Back in May of this year, I reported on some expert opinions regarding Media Whore Michael Avenatti:
Mr. Trump tweeted. Ms. Clifford (Stormy Daniels) is claiming damages. But there is a high probability that the court will not just toss the case, but that Daniels will be on the hook for court costs and attorney fees.
And so it has come to pass.
A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit from adult film actress Stormy Daniels that claimed President Trump defamed her when he suggested she had lied about being threatened to keep quiet about their alleged relationship.
Federal District Judge S. James Otero in Los Angeles had indicated during a late September hearing that he was skeptical of Daniels’s claim on First Amendment grounds. The ruling ordered Daniels, whose given name is Stephanie Clifford, to pay Trump’s legal fees.
That case could never be won and Avenatti should have known that and not convinced is client otherwise. What it was good for was the love and adoration of a biased media hell-bent on magnifying any story that smeared the President.
Note to Avenatti: the media will not be helping you help Daniels, pay those court costs and legal fees.
Later in the same month of May, we reported another unpleasant side-effect of Avennati’s hunger for fame. His rising public profile and the scrutiny that comes with it. Hello, charges of Tax evasion.
Avenatti is accused of collecting payroll taxes for business concerns that never went to the IRS. He’s also, reportedly, given up filing tax returns altogether.
In July a judge put a restraining order on money collected by his firm from 52 current or active cases. No spending any fees because of 10 million in back taxes.
Bauer’s order covers fees from 54 court cases, including the suit that Daniels filed against President Trump to void the non-disclosure pact that bars her from talking about their alleged 2006 sexual encounter.
For which he should not expect payment anytime soon, as Stormy needs to pay all the court fees and Trump’s legal fees first.
On a brighter note, (not for Michael) nor another one of his “clients,” Avenatti is the also the subject of a criminal investigation.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley today referred Julie Swetnick and her attorney Michael Avenatti to the Justice Department for criminal investigation relating to a potential conspiracy to provide materially false statements to Congress and obstruct a congressional committee investigation, three separate crimes, in the course of considering Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States.
Media whore Avenatti exploded onto cable news (again) with fantastic accusations of Kavanaugh rape gangs. The media happily embraced it but the original sworn statement versus Swetnick’s subsequent backtracking in a much-publicized TV news interview took the whole thing sideways. The contradictions were so stark even the media paused long enough to pretend to suspect something was off.
(Julie) Swetnick made her allegations in a sworn statement to the committee on September 26. In an October 1 interview with NBC News, however, Swetnick specifically and explicitly back-tracked or contradicted key parts of her sworn statement on these and other allegations. In subsequent interviews, Avenatti likewise cast serious doubt on or contradicted the allegations while insisting that he had thoroughly vetted his client.
Avenatti is playing this investigation announcement like it’s a win for his client but recent history suggests he is writing ‘checks’ with his mouth that his clients can’t cash. Checks he can’t cash either which is bad when you owe $10 million in back taxes.
This male version of Gloria Alred rocketed into the spotlight only to discover the light reveals things and Avenatti lacks the character to survive such scrutiny. Lucky for us he’s not bright enough to realize it for himself. He just keeps storming along like its all part of some bigger plan.
But at some point, potential clients will need to take stock of these tactics and realize (before they sign on) that he’s just a well-dressed “ambulance chaser” who is more interested in media scene-crunching than the law or justice.
Image Credit: HuffPo – REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
