, or struck down as an unlawful restraint on trade (or under some other legal theory), their rules are The Rules. No school wants to lose their program's scholarships, forfeit games and/or tournament berths, lose outstanding recruits, or risk any of the myriad other penalties that potentially lay in wait for violators of The Rules. And people like Avenatti will figure an angle for potential exploitation and personal profit.
1
@E Squared
Your "media and scandal savvy" friends didn't even know who he was?! Do they live in caves in Afghanistan? Can they read?
5
See, what Avenatti should have done was buy the rights to the story and then sell said rights to Nike at a later date. Sound familiar?
Hey, "no collusion though".
7
@Barry D. Lede What he should have done was wait until he found a "client" so the settlement demand would have been part and parcel of litigation and not extortion. The money would have been compensation for the litigant and not blood money for the attorney. His arrogance caused his undoing just like Icarus soaring too close to the sun.
In light of Garagos involvement, the Kaepernick settlement with the NFL might not have been all that substantial. These two are Trump with J.D.s
Nike is smart. I like it. Most people who defending this crook with the narrow mindset that he was up against Trump are fools.
7
Let's not get distracted.
1
I’m sure there always are more than enough good candidates, qualified to seek the presidency. However few candidates have reached that level without having scratched, scraped, bitten, chewed and crawled over opponents to reach where they are today.
However in too many cases they have skeletons in their closets they know will come out to bite them.
The people that do accept are very confident nothing will leak out or they can buy whistle-blowers’ silence.
I’m guessing Avenatti is hoping for a world wide crisis to get his name off the front page.
No surprises here. He is a con man. And not even very good at it. He should have declared victory after Stormy Daniels and gone home.
8
@LRC
He couldn't have declared victory after Stormy Daniels because he lost that case. Twice. And now has to pay Trump's fees.
22
@GMooG
And, Stormy has now fired him. For a brief, shining moment in October, he was treated as a hero by women's groups and Democrats.
2
@Wine Country Dude
and by the New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/10/magazine/michael-avenatti-stormy-daniels-donald-trump-media.html
1
I'd remind folk that years before Trump was a political player Avenatti was controlling wives and girlfriends with money and generally thuggish behavior (from sworn testimony) trying to cheat a business partner out of millions (per the judge hearing the case), and -- perhaps worst of all -- "credibly" accused by employees of a coffee shop chain he owned of cheating them out of money and lying about it. He was sued by the actor Patrick Dempsey, of all people.
Avenatti really is the Democratic version of Trump. That is, if he's even a Democrat.
If you were looking to him as a champion just chalk it down to the craziness of our times and move on. He was never worth it.
14
@Duncan You would think that the people who handle bookings for all of these TV programs would do a better job of vetting their guests.... Oh, but wait, its all about the ratings, the ad dollars and, let's not forget, the politics.
1
So then he’s not running for president in 2020?
18
@Linda
He doesn't have to; there's already a questionable
Inhabitant in The White House.
3
Michael Avenatti is polishing up his repertoire for a Presidential run. One or two more thuggish moves and he should be ready to take on The Donald.
7
He better not get more than what Manafort was given.
5
Trump's chum, Pecker, did the same to Bezos where is that indictment?
11
Avenatti stole a million bucks from one of his clients. He should have been disbarred and incarcerated long ago, sparing us this twaddle.
17
Whatever the story is here, and it sounds like fairly typical hard core negotiation with a big player, it unfortunately must be making this a red-letter day for Trump.
4
wow... he's been on a kamikaze mission for over a year... looks like he found the carrier...
6
We'll see what the evidence shows, but it does smell retaliatory. I don't have a high opinion of Avenatti, but Trump loves to threaten payback against his enemies (he was threatening DOJ investigation against "Democrats" just yesterday.) It's pretty hard to believe an interim US Attorney who needs Trump's nomination for his permanent appointment isn't at all influenced by what Trump might be pleased by.
1
@citybumpkin. Retaliatory in Los Angeles? You’ve got to be kidding.
13
@Jackson Are you familiar with how US Attorneys are appointed? Hint: it’s not different in Los Angeles versus anywhere else in the country?
1
I am heartbroken over this turn of events. Michael is a hero to so many of us who appreciate his work on behalf of Ms. Stephanie Clifford aka Stormy Daniels. He shares our mutual outrage over Trump's behavior and gives voice to our collective disappointment in having a crook and liar in the White House.
His is a resounding voice on behalf of the victims of R. Kelly and one that is needed at this particular time given that Kelly is poised to flee the country if the court grants his request to perform in Dubai. I worry about what is going to happen to Michael's ongoing cases in that regard. Kelly cannot be allowed to leave the country, because as Michael has stated, he won't ever return.
Michael has overcome a lot in his life. He is devoted to his children, to his clients, and is a knowledgeable and competent lawyer.
I am confident that Michael will put up a competent defense to these charges and I remain hopeful that he will successfully overcome them in due course.
5
Who are you kidding?
If he’s proven guilty of what is alleged, then prison is usually what the law calls for.
He’s an opportunist, not unlike Michael Cohen.
He couldn’t make it up the centre, so he tried to scoot around the end. It looks like he went out of bounds.
13
@Alabama
Is this satire? There's a symbol for that (/S or something) since it often doesn't "come across" in postings.
7
@Alabama
Mr. Avenatti’s real dedication is to himself, and self-promotion seems to be the only thing at which he excels. Certainly his skills as an attorney are highly questionable, given the amount of egg on his face lately, and his stature as an idealist defending the rights of women has become as absurd a joke as his stunt of running for president. Now that the legal profession has led him to fraud and blackmail, he might consider a change of career and try the adult entertainment business, where he could star in a duo with Stormy Daniels—that is, if she’d have him.
1
Great couple of days for Trump, no?
29
Isn't Geoffrey S. Berman the Trump appointee that Trump asked Matthew Whitaker (when he was acting AG) to, "un-recuse" for the Michael Cohen case?
4
wow! That was quick! The vengeance didn’t take long. This is a clear warning to others. You come at trump and his folks in government will come at you. This is an old fashioned thirdworld style getback. Trump is smiling. Congress or rather the House of Representatives should investigate whether this is any part of a scheme of vengeance.
5
@Frea. You mean like the FBI’s investigation of Trump?
8
Avenatti's alleged co-conspirator is Mark Geragos, who was on OJ Simpson's defense team. What a surprise.
16
It seems like the entire anti Trump media establishment is crumbling. The Mueller report, now Avenetti and the CNN legal analyst, the NYt editorial board scrambling to save their employers reputation. It’s fun to watch.
31
Why does it take until the 15th paragraph to mention the serious charges in California? No mention in the headline, either.
"Mr. Avenatti could not be reached for comment" for good reason. He was being arraigned. Probably the first time he hasn't been readily available for comment.
17
I guess that old joke about bottom feeders is true in this case.
12
Hmph, a sincere whistleblower would not be asking for money, they'd just put their lips together and blow.
5
The liberal media favorite guy , deemed so credible when he was fighting Trump. How funny.
20
Avenatti got his 15 minutes of fame and went nuts.
17
Donald Trump’s wildest dreams are coming true. Lord help us in 2020.
13
Another Democrat hero, downed by his crimes.
Careful, soon you'll be jailing Democrat Representatives and Senators too.
Extortion too.
Where is Michelle going bananas over another male being horrible?
8
@AutumnLeaf
Why would Michelle be going bananas?
1
......all that glitters isn't gold.....
2
All pretty funny, actually. This worm was once the toast of the enraptured liberal media. For example, check out the archives:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/10/magazine/michael-avenatti-stormy-daniels-donald-trump-media.html
18
So, how about they look at John Brennan also? That knuckle head was on TV non stop, CNN and so on. He had proof of collusion. Guess not. Was he head of the CIA? Is that possible? How did we survive the Obama years? It’s a miracle.
