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CBS correspondent admits ‘maybe we went about covering’ Michael Avenatti ‘the wrong way’

Media top headlines July 9

The New York Times getting criticized for defending ‘pornography literacy’ for first graders, ex-CNN regular Michael Avenatti getting prison time for Nike extortion, and The Lincoln Project’s co-founder saying the Capitol riot was worse than 9/11 round out today’s top media headlines

A CBS News correspondent appeared to acknowledge on Friday the media’s failure in its fawning coverage of disgraced anti-Trump lawyer Michael Avenatti 

Avenatti, who became a media darling as the outspoken attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison Thursday for his attempt to extort $25 million from Nike and could face more jail time with other pending legal woes in California. 

After running a report about Avenatti’s prison sentence on Friday’s “CBS This Morning,” co-host Tony Dokoupil pointed out how the lawyer had “big financial problems.”

EX-CNN REGULAR MICHAEL AVENATTI’S FALL FROM STARDOM COMPLETE AS HE GETS PRISON TIME FOR NIKE EXTORTION PLOT

“Maybe he needed some money and went about it getting it the wrong way,” Dokoupil said.

“And maybe we went about covering him the wrong way,” correspondent Jamie Wax responded. 

“I wouldn’t say ‘we,'” Dokoupil pushed back. “I wouldn’t say ‘we.’”

“The press, collectively,” Wax jokingly corrected himself. 

“It’s a big tent,” Dokoupil added, to which Wax agreed.

Notably, Dokoupil’s wife is MSNBC anchor Katy Tur, whose network embraced Avenatti’s presence, welcoming him on-air over 100 times in a single year. NewsBusters reported “CBS This Morning” interviewed him six times from 2018 to 2019.

However, no media organization gave Avenatti a bigger platform than CNN, which invited him for interviews a whopping 122 times, according to the Media Research Center. The network’s in-house media critic Brian Stelter declared Avenatti was a legitimate threat to challenge then-President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

“Looking ahead to 2020, one of the reasons why I’m taking you seriously as a contender is because of your presence on cable news,” Stelter told Avenatti on-air.

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A 2019 Washington Free Beacon video showed numerous examples of mainstream and liberal media members drooling over Avenatti, calling him a “beast,” the “savior of the republic,” and “Donald Trump’s worst nightmare.”

Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report. 

Michael Avenatti is broke, can’t afford legal fees, lawyer claims

Michael Avenatti is broke and can’t pay his legal fees, the California attorney who has represented the discredited lawyer for more than a year claims.

Dean Steward filed a motion in federal court Saturday detailing Avenatti’s financial woes and is now asking for taxpayer help to cover his costs.

“The bottom line is that Mr. Avenatti has run out of funds, and faces a complex trial lasting as long as six weeks,” Steward wrote in a filing to the federal judge overseeing one of Avenatti’s three ongoing criminal cases.

JEREMY ROENICK SUES NBC, CLAIMS TRUMP SUPPORT AND ‘DOUBLE STANDARDS’ FACTORED IN FIRING

This isn’t the first time Avenatti has run into legal or money issues in the case. For a short period last year, Avenatti was represented by lawyers in the federal public defender’s office after his retained counsel departed. It was then that Steward — whom Avenatti called “incredibly well-qualified” — entered the case.  

“[B]ut the retainer has long since run out and defendant does not have funds to pay counsel,” Steward says. He’s proposing to stay on as Avenatti’s lawyer and get paid under terms of existing rules for indigent clients.

“Such an arrangement would save considerable taxpayer funds, over starting fresh with new … counsel.”

A detailing of Avenatti’s financial straits was also filed with the court — but under seal from public view and for now from prosecutors as well. It wasn’t immediately clear when Judge James Selna in Los Angeles would rule on the matter.

MICHAEL AVENATTI ASKS JUDGE TO DELAY SENTENCING OVER CORONAVIRUS CONCERNS

Avenatti, like many others imprisoned, was allowed to leave federal custody because of coronavirus concerns. Since April he’s been living in the Southern California home of a childhood friend under strict rules imposed by the court.

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Michael Avenatti speaks outside a courthouse in New York City, Dec. 12, 2018.
​​​​​​​(Associated Press)

That friend was recently forced to answer questions to determine whether Avenatti had violated those terms – such as through impermissible use of internet-capable devices.

Selna appeared satisfied with the friend’s responses, saying Avenatti’s conduct “does not merit any action at this time.”

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The disgraced lawyer faces three-dozen counts of fraud, tax evasion and other alleged crimes. He was convicted in February of trying to extort millions of dollars from Nike and is also accused of bilking money from Stormy Daniels, his most famous client.

Avenatti has yet to be sentenced in the Nike case and is awaiting trial in the other two. 

Tim Graham: Woe to the media for weaponizing Michael Avenatti

For its 2019 dinner, the White House Correspondents’ Association skipped the traditional comedian and invited a historian instead. Ron Chernow buttered up every journalist in the room by proclaiming: “You folks in the media write the early drafts of history, and we historians the later ones. Your work gives freshener and color and immediacy to our sagas. … you do noble work to preserve democracy.”

