Mike Avenatti, the "pugnacious" lawyer who represented Stormy Daniels and was posed by media as a potential Democratic Party presidential candidate, was today sentenced to 30 months in jail after trying to extort $20m from Nike.
Avenatti was convicted in February 2020 on charges of extortion, transmission of interstate communications with intent to extort, and wire fraud, but his sentencing was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Avenatti had threatened to publicize "corruption" in Nike's basketball program unless it paid him to "investigate" it. Avenatti's lawyers had asked the court for a 6 months sentence; they promised to appeal the verdict.
He rose to fame as the lawyer of Stormy Daniels, a porn actress with whom Trump had an affair and who he paid off before his 2016 election as U.S. President. Avenatti's attacks on Trump made him a hero to resistance liberals, but it was not to last: he also faces further federal charges of defrauding clients and stealing millions of dollars.
Enjoy this compilation of TV hosts fawning over him.