10
Hmm...now that he has proven his qualifications to be President, he's not running?
4
Even if Nike is guilty of a crime, threatening to expose it in order to obtain money -- in this case a huge amount -- is extortion. Nothing Trumpian about it. If what the NY prosecutor says is true, Avenatti has committed a crime. This is different from attempting to settle a lawsuit. There the "threat" is based on liability and not on publicity. "If you don't pay my client X sum of money, we will proceed to court to collect it" is way different from "If you don't pay my client X sum of money we will expose you to publicity that will hurt you." Even if the result of the lawsuit would include publicity.
11
Some people commenting are confusing whistler blower laws with blackmail.
If you are a whistleblower, you go to law enforcement or regulatory agencies and report corporate civil or criminal wrongdoing and your complaint is made public and the appropriate governmental authorities are involved.
Blackmail is a felony at the state and Federal level.
Avenatti tried to shakedown Nike by demanding money to not report alleged bad acts by Nike that may be criminal or violate civil Federal or State regulations.
There is a strong public policy to encourage people to report crimes and for people not to try to extort people or businesses to pay money to a blackmailer so crimes or bad acts are not prosecuted.
Nike or its employees may be subject to criminal or civil liability. However, Nike's acts are separate from the acts of a blackmailer.
The correct way to view Avenatti's alleged acts are those of a conspirator who wants to be paid to keep quiet about a crime or other bad acts. Nike avoids punishment and Avenatti is now a co-conspirator who demands money for his silence. That is what a Blackmailer does and it is illegal in every state and in Federal law.
This has been the law in this country for a long time.
If Avenatti is guilty of blackmail or the separate alleged embezzlement of a client's money and bank fraud in the CA case, he will lose his law license and go to prison.
9
stay in yo lane. My takeaway is a guy who will never earn enough money and spends like a drunken sailor. People refuse to live within their means and then have to steal from siblings or extort or misappropriate escrow funds from partners and clients. Remember kiddies, there is a difference between earning a lot and having a lot. time to re read the Millionaire Next Door book
6
What was his grade in legal ethics?
6
Now we know why Avenatti ultimately decided against running for president.
Dealing with multiple federal indictments will be time consuming.
What a pity. With all the airtime provided by CNN and MSNBC over at the Ministry of Truth, Avenatti was being groomed as our next great savior.
But if he’s not incarcerated, maybe he’ll run in 2024, assuming there will even be a nation to govern.
10
The timing of this arrest is very curious to me. Immediately upon the so called "exoneration" of Trump by Barr, two stunning indictments come down against this man who tried to take down Trump. I don't know how things work behind the scenes, but I've seen enough of Trump, and, now, Barr, to know that they do. And, I tell you all, I smell a rat, or two, and I think you know their names.
2
So why can't Trump be arrested for extortion when he shut down the government, last year (and the beginning of this year), to put pressure on Congress to give him money for his wall?
3
So he's probably not going to run for president after all.
6
This is a guy who's not satisfied billing by the hour.
2
Remember the famous quote from Chief Justice Earl Warren:
"I always turn to the sports pages first, which records people's accomplishments. The front page has nothing but man's failures."
Not anymore.
2
I think Avenatti’s 15 minutes of fame are over. And should have ended a while ago.
8
I bet Manafort and Stone are having a rueful laugh about the DOJ equating a lawyer's demands to extortion.
Avenatti didn't threaten to jail anyone, just to embarrass them with a truth he possesses on behalf of his client. Lawyers threatening multi-billion dollar corporations is not extortion. If anything, this is a violation of his ethical duties to his client, by using his client's information to enrich himself without his client's knowledge using a "side deal", but hardly extortion.
This smells like political targeting.
1
That media addict used to be Trump's worst nightmare . . . but not anymore. There was a time where he was practically co-hosting Anderson Cooper 360. Those delusions of folk hero status and a presidential run - is the left still in love with him now? First he was accused domestic violence, then of cheating his law partners, then Stormy Daniels fired him, and now he's on tape extorting Nike. He said on Bill Maher that "[Trump] can't buy [Daniels] and he can't buy me." Apparently, he can, for about $20m. Maybe he and Michael Cohen, who Avennati once called a "zero," will wind up sharing the same cell.
12
If you uncover wrongdoing, you need to report it to authorities. You can't approach the lawbreaker and offer to keep silent for cash. I think Mr. Avenatti is going to prison.
9
His five minute fame is over long ago , trump should take him as his VP choice for his next run .
Then voters will decide who is more corrupt.
2
He was always going to be on the hook for something, that is how it works. If not this, it would have been jaywalking or his dog fouling the pavement, or parking in the wrong spot. His card was marked.
I don’t believe he tried to extort Nike, it’s a ... what do they call it? Oh yes... Witch Hunt!
2
I don't believe it. I think this is payback pure and simple. Avenatti is smart and tough and probably the only real threat to Trump. I hope he rises up out of this bubble and comes up with both fists clenched and a winning plan.
3
Even long before this story emerged, his pathological love of the spotlight suggested Michael Avenatti is Donald Trump with a law degree.
4
Extortion is defined as: the practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or threats.
Perhaps a lawyer can explain to me the difference between that, and a "demand letter", or any other civil law suit?
As far as I can tell, civil law is nothing but legalized extortion.
3
@Chicago Guy
1. Because the Constitution guarantees the right to redress in a court of law. It says nothing about demanding the respondent give the attorney a job. It says nothing about threatening to go to the press if the company refuses to pay the attorney millions of dollars.
2. A plaintiff must have standing to file a lawsuit. Meaning that he or she had to have been harmed. This coach did not have standing.
7
In order for a claim for money, or anything of value to be legal you have to state a cognizable claim under law.
Asking for a settlement when you haven't filed a suit just might be extortion.
4
@Kenneth Ranson
Uh no.
1
Yes, please shine more light on how the US legal system works.
3
I think he was just trying to follow the Clinton’s lead to be a real Democrat
25
The one thing Americans of all political stripes can agree on is that Avenatti is a self-promoting toad without a conscience. Perhaps there's hope for the union yet!
23
He's got a big problem.
Judges and prosecutors are going to be going overboard to hang him to please Trump.
7
@True Observer
Welcome! Is today your first day reading the Times? I ask because your comment makes absolutely no sense. For the last three days we have been reading on the NYT - both in articles and in the comments - that the prosecutors in the SDNY are the ones that are really out to get Trump, and who will "bring him to justice."
10
@True Observer
I don't know about every judge and prosecutor going overboard to please Trump. There are strong public policy reasons why these cases are pursued.
In CA Avenatti is accused of embezzeling one million dollars of a client's money. If that happened, he should be prosecuted.
He also is accused of bank fraud and wire fraud.
I do know that every CA lawyer should be pleased to see him held accountable and lose his license to practice law if the acusations are true.
He also made a claim for millions of dollars against Nike without having a client that had a legitimate claim for damages.
That makes his demand for money and for him to be hired for millions of dollars an extortion scheme if the facts alleged are true.
6
25m and he still can't get a suit that fits... D'oh!
9
And this was the guy who was the darling of liberal media. The Dems even considered for president!
AVENATTI 2020 !
45
@SD
I think it's fairer to say HE considered himself a potential Democratic candidate for president in 2020. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find any endorsement of a run from the party proper.
6
@SD. Lol. Not this democrat. I work with lawyers. I can see a slimy one a mile away.
3
@D Price Not really. There was talk in the media about him running. Also he was the star of the show on MSNBC and CNN. When he decided to run he got enormous support from the Dems and liberal media.
