Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

DonViejo

(60,536 posts)
Thu Jun 17, 2021, 01:00 PM Jun 2021

Prosecutors seek 'very substantial' prison time for Avenatti

Source: The Associated Press


By LARRY NEUMEISTER
today

NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors urged a judge Wednesday to impose a “very substantial” prison sentence on Michael Avenatti for trying to extort millions of dollars from Nike.

Prosecutors noted in a Manhattan federal court submission that Probation Office officials recommend an eight-year prison term for the California attorney who gained fame three years ago through his representation of porn star Stormy Daniels against then-President Donald Trump.

“The defendant, a prominent attorney and media personality with a large public following, betrayed his client and sought to enrich himself by weaponizing his public profile in an attempt to extort a publicly-traded company out of tens of millions of dollars. This was an egregious abuse of trust, and it warrants real and serious punishment,” prosecutors wrote.

The government said Avenatti, representing the director of a youth basketball program in Los Angeles, tried to force the apparel maker to pay him up to $25 million to keep him quiet about allegations of corruption involving Nike and college athletics.


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-business-34deb7d885dd1e495b8a06dafc627f14

23 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Prosecutors seek 'very substantial' prison time for Avenatti (Original Post) DonViejo Jun 2021 OP
He epitomizes the adage, "pride goeth before the fall." hlthe2b Jun 2021 #1
No, he's no Trump. moreland01 Jun 2021 #2
I think a better gauge is experience in governing. PSPS Jun 2021 #9
This 10,000 % msfiddlestix Jun 2021 #23
What is Avenatti running for? And why would you give him a snowball's chance? Hekate Jun 2021 #16
Because I often moreland01 Jun 2021 #19
:) You may have compartmented away the painful memory of Hortensis Jun 2021 #20
Oh, I remember it well. It never fails to dismay me how many DUers, who really shd know better... Hekate Jun 2021 #21
he did get the ball rolling tho..he did some good then effed himself...too bad. samnsara Jun 2021 #3
What ball would that have been? Effete Snob Jun 2021 #4
I wonder if the Prosecutors voted for tRump or have political ambitions? njhoneybadger Jun 2021 #5
Avenatti got a lengthy write-up in the Los Angeles Times when he first went national by saying he'd Hekate Jun 2021 #17
Good. Dude is a scumbag. bearsfootball516 Jun 2021 #6
Avenatti was bad news from the get go. Tomconroy Jun 2021 #7
Maybe he can borrow some dough from Stormy for his defense. nt oasis Jun 2021 #11
Avenatti had me fooled even though I knew his 'candidacy' was going nowhere bucolic_frolic Jun 2021 #8
Avenatti Trump Mr. Ected Jun 2021 #10
What an idiot, he had the country in the palm of his hand Escurumbele Jun 2021 #12
I guess he didn't call Saul... sdfernando Jun 2021 #13
Considering how much he was trying to swindle out of them.... JohnnyRingo Jun 2021 #14
I could not believe the love this POS got here 5 years ago or so. GulfCoast66 Jun 2021 #15
Avenatti helps demonstrate a major distinction ... Whiskeytide Jun 2021 #18
Such a shame. But I still will credit him for raising (or is it lowering?) the bar LiberalLovinLug Jun 2021 #22

hlthe2b

(101,714 posts)
1. He epitomizes the adage, "pride goeth before the fall."
Thu Jun 17, 2021, 01:06 PM
Jun 2021

It is a very curious downfall, that is for sure.

moreland01

(735 posts)
2. No, he's no Trump.
Thu Jun 17, 2021, 01:10 PM
Jun 2021

But I've tried to put myself in the shoes of a republican who hates trump but won't vote for a Dem. If someone like Avenatti somehow made it thru to being our Democratic nominee for President, would I vote for him just because he's a Dem, or would I choose the perhaps less offensive or criminal Republican. To be clear, I've never in my life voted for a Republican.

That's the pickle some republicans were in. Vote for their lyin, cheatin, a**hole, criminal candidate (trump), or vote for a Dem.

If it's trump vs. Avenatti, there's no contest. I'd vote for Avenatti.

But if it were, say Avenatti vs. Jeb Bush (or other generic republican with no #MeToo or lying issues) who would I vote for?

Is my criminal candidate better than a generic republican? I may just be tempted to stay home.

But 75 Million people made the choice to vote for trump and I'll just never understand it.

PSPS

(13,512 posts)
9. I think a better gauge is experience in governing.
Thu Jun 17, 2021, 02:50 PM
Jun 2021

trump, avenatti and the others who consider the office of president as an entry-level job are bad news regardless of their professed party.

Hekate

(90,189 posts)
16. What is Avenatti running for? And why would you give him a snowball's chance?
Thu Jun 17, 2021, 11:54 PM
Jun 2021

I think you just went down the false-equivalency rabbit hole.

moreland01

(735 posts)
19. Because I often
Fri Jun 18, 2021, 08:12 AM
Jun 2021

wondered what I would do if the Dems had a "trump" running for office. We have our criminals/liars/awful people too. Someone who appeals to the worst in populist culture. Avenatti just made me think that we could be faced with that choice one day. No, I wasn't suggesting he is running for office. But what if an Avenatti came along and the populist Dems amongst us fell for him. How would I vote. How would YOU vote?

Hortensis

(58,785 posts)
20. :) You may have compartmented away the painful memory of
Fri Jun 18, 2021, 12:24 PM
Jun 2021

some DUers, dazzled by the newest shiny, charismatic persona to pop up on TV, agreeing excitedly that Avenatti should run for president! (As a Democrat, of course. )

Now, Brief Shiny Thing can put his charisma to work on his fellow prisoners.

