Court upholds Michael Avenatti's conviction for plotting to extort up to $25 million from Nike
A federal appeals court has upheld disgraced lawyer Michael Avenattiโs conviction for plotting to extort up to $25 million from shoe giant Nike โ one of several legal messes that have landed him behind bars.
Whoโs who in the Manhattan DAโs Donald Trump indictment
As Donald Trump fought his way to victory in the 2016 presidential campaign, key allies tried to smooth his bumpy path by paying off two women who had been thinking of going public with allegations of extramarital encounters with the Republican.
Jury selection proceeds for Avenatti-Stormy Daniels trial
Michael Avenatti, the once high-profile California attorney who regularly taunted then-President Donald Trump, was introduced to prospective jurors who will decide whether he cheated porn star Stormy Daniels out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen, once foes, talk Trump
When Donald Trump left the White House in January 2021, he remained "Individual-1" in the federal campaign finance crimes case against his former attorney, Michael Cohen. The prosecution stemmed from six-figure payments Cohen arranged to Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, to keep them quiet during the campaign about alleged affairs with Trump. Federal prosecutors charged Cohen with skirting campaign contribution rules by arranging the hush-money payment to Daniels and a similar payment to Playboy model Karen McDougal. Cohen and Daniels are united not only in infamy but deep regret over Trump. โIโve been face to face with evil in the most intimate way,โ Daniels said.
Avenatti: R. Kelly paid $2M to silence girl he assaulted
He said Kelly paid at least one associate $100,000 to hunt down videos of him having sex with a minor that had gone missing. Avenatti said he represents three alleged victims, three parents of victims and three associates of Kelly that he called "whistleblowers." Avenatti said two associates of Kelly turned tapes of the singer having sex with minors over to him, and that he turned them over to Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's office earlier this year. He said Foxx's office turned those tapes over to federal prosecutors. Avenatti's own legal problems raised questions about whether he is trying to help himself by aiding prosecutors in the Kelly case.
Michael Avenatti due in court on embezzlement charges
Avenatti has pleaded not guilty to all charges in the 36-count indictment. It's the first significant hearing in the case, one of three Avenatti is facing. In one case Avenatti is accused of stealing money from his former client Stormy Daniels, the adult film star who alleged an affair with President Donald Trump nearly a decade ago and whose case made Avenatti famous. If the government does ask the judge to compel Avenatti to unlock the devices, lawyers say it may be an uphill battle for Avenatti to win. "One standard would be easy for government to satisfy, which is that [Avenatti] knows the password," Kerr said.