Clearly all that was driven by a hatred for Trump. There was no rationale behind it. The dems fawned over this guy, Michael Wolfe etc, all who could do very good Trump bashing.
Wont work guys. Liberals need to wake up. No one is 100% moral and upright but we need to respect democracy and the rule of the law. And catch a joke when you see one (like when Trump asked Russia to hack and claimed he could shoot anyone)...
The Democrats' top hope for 2020 ruined by his own greed and hubris.
15
CNN is now reporting that the other lawyer involved in the scheme with Avenatti is that other left-wing darling, Mark Geragos. Couldn't happen to a nicer couple.
39
Making a legal claim against a company prior to filing a lawsuit is not remotely the same of what Avenatti is accused of here. The coach did not have standing, from what I can see, to file a claim against Nike with regard to paying players. He may have had a claim against them for something else, but them the illegal payments should not have been brought up in the conversation. And demanding that he and another lawyer be hired or paid $22 million is not a legal negotiation.
I would like to see the evidence or hear the audio of the conversation before assuming he's guilty. But if this story is true, along with the charges of embezzlement and defrauding a bank; Avenatti is going down.
My, oh my! How quickly they fall.
10
I have been an attorney for many years and have seen quite a few lawyers like Avenatti come and go. Rather than working hard to achieve professional success, they take shortcuts trying to become “rainmakers.” In his case, he parlayed the sorted story of Stormy Daniels and others into notoriety for himself. He certainly has achieved notoriety lately, probably not the kind he sought. Dime to a dollar, he’ll soon admit he’s struggling with a substance problem and enter a rehab program. I wish him well, but am glad we’ve likely seen the end of him.
31
I think you mean sordid, not sorted.
3
You're right. auto correct took over.
2
@Dennis OBrien-Sorted or otherwise, I was hoping Avenetti was smarter than this.
1
He had me fooled. And I thought I was world’s number 1 cynic.
1
Mr. Avenatti appears to be less of a lawyer seeking to assist those aggrieved by wrong doing, and more of a common low life criminal shaking folks upside down in "gotcha scams." Trump having the best day of his time in office.
16
So one person who nearly vowed to take President Trump down, might be seeing Cohen in prison.
21
Does this mean he’s not going to throw his hat in the ring with the other Democrats?
26
Yeah. At this point, he would fit in neatly and be more comfortable with the Republicans.
12
Just as I don't take Trump to be the representative of all Republicans, I hope you don't take Avenatti as the ambassador of all Democrats. Thanks.
5
Wow, sure didn’t see this one coming. I mean after all, isn’t this the same guy who was so revered by CNN, and all the other liberal, Trump hating outlets! They couldn’t get enough of him! What a sham!
41
That guy is obviously a sleaze ball and I feel sorry for Stormy Daniels that she got her case ruined by him. The moment he said he was considering running in 2020, every doubt that he is just another (criminal) publicity hound was completely removed. What kind of world are we living in? The whole country has turned into a reality show.
14
Yes the USA is a farce.
3
@Herr Fischer
Sorry for Stormy Daniels? She got paid $130k for an NDA......
4
@Herr Fischer
As much as I was hoping that Stormy Daniels and Avenatti was going to take Trump out, I never looked at them as being “good people.” He’s a sleazy media hound and she’s a home wrecker. She admitted to having sex with a married man for no reason whatsoever. Neither one are worthy of sympathy.
4
Wow today just keeps getting better for Trump.
23
Anyone know any good lawyer jokes?
2
Isn’t that redundant? And that’s no joke...
This is an old one:
A hungry shark sees a lawyer underwater but detours around him.
LAWYER Thanks, why’d you do that?
SHARK Professional courtesy.
3
@Jayne De Sesa
That's an extremely old one.
Does this mean he won't be a constant, trusted guest anymore on CNN and MSNBC?
50
@badubois
Well, Flynn, Manafort and Cohen probably won’t be apppearing on Fox any time soon, will they?
3
His mother must be so disappointed in him.
6
Just another sleazy lawyer (or two) or Trumpian retribution? Maybe a bit of both? Time will tell.
1
Readers please note that Avenatti was a trusted CNN contributor. He was celebrated numerous times for his keen insights and of course salacious accusations.
25
@clarity007. Please note that Flynn, Cohen and Manafort were interviewed and fawned over on Fox News regularly. Not to mention, they were highly trusted advisors to president Trump.
Might not want to throw stones, buddy.
1
Welcome to the new world of Trump aggression. Avenatti is shady, to be sure, but he is mere penumbra to the darkness of corporate sports. I'm putting my Swishes in the closet and walking barefoot for a week.
2
I'd pay to see the meeting between Avenatti and Michael Cohen if they wound up in the same Federal Prison.
10
This is why people hate lawyers.
7
@Kim10024
Hillary's a lawyer. She smirked on tape in 1975 when she got a client accused of assaulting a girl off.
9
@Wine Country Dude
Oh gee, are one of those that believed the Clintons had their enemies murdered.
1
@Texas Duck
No, are not one. Are also not believe DT is unindicted conspirator in anything. Are wish you provide case citation.
Reading the comments to this story, it's absolutely amazing that so many commenters have an opinion about what happened without having a clue about the facts, Wake up, people.
3
@robert bloom
read the complaint, Pollyanna
8
@robert bloom
Are you talking about the Avenatti investigation or the Mueller investigation?
4
@GMooG
I did. I applaud the FBI and Nike.
5
Could not happen to a nicer fellow.
8
That's funny, they played a recording on national television of Trump ordering Cohen to pay off Stormy Daniels. Are the SDNY lawyers brain dead when it comes to Trump? Can you say individual number one? Sure you can. My taxes should be reduced a lot because SDNY is not doing their job! What am I paying for?
2
@Keith Dow
Trump is an unindicted co-conspirator in that mess. Funny that felony seems to be completely ignored by Barr, while those that suggest Trump is innocent are highlighted.
1
@Texas Duck. What felony?
@Jackson
Cohen broke federal election laws by using unreported Trump money to pay Daniels to help the campaign.
Cohen was convicted of this crime. Trump actively participated and is likely the unnamed unindicted co-conspirator.
1
This is even more fun than the Mueller report!
7
@Anne
After all, what a relief that our President did not collude, despite the fact that he stood on the stage with Putin and said Russia did not interfere in the election.
You do realize the Meuller Report completely contradicted Trump on this and ruled Russia try to help elect Trump.
Funny you aren’t offended with our President siding with a foreign enemy over our own justice department.
As for Avenatti, nothing about this surprises me, just as I will not be surprised when Trump is indicted for bank fraud by the State of New York.
1
Oh it’s Nike the corporation who has $36 Billion Dollars in revenue and has less than stellar labor practices in South-East Asia. Yeah I don’t care it’s unfortunate that Mr. Avenatti didn’t extort money from them.
2
Couldn't have happened to a more deserving guy.
However, if there is evidence of a tsunami of improper payments by Nike - or any bad actor - let's see it. The fact that Avenatti is a con man does not mean that Nike is in the clear.
5
@Shar
You do realize Nike contacted the FBI and reportedly been working with the FBI for over a year on these issues.
5
it is something fishy here. Michael Avenatti was the one took Trump, Cohen and the Enquirer. We see the Con man hands all over. It seems that we are in Cuba, Russia, Saudi Arabia.
5
Avenatti is a lot of things but I didn't think he was stupid. If he had this information there are many ways he could have monetized it legally.
Write a book, or newspaper or blog article. Right before publishing you call Nike and ask if they care to comment. Then wait for Nike to make a "catch and kill" offer.
Then again, they don't catch the smart ones.
2
I don't know if that's true. I'd say they don't catch the rich ones.