Hekate

(90,189 posts)
21. Oh, I remember it well. It never fails to dismay me how many DUers, who really shd know better...
Fri Jun 18, 2021, 02:38 PM
Jun 2021

…seem to think that running for POTUS is some kind of door-prize for being flavor-of-the-month, or like being king or queen of the high school prom. And like Dorothy on her way to meet the Wizard of Oz — when questioned about his capacity to deliver their dreams, they naively exclaim: “He can! He must!”

Somewhere early on in the Avenatti craze I shared the lengthy Los Angeles Times article on his dubious reputation, and periodically reference it as needed. I don’t think I’ve actually changed anyone’s mind.

 

Effete Snob

(8,387 posts)
4. What ball would that have been?
Thu Jun 17, 2021, 01:17 PM
Jun 2021


https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/cohen-investigation-began-2017-search-warrant-shows-n984776

Michael Cohen search warrants show federal probe began nearly a year earlier than known

"The documents show that the first FBI warrant was executed on July 19, 2017, seeking Cohen's Gmail messages from all of 2016 to the present.

...

The newly released documents show that the first FBI warrant was executed on July 19, 2017, targeting Cohen's Gmail account and seeking messages from all of 2016 up to July 2017. Special counsel Robert Mueller's team turned over documents to federal prosecutors in New York on Feb. 8, 2018.

Some 20 days later, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York received search warrants for the same account granting them the right to access Cohen's emails from Nov. 13, 2017, to the end of February 2018."

Hekate

(90,189 posts)
17. Avenatti got a lengthy write-up in the Los Angeles Times when he first went national by saying he'd
Fri Jun 18, 2021, 12:01 AM
Jun 2021

…help out Stormy. There he was on the tv-machine all the time, slamming Trump and making a certain segment of DU think he should run for POTUS.

What the Times revealed was a man with a very checkered past, a slick fast-talker who played fast and loose with the law. There were a lot of unhappy people who had trusted him, relied on him, worked with him — and they were unhappy for good reasons.

Ultimately he took Stormy’s money and left her with nothing. She deserved better.

Avenatti deserves what he is getting.

bucolic_frolic

(42,663 posts)
8. Avenatti had me fooled even though I knew his 'candidacy' was going nowhere
Thu Jun 17, 2021, 01:41 PM
Jun 2021

He was telling us what we wanted to hear, but I think he would have turned out to be another Trump

Mr. Ected

(9,670 posts)
10. Avenatti Trump
Thu Jun 17, 2021, 02:53 PM
Jun 2021

“The defendant, a prominent attorney and media personality with a large public following, betrayed his client and sought to enrich himself by weaponizing his public profile in an attempt to extort a publicly-traded company out of tens of millions of dollars. This was an egregious abuse of trust, and it warrants real and serious punishment,” prosecutors wrote. RE AVENATTI

“The defendant, a prominent politician and media personality with a large public following, betrayed his country and sought to enrich himself by weaponizing his public profile in an attempt to extort every single source available to him out of tens of billions of dollars. This was an egregious abuse of trust, and it warrants real and serious punishment,” prosecutors wrote. RE TRUMP

Escurumbele

(3,340 posts)
12. What an idiot, he had the country in the palm of his hand
Thu Jun 17, 2021, 05:45 PM
Jun 2021

The criminal mind works in mysterious ways...

JohnnyRingo

(18,581 posts)
14. Considering how much he was trying to swindle out of them....
Thu Jun 17, 2021, 06:11 PM
Jun 2021

I understand the severity of the penalty. And I despise Nike.
If he were just trying to get a free pair of endorsed kicks, it would have been about half as much and maybe probation.

GulfCoast66

(11,949 posts)
15. I could not believe the love this POS got here 5 years ago or so.
Thu Jun 17, 2021, 11:27 PM
Jun 2021

But back then anyone who hated trump was seen as a star. I never believed the guy hated trump. Just had a grift going.

That was a low time here. People were demoralized and looking for any hope.

I think I got my hand spanked on DU for posting something negative about him.

Bad times. Better now.

Whiskeytide

(4,459 posts)
18. Avenatti helps demonstrate a major distinction ...
Fri Jun 18, 2021, 05:12 AM
Jun 2021

… between Dems and RWNJs. When our favorite celebrity of the day was revealed to be a criminal scumbag, we kicked his ass to the curb. They voted for theirs.

LiberalLovinLug

(14,153 posts)
22. Such a shame. But I still will credit him for raising (or is it lowering?) the bar
Fri Jun 18, 2021, 02:58 PM
Jun 2021

When he gave media interviews it was such a breath of fresh air. He was speaking how many of us wished Democrats would. It took another couple of years for Democratic reps to catch up and sound as passionate and combative.

He did literally publicly shame himself.
I really admired and respected him loads at the time he came out as Daniels lawyer. Such a fall from grace. Or maybe a fall from potency. He was the Krypton to Trump and his supporters on Fox News. You never heard Trump take down Avenatti.... because it was so shocking how anyone could call him out like that. He didn't know how to combat that. Against Democrats he relied on the Democrats self policing to not look too negative or stray from their own carefully crafted tepid talking points.

I think he did us a service in opening the doors for showing how its okay...no one is going to blame you....if you call a Trump a Chump on air. I think especially for networks like CNN and MSNBC. It gave them courage to start to also view the Trump administration honestly, and started to abandon the false equivalency, bothsiderism MO they had been operating under for decades.

Latest Discussions»Latest Breaking News»Prosecutors seek 'very su...