3
How does one distinguish the difference between chutzpah and sheer stupidity? Here you have a "high profile" attorney aggressively go after the president of the United States. This attorney, it turns out, never filed tax returns for the years 2011, 2012, and 2013. Would not take much in the way of opposition research to discover this little foible. I think it is time for Mr. Manafort to come out of solitary. These two guys deserve each other.
4
Trump's
Best. Day. Ever.
15
When's the last time Lawrence O'Donnell had him on his show?
6
@Fontana Belk
Before he got accused of domestic violence. Lawrence dropped him like a rock.
2
I imagine Narcissism has plagued societies for ages; but we seem to be living in an era of hyper narcissism.
Avenatti duped many of us (as narcissists do so well) with his charisma, charm and bull dog attitude that charged at our Narcissist in Chief. But evidence indicates Avenatti is cut from the same cloth as Trump: misogyny, ruthlessness, self aggrandizement, vanity, violence, cunning, and criminality.
8
I confess. He totally fooled me. I regard myself as a grifter hound, yet I still miss.I was ensnared by wishful thing
1
This is an attorney celebrated by fake news to attack Trump. How many times he appeared In CNN?
16
Obviously a sign of our decadence that someone like Avenatti was at one time considered to be a prominent political figure.
7
While Trump and his supporters may see this arrest as a small victory, it comes at the cost of giving the SDNY political cover for its ongoing investigation into the Trump Foundation and the Trump family's business activities.
After all, you can't use the political witch hunt defense when they go after you and your kids for running a sham foundation, when they've gone after one of your political enemies just for making veiled threats during a press conference.
2
This is what plaintiffs' lawyers do every day. When I consulted with my lawyer when we were so threatened, he called it "legalized extortion."
This is a very poor characterization of what Plaintiff's attorneys do. Plaintiff's attorneys protect the public from huge, exceptionally greedy companies that take advantage of consumers and investors alike. These companies are barely held accountable by the government anymore, so at least we have these attorneys. I'm related to one, and she never sued anyone that did not deserve it. And she isn't living in the lap of luxury that claims of "legal extortion" might conjure in one's mind. This statement is not only untrue, it is insulting and ignorant.
1
He embezzled $1 million from a client and provided a false settlement accounting to the client. He didn't pay income taxes for years and he lied to the IRS and banks. How could be possibly have thought he could survive a run for the presidency? Mania? Narcissism? I am abstractly fascinated.
11
Last year this guy was a left-wing hero. Now we learn he is nothing but a swindler, like what we despise on the right. Rush, Trump etc are having a really really good week and it is only Monday. Prepare everyone for their onslaught.
8
Personally, I think anyone with a pulse and is not tweeting Trump's talking points is considered a hero at this point.
I knew Avenatti was considering a run for president, but wow, this makes him eminently qualified to capture the GOP nomination. Trump may need to up his game.
11
Champagne anyone? My treat!
8
I guess it’s true. 90% of the lawyers give the other 10% a bad name.
14
Hilarious. I’m now coming down off of the roof. Humor is a great antidote for despair. Thank you!
5
This guy was going to run for President?
By comparison, he makes Trump look good.
5
But ... we continue to listen to this guy in hopes of somehow taking down the president. Unbelievable!
4
I'm more than a little puzzled by the claim that Avenatti demanded that Nike hire him to conduct an internal investigation of the company. Wasn't Avenatti currently representing a client with a multi-million claim against the company? So how could he also ethically represent Nike Corporation in the internal investigation? If you want a textbook definition of conflict of interest, here it is. It's also funny to hear about a lawyer "demanding" that he be hired by a client. I think it's the client who gets to choose the lawyer, not the other way around.
1
@Richard Katz
Dude, seriously? The demand to be hired to conduct an investigation was simply the pretext for Nike to pay Avenatti, and Avenatti to receive the money, without making it obvious that this was extortion. There wasn't going to be any real investigation.
5
@GMooG Understood, but that in no way diminishes the ridiculousness of Avenatti's supposedly recorded proposal to Nike. You'd think he could have come up with a less tainted pretext to hold them up.
2
@Richard Katz
Not necessarily. If they had made the deal, both clients could have given conflict waivers
Couldn't have happened to a more deserving, distinguished and classy guy!
13
I remember back in the early eighties when I lived in San Francisco, a survey was done about lawyers. One person said if you see car tire marks going ahead and then backing up, you can be sure it was about a lawyer. Another said it is great when a case is won when the lawyer was totally wrong.
I was quite surprised that Mr. Avenatti was so agressive about going after Trump and also that he would run for president in 2020. Perhaps Mr. Avenatti is not well and may need to seek help.
5
Sometimes life in the big leagues isn't always so rewarding.
And sometimes life in the little leagues won't make one king of the hill, but you can make a living, and sleep at night!
10
So, Avenatti had a whistleblower client who asked for a settlement, and now they're both accused of extortion? Is this the new corporate/billionaire strategy for fighting exposure of own corruption? Nike violates the rules, but instead of acknowledging wrongdoing, they decide to brazen it out and pretend that this is an extortion case? Sounds pretty Trumpian/Republican to me. Never acknowledge that you're the criminal - just accuse everyone else around you of being one! Just make sure that you've got an army of lawyers and a pile of money, and you can twist anything to go in your favor.
271
@Allison If it was just a confidential settlement - for his client - he was seeking, that would've been fine. But he attempted to enrich himself directly with substantial monies that didn't belong to him. Big difference.
55
@Allison I totally agree! If this report is accurate, this does not at all appear to be extortion, and, conversely, simply a lawyer and client attempting to reach a settlement.
14
@Allison
I'm not sure I read anywhere in this article that the client has been arrested.
Mark Garages is the co-conspirator.
6
This is the same guy that assaulted his girl friend, but the charge was reduced. And, this is the same person who is alleged to have illegally take millions from his law firm. And, his client the Cavanaugh accuser, Ms Swetnick claimed he made up things she never said. And, even Stormy was not happy with his statements that were not hers. This Nike stunt would be typical of his personality type. But, there is yet another crime he is charged with too! This is not Trump or Barr seeking revenge. This Mr. A simply being who he is, and it is catching up with him.
192
@Bian He sounds like a saint compared to Trump.
12
@Bian
One individual is the so called con artist president of the United States. What is interesting is how alike these two men are. Both are above the law.
The sports world is a just another land of extreme corruption. Everyone gets paid except the students. They all have contracts and give the students shoes that fall apart on the basketball court.Even Hollywood / hedge fund managers are part of getting over to get into elite colleges
The whole corruption scenario is sickening because in the world of greed how much money is enough.? How much publicity is enough ?are we a nation of con artists ?do we not have any character left?
The Israel prime minister is speaking to the GOP he is a trump corrupt partner speaking to spineless GOP engaged in taking away the rights of the people on Gaza and America putting kids in cages.
The corrupt GOP who are making money in a corrupt manner has one member involved in a wrestling scandal at Ohio State screaming like a pig against the democrats and he is involved in a male wrestling sex scandal . Wonder how does the religious right feel about that? Oh forgot they are meeting with the Russians, not an issue for them since old white men like Roy Moore dated young teenagers.
The media makes people into stars when they shouldn’t and the GOP is racist and spineless selling our democracy with the assistance of Facebook. So much greed in America this is not capitalism but corruption.
Only little people suffer in America .
13
@Bian
"... Ms Swetnick claimed he made up things she never said".
So, now you believe her?
According to TMZ, the conversations between Avenatti and Nike are taped. Unless there's a basis for not admitting the tapes in court, this guy is almost certainly going to jail. Even without the tapes he's probably toast especially since he went ahead and lobbed in the tweet regarding the press conference right as prosecutors were filing documents against him in court, and the tweet corroborates the allegations.
You can argue that nearly all settlement negotiations are an extortion of sorts since the lawsuit itself is often more damaging than the monetary value of the claims alleged (and the parties know this very well), but in this case, there seems to be no relationship between the alleged scandal (funneling payments to high school athletes) and a contract renewal negotiation of his client, a coach...so you really have no lawful basis for using it as a cudgel in a negotiation. In addition, you have a pretty clear violation of attorney-client responsibilities where in his settlement discussions he's trying to squeeze an extra $15 million to $25 million, not for the client, but for himself! Also, consider how disproportionate the "ask" of 10's of millions of dollars is relative to the value of the contract renewal being discussed. Apparently that contract was only worth $72K per year...
99
@Bill i disagree
2
@Bill
American media are in real trouble when TMZ can be cited as a source in The New York Times. My, have the mighty have fallen.
10
@Bill:
TMZ: Where we all go for in-depth, sophisticated, unbiased analysis.
Extortion is the practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or threats. Many civil pre-filing demand letters (a.k.a. offer to settle) are essentially a form of legalized extortion. Pre-filing of the complaint, there has been no discovery, and often 1 side has all the "evidence" in their possession. So, by its nature, a pre-filing demand usually feels like an extortion to one party. It will be interesting to see both the evidence of the alleged extortion, and the evidence against Nike that was in Mr Avenatti's possession. (PS: prosecutors use legalized extortion to extract guilty pleas from poor criminal defendants every minute of every day).
183
@James Osborne
There is some truth in what you are saying, but in order for an action to constitute extortion under the law, the force or threat used to obtain the thing of value has to be improper. If a prosecutor has evidence to prove a case, it is not deemed improper under the law for the prosecutor to bring the case or to threaten to bring the case and to simultaneously offer to settle the matter if the defendant pleads to a lesser crime. Likewise, if a prospective plaintiff threatens to sue to enforce a legal right, there's usually nothing improper about that, assuming the plaintiff had some basis for thinking it had a valid cause of action. In this case, the scandal had nothing to do with the contract renewal negotiation, nor was Avenatti's client, a coach, even negatively impacted by the payments that were supposedly made to certain student athletes. Basically he found compromising information about Nike and sought to be paid for silence. That's improper. That's extortion.
26
@Bill: i agree with your legal analysis, but as the factual allegations, I will await more detailed information and not simply what the prosecutor claims. As to criminal charges generally and extortion, the operative words in your comment that I also agree with are "it is not deemed improper". But when the prosecutor threatens to throw the book at your client, or to arrest family members which is also routine, that is improper. When is the last time a prosecutor has been charged with that crime?
10
@James Osborne
I think the general point you're making, which I agree with 100%, is that one can do quite a bit of mischief within the confines of the law.
Prosecutors do a lot of stuff they should not be doing to obtain plea agreements. It's all justified under an efficient law enforcement rationale, but these efficiencies have real costs for people who are, say, thrown in jail for years at a time for crimes that may not have been proven in court.
15
How is this any different than any lawsuit settlement negotiations!? He’s not a likable guy, but that’s not a reason to ruin him. This is a total abuse of prosecutorial power. By this standard, any settlement negotiation is extortion.
89
@AG In most lawsuit settlements there is no demand for the lawyer to be hired for 25m+ to conduct an investigation. That's a little out of the ordinary. It also sounds like a conflict of interest with the client.
14
@AG
umm, because there was no lawsuit, or potential lawsuit. Avenatti's client had no claim against Nike. He just learned of info he thought would damage Nike and he and Avenatti threatened to release it unless Nike gave them $20 million. That's blackmail/extortion
39
Look up the definition of extortion. These events, if true, are almost textbook. Even if the act they threatened to expose was legal, it would still be extortion. They could be be facing serious prison time.
19
This was an awfully bold scheme, as if he was confident such behavior would reap rewards. Scrutiny of Mr. Avenatti's past bank transactions may reveal he has engaged in this before. What would be some real spectacle would be a transfer in the past from one DJT. Wouldn't that make for some good reality TV?!
2
Can we assume then that he might not be running for president after all then? Now he tries to shakedown Nike after first Trump through Stormy Daniels and we want to prosecute Trump because he was stupid enough to pay the ransom? Whatever.
4
Being charge with extortion sounds like something Jared Kushner was just accused of. Could Avenatti be building his resume for submission to the WH?
10 years ago, I recall that attorney Gloria Allred never contacted or threatened Tiger Woods when he had his infidelity issue. She simply announced that there would be a televised press conference with one of the purported lady friends. This resulted in Team Tiger calling her office to offer a settlement and cancelling the press conference.
When Avenatti met with Nike and made direct threats...."pay me or else" he turned the situation into extortion.
Good lawyer v extortionist.
Lock him up!
13
@Edward V
I can see the difference.
2
Lawyer tactics aside even a third-grader could hide basketball shoe cash in summer camp schemes that had more hoopla than skills display. Any lawyer could stirrup shenanigans ghosts with this Nike gambit but obviously one need not mess with the the American way. Mr. Avenatti seems to have needed cash badly as his judgment went off the rails messing with Nike with a lavish law plume and flowery language. To suggest an Equity value drop "unless" you send cash quickly might ring any Justice Department bell loudly.
This slimeball had it coming! One could see the cunning corruption behind his face. He appeared on CNN far too often to be normal .
9
Avenatti: pathological liar, conman and sociopath. If that doesn't qualify him to run in 2020, I don't know what does...
8
His goose is so cooked !
4
What happened to Michael? I thought he was the Left's knight in shining armor. I thought he was going to impeach Trump; Get Stormy millions and run for President of the Free World? Oops somebody overreached and went over the white line. Lawyers like Michael are supposed to ride the line not go over it.
16
Anybody that isn't Trump or one of his minions is the left's knight in shining armor. Not sure what your point is. At this point George Bush could be considered our knight in shining armor.
1
Avenatti is such an attention seeking egomaniac, you know he will insist on serving as his own attorney. Just wait and see.
10
What is the difference between Stormy Daniels taking money to stay quiet about having sex with Trump and Avenatti looking for hush money from Nike?
P.S. This is not a rhetorical question.
7
@John H. So you are saying Stormy Daniels was guilty of extortion?
4
Probably he never spoke the words “or else”. You cannot threaten to trade exposure for benefit. I have to assume law schools must cover the work around. I assume he notified President Trump’s lawyers and said his client was upset and she wanted to tell her story, just like any good American. Would you be interested in speaking to her to get her side of the story and explore options on what she should do?
2
@John H. Apparently Nike wasn’t playing.
1
Why would a very public lawyer who knows extortion do it? Doesn’t add up. Seems like they’re going after Trumps foes, now that they’ve finished covering up Trump’s deeds. Only the house of reps stands in the way of vengeance now.
1
Step Right Up! hurry hurry hurry! Everybodies doing it! Join the party!
Welcome to the SDNY, you'll find you're peers here Mr. Avenatti.
Why does he still have his license to practice law? Shouldn't it have been taken away a long time ago?
4
Bar associations are heavily politicized. Any Republican who did what Avenattj did would have lost his license due to making up allegations in the Kavanaugh hearing.
2
Wasn’t it just a year ago Democrats and media personalities were touting this guy as the Dem nominee for President?
16
@Andy Where did you get that disinformation? Faux News?
1
@Andy No.
2
@Bill & @Alan
Do you not have access to the internet? He was all over CNN, NYT WaPo and MSNBC as a potential Dem candidate. They even covered his trip to Iowa to test the waters.
5
This is like an episode right out of Billionaire.
2
I have thought it many few times over the past few months: no matter who you are or what you support, hubris is downright dangerous. Those who crowed "lock her up" that are now prison-bound themselves. Avennatti and his ceaseless desire to get into front of a camera to shame others now in a shameful spotlight. Hubris doesn't see color or political party, but it pretty much will get you in the end.
The fame went to his head. The fact that he's willing to accept hush money (let alone demanding it) is more than slightly ironic.
1
Well, this might complete his fall from grace - if, in fact, he's actually hit rock bottom. He's making Elon Musk look like an amateur.
3
Trump is no doubt reveling in this news as well. He is on a roll as far as getting some payback satisfaction. When will this nightmare for America end?
1
@Miriam. When you figure out it’s not payback - just the law.
4
On a day like today, who cannot recognize that Geoffrey S. Berman is Trumps boy. I used to think that Mueller, et al. were the ones with power to fight for the truth and bring crooks to bear what they might...but so strange that today trumps man in SDNY files charges against trump's top enemy....wow, bad week so far...who will be next? Guessing no one related to our dictator trump...
3
It's a federal charge? Maybe Trump will pardon him too.
1
Doesnt add up. How was he going to receive or hide the money?! Why would a very public lawyer do such an obviously dodgy thing?! Doesn’t add up!! Sounds more like Trump’s people in the justice department starting to get even.
2
His law career is done! He can now become a CNN anchor!
11
@Max de Winter
or President!
1
He will probably sue Nike for defamation now.
Someone is going to be tweeting very very soon! I wonder who?
I don't get it. Asking someone to pay you to keep quiet is illegal-extortion? But if they offer to pay you to keep quiet, then that is fine. I don't see a difference.
Seems like it is only ok when the lawyers get a cut.
2
Avenatti is just beefing up the shady background portion of his resume so that he can mount a serious run for the Presidency.
1
Just goes to show what happens when the bug gets too near the bug light!
1
Its how America is today. Pretty much rudderless from any moral tether.
1
A mascot for his profession.
1
I'm guessing he won't be throwing his hat into the ring any time soon.
1
He was (still is) my nominee for 2020!
And a special prosecutor won't be needed for this one, folks.
4
All statistics indicate that there is a glut of attorneys. When hard work, intelligence and integrity no longer insure success, those with less character will stoop to illegal behavior. The reputation of the profession becomes more sullied. It becomes easier to find counsel willing to debase himself or herself, the profession and the client.
2
I’m assuming why the prosecution claims this is criminal is that attorneys are not supposed to threaten criminal prosecution to resolve civil matters. If so, this should have been explained in the article.
9
@Abe M According to the indictment, he threatened to go public (not go to court) if he was not paid a certain sum. He didn't allege any claims against Nike, and he didn't threaten to file suit. He said, give me money or else. That is classic extortion.
16
@Abe M The reason that his threats were crimes is because he was seeking money for himself instead of on behalf of his client. He wanted 10 million dollars as an attorney - he admitted that his client didn't deserve more than 1.5 million. See the charging documents:
http://cdn.cnn.com/cnn/2019/images/03/25/u.s..v..michael.avenatti.complaint.pdf
2
Donald Trump better buy a lottery ticket in the big drawing for this week.....
You can't deny that this week he hit the jackpot!
FOX news will have to go off the air for an hour to recuperate!!!!
(Oxygen has been ordered, and EMT's are checking to make sure no one hurt themselves falling off thier anchor chairs!!!)
44
@Ignatz
Maybe I should wear my MAGA hat when I buy my Powerball ticket Wednesday?
3
What a poster child for arrogance and hubris.
55
Darn, Avenatti would have made a great president!
36
@Rick
Yeah, right. Like Trump is a great president.
Come on people, we have to get smarter than this.
@Rick
In today's politics, what happens today is quickly forgotten. This is one of the main reasons we are in such a mess.
CNN had this clown on tv morning noon and night. Going to be difficult to run for the presidency now...
75
Looks like Avenatti was looking for $20,000,000 of "Hush Money"
28
Avenetti and Trump are soulmates.
71
@Detached
Well Avenatti and the democrats are soul mates
9
Wasn't he a one-time, and albeit for a short period, a liberal lion?
I remember the "echo-bubble" folks who comment here talking him up.
To open minds to critical thinking, one more data point: Rachel Maddow of 2019= Judith Miller of 2003/ 2004 Iraq invasion
22
This is awesome. Another big mouth phony bites the dust. Stay off of 5th Avenue. Trump might just start dancing in the street. And firing off a gun in celebration as is done in some cities.
This might be the best week in Trump's presidency. Other than the week the tax cuts were given to rich people like him.
Wait...what's that chant? Over the horizon. I can hear it growing ever louder:
FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS!
Better tighten things up fast democrats. No more impeachment idiocy. Get to work on policies that the American people support. Defeating Trump just got even harder.
97
@Concernicus
Where did this myth come from that trumps tax changes only benefit the rich?
He doubled the standard deduction and child tax credit among other things.
If you live in a high SALT state your salt deduction is now capped at a lower amount. So this actually negatively impacts the wealthy in those states more than anybody else.
How can democrats expect to win in 2020 if they don’t even know that trumps tax changes have put money directly back in everyone’s pockets via larger paychecks OR bigger refund????
14
@Concernicus Trump wanting to decimate Medicare and Social Security to pay for his tax cuts should spell the end of his re-election bid. That's all the Democrats need to say in their messaging.
10
@Sigh
The tax cuts are the result of putting $1.9 Trillion dollars on the government's credit card.
Is that how you do things... take a cash advance on your personal credit card and then tell everyone you got free money?? You're the reason this country is broke.
14
I think Avenatti is going away for several years. But I would like to know what Nike did.
Will Michael A. Have a cell mate? I doubt it.
3
In order to understand how low our politics have descended one just needs to look at Avenatti's case. Not long ago, some presumably serious journalists were cheering on the possibility that Avenatti would run for President. Just one example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcBo7CKs23c
47
Who does he think he is, The President. ?
190
@New World-I needed that laugh. Thanks!
4
From over priced strippers to overpriced sneakers.
31
I'm so confused... And to think this fluffernutter was going to run for president!
Now, he's a shoo-in.
21
Some attorneys spend their whole career playing in the mud puddles. It is no surprise these mud puppies resort to dirty tricks. May he enjoy time in the big house.
5
What went wrong with this guy?
He was a CNN staple for months, exuding such confidence about how he was bringing down the president.
Is he now going to jail, and how about Stormy Daniels? Have not heard from her lately.
DT must feel quite victorious tonight. Melania may even give him a back rub!
11
Cash flow problems...Stormy was late with her retainer...paid in singles
3
@Andrew B
Nothing “went wrong” with him...clearly this is who he is. Always was.
2
There goes his presidential bid. Wait a minute, Trump got in, maybe Avennati has a chance.
16
Warning ~ Beware the old men in a land where men die young...... It's a dangerous game.
8
"Would you like a double macchiato with your lawsuit?".
5
Avenatti and Cohen -- the poster boys for the US legal profession -- smile, boys!!
25
" Oh how the mighty have fallen! "
At least in his own mind he was mighty.
8
MA is now qualified to join Trump's cabinet. Secy. of Commerce?
12
Does this mean his presidential campaign is on hold?
I heard he was Biden's top choice for VP.
12
Well isn't that special. Where's The Mooch when you need to communicate on this level. We are doomed.
6
"In the Nike ^ , the federal prosecutors said Mr. Avenatti and another California-based lawyer..."
It seems just like yesterday that the entire liberal wing of the country was fawning over Avenatti, even fantasizing about his potential Presidency.
What a few days Avenatti must be having. I'm sure he's screaming "The wrong guy was exonerated, and the wrong guy is being charged!" Trump and Avenatti really do deserve each other.
17
After his third appearance on Anderson Cooper, I said to my self; there is something not right with this fella. As each day passed, his crazed face made it all too obvious. The disclosure of his subsequent unethical behavior was inevitable. The charges in LA read redundant of a solo attorney battling addiction, who expropriates client trust fund monies to pay his rising bills. Avenati's addiction appears to be his thirst for the spotlight--which manifests some unresolved anger or deceit. "And thus I clothe my naked villany; With odd old ends stol'n out of holy writ,
And seem a saint, when most I play the devil."
36
@Phil Thomas
Nice quote Mr. Thomas!!!
3
The old tax charges filed against Avenatti in Los Angeles clearly are retribution from Trump's gang.
Jail the enemy. Dictator politics.
9
Trump made billions using aggressive lawyers like Avenatti.
Lawyer threatens corporation, happens everyday. Threatens with negative publicity, happens everyday. Threatens negative publicity before an earnings report, who cares? Timing is irrelevant.
Nike isn't a victim.
Is this our first targeted prosecution under Trump and are we now a banana republic?
10
@Marco Philoso
"Trump made billions using aggressive lawyers like Avenatti."
Look, I hate Trump as much as the next guy, but the comment above is 100% false.
6
It"s very easy to charge Michael Avenatti for all kinds of misdeeds, however the United States government could not even bring a single case against Trump and his children. The lesson is ? " DO NOT BE AN ACTIVIST IN AMERICA) You will be destroyed.
7
It was not very long ago that Democrats admired him as one who "spoke truth to power". He even considered a run for the presidency. In truth, he makes Gillibrand seem positively like a blushing ingenue.
14
He gave me the creeps from when he first appeared on the national stage with Stormy Daniels. Pride goeth before a fall.
11
Don't do whatever Mr. Avenatti did. That includes becoming an "enemy of the State" through personal attacks on Donald Trump. You, Hillary Clinton, the FBI, the CIA, the Justice Department, and all immigrants legal or illegal, are on notice.
6
@TH
"Don't do whatever Mr. Avenatti did. That includes becoming an "enemy of the State" through personal attacks on Donald Trump. You, Hillary Clinton, the FBI, the CIA . . . "
Umm, you left out the part about extortion, theft and bankruptcy fraud
3
@TH. You mean like the Obama Administration targeted conservatives?
4
So, does this mean his campaign for President is on hold...?
9
How can a media-based life-form like Avenatti believe he can do such things and not get caught?
7
This is 2019 in a nutshell.
7
@JT And just getting underway.
Guess those presidential plans will have to be put on hold, although, based on the track record of the current occupant in the White House, Avenatti is well-qualified!
10
Congratulations, Mr. President; a string of good news lately.
8
Do you remember the calls for “Avenatti for president” , “Avenatti 2020” when he was in the news after it was found Trump did engage in campaign violation by ordering the payoff to Stormy? Well now that it seems he is also an extortionist and a crook - he’s PERFECT for the presidency!
3
Another bites the dust!
And who would have guessed Avenatti got caught committing the same crimes like Trump & co. Extortion, fraud etc
All thanks to the SDNY for their professionalism for unearthing corruption. Keep up the good work!
2
@Grace Wells. PLease give us one fact about Trump’s extortion and fraud. Brits only get their news from the Daily Mail.
4
ex·tor·tion
/ikˈstôrSH(ə)n/
noun
noun: extortion; plural noun: extortions
the practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or threats.
"he used bribery and extortion to build himself a huge, art-stuffed mansion"
synonyms: demanding money with menaces, exaction, extraction, blackmail; shakedown
That sounds right. He'd be a shoe in for one of Bone Spurs cabinet posts.
7
How does this guy keep his law license?
10
Now I know how Diogenes felt.
2
When is he announcing for 2020?
2
Innocent until proven guilty and all, but this guy has always struck me as for than just a little shady.
5
I remember him saying that Mr. Trump would not complete his term as our president...
5
This is indeed good news for Democrats. This joker flirted with a presidential run, and some people even flirted with the idea of supporting him. In the immortal words of Jeb Bush, he'd be a chaos candidate--and a chaos president.
We've had enough chaos.
3
@Pence Yes, the same good news for the Democrats as Mueller announcing no further charges relating to Russian collusion. Delusion is alive and well among the left.
2
I have a question. Why did Avenatti get charged only AFTER he published his intention to hold a press conference? Why, if the 'extortion' is older than the announced press conference?
1
@Tara
The extortion threat was made at a meeting last Thursday; not much of a delay.
Well, as they say, truth is stranger than fiction. And by George, this rivals the arrests connected with the FBI’s “Operation Varsity Blues,” the scandals related to those in VA state government, and possibly the Mueller Report. I won’t need to watch a soap opera; I’ll just read my Google news feed to see what is happening.
3
On the bright side for Avenatti, this is not likely to impact his run for President. Many of the voting public doesn't seem to mind this sort of behavior from their elected officials.
25
@Mark
Avenatti is NOT running for president of for any political office.
And to think this man was considering a bid for the presidency.
1
Absolutely Hilarious. Would love to see the look on Lawrence O'Donnell's face when this news cleared........Don Lemon too.
Details of Nike case troubling, but hard t avoid the bad look of the other charges.
He will likely be disbarred.
9
@Wondering
Seriously. Maddow, O'Donnell, Mathews, etc. are still crying from Friday's news...
7
There is an equilibrium in this universe.
3
Um... isn't this what lawyers do? Demand monies or face lawsuits? Holding a press conference is what Avenatti has been doing since he first gained the attention of the media. Why would he hold a press conference to announce that he's illegally blackmailing someone?
In my opinion, this all smells less like some imagined "evil Avenatti blackmailing scheme" and more like the beginning of Trump's revenge campaign.
5
I'll look forward to having CNN and MSNBC apologize for having him on constantly as an expert on Trump.
20
@HozeKing: And Fox will be apologizing for having Individual 1 on their shows?
After a review of the allegations against Michael Avenatti I'm amazed Trump didn't nominate him for Attorney General.
Trump might have decided against it when he realized, in that they share the same name, Michael Avenatti and Michael Cohen could be related.
4
At least he didn't collude with the Russian Federation.
5
This is the same guy whose noisy and far-fetched accusations against Brett Kavanaugh helped secure Mr. Kavanaugh's Supreme Court seat.
15
I hope they are also investigating the allegations against Nike.
6
24 hours of sheer humiliation for Democrats, as Trump's foes are revealed as empty handed (Mueller) or out-and-out criminals (one-time Dem Presidential aspirant Michael Avenatti). Lots of winning for Trump, and his supporters are not one bit tired.
10
Just watched the press conference from the NY prosecutors. Words like thug and protection racket come to mind. This is the same guy that was held up by the media as a crusading public advocate. Why? I suspect it's because his narratives on President Trump and Justice Kavanaugh were what they wanted to hear.
10
Funny, none of this surprises me at all.
2
Trump is having the best week of his life. What's next? Bernie Sanders decides to run as an independent?
41
@Jonathan...and Stormy Daniels gives the $130,000 back, with 20% compounded interest, the normal mafia going rate. Which comes to $444,657.49.
2
Hmmm...this may put a crimp into his presidential election campaign. But the last, best hope of the Democratic Party always has a fighting chance.
4
Why can’t we disconnect the professional sports–college link?
It doesn’t exist in Europe. Why does it have to exist here.
[Do we not have enough bribery problems with colleges to not have to have big companies like Nike also involved with recruits.]
9
@srwdm Why not? Simple. Universities love money.
6
@Kevin
I’m sure European universities also love money.
2
If that last few days has proved anything, it's that there is no longer any difference between "extortion" and "seeking justice". Like racism, or climate change, "good people on both sides", simply have "differing views" on a particular subject. None better or worse than any another.
Welcome to 1984.
2
And another bites the dust!
It's amazing to think Avenatti is charged with similar crimes as Trump. Extortion, fraud, etc...
I think had this all scenarios played out as a TV show, I would be thoroughly entertained, yet the reality shakes my confidence.
It's clear the last good lawyers left are in the Southern District of New York and clearly they are doing a superb job unearthing all forms of corruption. Keep up the good work!
14
I always wonder about this. Essentially progressive ideal tend to be slightly utopic and idealistic, which has lead me to believe that in general progressives tend to be a bit naive.
I think this is why they are so bad at actually judging people based on who they are/what they are doing rather than what they say.
Avenatti was so obviously a crook, he was severely in debt, and was clearly trying to monopolize the attention given by the media to Trump's 'misdeeds' in order to profit for himself. In the end, Trump is vindicated while the clear crook is jailed.
Progressive naivete again, cause the progressives to get duped.
19
@Emily Oh.my.gosh....any you must support trump, I can only bemuse...I mean be amused...or wonder? Ok, so what about all of the trump: crooks, child abusers/rapers (his friend in palm beach who got off basically for nothing); convicted friends; indicted friends; mafia friends; oligarch friends...and you have good judge of character? trump has good, I mean, trump, really, good character???!!!
This trump has cheated on wives so many times it has been in the news over and over; he paid off women while his wife was pregnant?! He lies each day, every day- probably every hour now. He cheats to not pay taxes; cheats to not pay hard-working American contractors; cheats to pay undocumented workers less for his profit...what else do I need to list.
Avenatti is not a dem rep and he was right about trump...cannot speak to the other new news but Geragos is also involved now so all troubling...but spare.us.the.lectures. We are full of morals and good judgement and your trump is killing us.
2
Whatever happens on the Nike case, the California charges (click the link in the last paragraph of this article) seem more ominous. Lawyers who convert client money generally lose their law licenses, and how do you explain submitting phony tax returns for years you didn't even file? It's hard to believe that this guy had the audacity to contemplate running for president, and put himself out there with all the press conferences, tweets, etc. with all the skeletons behind him, waiting to be discovered.
21
@Brian
He could face 30 years
@Brian Why not? Our President reached the exact same conclusion and it's working for him?
Well, this certainly has been a good past few days for Trump. Kind of like "When good things happen to bad people."
34
Not a good way to handle this, but were any Nike executives arrested for breaking the law?
Uneven justice in America...
5
Avenatti is facing some serious charges by a Waltham corporation. If it’s true and he’s convicted, by by legal career.
3
@Casual Observer
Please post a link to that story
Was he also charged for wearing an ill-fitting suit to court?
20
I think I heard some talking heads speculating that he would be a good candidate against Trump in 2020. I guess that plan went sideways? Karma.
9
Balancing out, somewhat, my despair at A G Barr's putting his thumb too heavily on the scale, is Mr Avenatti's arrest. Aside from Trump, it is hard to imagine an individual more worthy of a jail cell, regardless of his guilt or innocence in this matter
4
It will be interesting to see if this is mentioned by Sarah Huckabee Sanders sometime in the near future - and then again day after day for several months.
1
Why are people bringing in Trump? Regardless of what happened to Mr. Avenatti today, does not negate the fact that Trump was named as Individual One regarding a charge of campaign finance fraud. All the spinning in the world is not going to change that fact.
32
@Suzanne Victor
you mean the fact that he was not indicted?
6
@Suzanne Victor Yes, you started out salivating about Russian collusion but now you are instead moved by money paid to a hooker (which if it is Trump's money can not be campaign finance fraud).
2
@GMooG Can a sitting U.S. President be indicted on criminal charges? Would it be prudent to do so?
Today is a very special day. A bundle of good news for D.J Trump, each delivered right to his doorstep. Just scroll through the latest headlines. Don't know if there is any way to spin this into something even slightly prejudicial for Trump but that seems pretty unlikely.
25
Some in the media - not all by any means - may have really turned public opinion away from mainstream news. Many advanced unapologetic conspiracy theories against Trump as fact, and now, one of the loudest voices against Trump and Kavanaugh, is arrested.
Kudos to Robert Mueller and the Southern District of New York District Court, as they seem to have emerged as non-partisan arbiters seeking the truth.
To journalists (and politicians) who are doubling down on the Trump conspiracy, we have more pressing issues to deal with, and if you do not focus on some of those issues (from the ascendancy of China to climate change) you will cement President Trump's reelection.
69
@Mark Arizmendi
SDNY hasn't finished with Spurs and Company. I wouldn't be popping any champagne bottles just yet.
12
@Mark Arizmendi
Did you say addressing “climate change” and you mentioned Trump in the same sentence?
5
@Mark Arizmendi If public opinion has turned against mainstream news, it's the constant twittering and crowd baiting of one Donald J. Trump.
3
Trump must be dancing a jig today. I really hope that the press asks him if he plans to pardon Avenatti. They did with everyone else.
120
Interesting, the day Trump is "exonerated" Avenatti, one of Trump's biggest foes, is charged by the DOJ. Another article focused more on this taxes and false tax filings and bank loans. Seems like Trump isn't waiting long to extract his "pound of flesh". I wonder who is next? Coincidence, I think not.
135
@Green Eyes
The same SDNY that is investigating Trump are the ones prosecuting Avenatti.
Now that we've quickly dispelled the notion that Trump has anything to do with this, can we move on?
167
All it would have taken was for someone to file a complaint (or for the AG to demand an investigation) and the SDNY would have almost been obligated to move forward just to avoid accusations of a double standard.
10
@Green Eyes You think SDNY is doing Trump any favors after they have just opened an investigation into his financial dealings?
11
Oh No! Not another corrupt lawyer!
78
@cosmo
If you attend an "ethics in law" class it's just 15 weeks of a laugh track being played on loop.
Of course, I'm not a lawyer, so I have no idea what I'm talking about.
8
@Barry
You are 100% correct: You have no idea what you are talking about.
4
I for one am tired of this joker's antics
142
This is amazing! What talent! I’m sure the Trump administration will be sending him a job offer very soon.
74
@Peter. As I recall, it was the other Party enamored with this gentleman. But nice spin on what has to be a devastating few days for you.
16
More good news for Democrats.
24
@Steve
Agree....If a "retainer isn't a retainer" for Avenatti, neither is it for Trump/Cohen....
Avenatti used "false tax returns" to obtain loans?
Where have we heard that before? NOT the Mueller investigation.. SDNY/Cohen about Trump.
.I think Trump needs to think about this BEFORE he tweets "total exoneration" nonsense.
4
Nike didn't refute the allegation Get out front and shoot the messenger
106
@Sean Daly Ferris
It is a felony crime to attempt to blackmail a person or a business entity by threatening to expose a crime and also agreeing to keep the crime secret if you are paid money.
The crime of blackmail is independent of the crime that the blackmail victim may have committed.
There is a public policy issue that you want people to report crimes and not decide to just blackmail the criminal.
Nike may very well face a criminal investigation and Nike employees may be guilty of violating federal laws to relate to providing money to players. That does not excuse Avanetti and if he did engage in blackmail, he should be prosecuted.
16
@Sean Daly Ferris
Everybody knows Nike does this. The joke is that Avenatti thinks he can extort them for it. He’s an amateur. It’s like he’s trying to extort money from someone because he found a video of them driving 35 in a 30mph zone.
8
@Jack so signing a non disclosure would not
have been acceptable
1