Everyone in the room understood the code words here. “Preserving democracy” is equated with opposing President Trump. “Democracy” means removing Trump from office. His election could cause democracy to “die in darkness.” So the “first draft of history” isn’t some disinterested chronicle. It’s an energetic, never-ending crusade to steer history to the media’s preferred outcome, the “right side of history.”

This ends-justify-the-means approach to journalism can lead to embarrassing results. The Valentine’s Day conviction of anti-Trump activist and lawyer Michael Avenatti on three charges of extorting Nike seems like a direct result of the media’s feverish desire to force their “first draft” on the country.

MICHAEL AVENATTI CONVICTED OF TRYING TO EXTORT NIKE

In 2018, liberal media elites desperately hoped that porn star Stormy Daniels — with Avenatti’s legal expertise — would take Trump down on campaign finance violations, given that he paid her to shut up and stop claiming that she slept with him. It’s why Trump-detesting pundit Ana Navarro on “The View” compared the porn star’s lawyer to the Holy Spirit.

Avenatti’s attacks evolved into other controversies, including an embarrassing turn during the Supreme Court hearings of Brett Kavanaugh. He touted Kavanaugh accuser Julie Swetnick and her wild and unproven charges that Kavanaugh facilitated a gang rape at a house party when he was a teenager.

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The “first draft of history”: unfair and unfactual.

On Friday, CBS led its evening newscast with a segment on Avenatti’s conviction. Anchor Norah O’Donnell reported, “For a time, Avenatti was a fixture on cable TV and Twitter, but federal prosecutors say he threatened to use all that media access to hurt the athletic company’s reputation.”

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CNN and MSNBC gave Avenatti a total of 230 interviews in one year. ABC, CBS and NBC added another 24. All that airtime was worth millions of dollars in free publicity. In the middle of that year, the Washington Free Beacon estimated the publicity on just CNN and MSNBC was worth $175 million. This doesn’t even count other star turns on TV, like when Avenatti was toasted during late-show appearances with Bill Maher and Stephen Colbert. Maher joked, “A lawyer got a standing ovation.” Avenatti was called “Trump’s worst nightmare.”

After the conviction, CNN senior media reporter Oliver Darcy comically noted in a newsletter, “Fox (predictably) characterized Avenatti as a ‘media darling.'” This is like calling rain wet.

Avenatti took all that media-donated notoriety and attempted to intimidate Nike with it. Reporters actually applauded his tactics. NBC’s Anne Thompson touted Avenatti for “playing his brand of hardball with Nike.” When it all blew up in his face, after NBC and MSNBC interviewed Avenatti 113 times, after they had touted Swetnick’s unsubstantiated rape claims, NBC gave the news of his conviction only 20 seconds.

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The media regrets are few today. They bubbled up last May when his legal troubles couldn’t be ignored. In addition to the Nike extortion, he was indicted for allegedly stealing nearly $300,000 from Stormy Daniels. He was also indicted for allegedly stealing most of a $4 million settlement from a paraplegic. In November, he was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence.

This wasn’t the media’s first draft on Avenatti, and the second draft often drew a 20-second brief or a newspaper story on page A-22. Journalists ought to give themselves a stern look in the mirror and understand why they should be a little less impressed with themselves for the “we save democracy” claptrap.

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Gutfeld on the media’s phony contrition over Avenatti

Some are calling it a first-ever for CNN.

No, it’s not a ratings win.

In front of an audience you can count on just your fingers and toes, one anchor provided a moment of self-reflection!

TUCKER CARLSON, MARK STEYN SLAM ‘CREEPY PORN LAWYER’ AVENATTI AS ‘SLEAZY CHANCER’ AFTER CONVICTION

“I thought [Michael] Avenatti could be a serious candidate for president,” CNN host Brian Stelter said. “Was that stupid on my part?”

Well, now that Avenatti has been found guilty of extortion and is about to go on trial for other crimes, in addition to fueling the most heinous smears of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, I think the answer is, “Yes, you were stupid.”

That’s putting it lightly, because this mea culpa should have happened before all the montages of hacks kissing Avenatti’s butt forced your hand.

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What if he hadn’t been found guilty? If he had walked, it would’ve been right into CNN’s open arms.

But, I should stop. I’m being a jerk. (See, I can self-reflect too!)

True to the maxim that you should never mock someone for doing the right thing, I say, “Good job, Brian,” and you too, Jeffrey Toobin.

“The total collapse of his life is really sort of extraordinary,” Toobin said. “Frankly, I feel kind of snookered, because I took him seriously.”

“Snookered” means you were unfairly tricked, that you are the victim.

Jeff, why were you fooled when everyone beyond the media wasn’t?

Was it because you wanted to believe Avenatti had the goods on Trump and Kavanaugh, no matter how absurd those goods were?

The media’s excuse was that Avenatti was part of the Stormy Daniels story. They were looking for a savior, not a stripper.

After all, where is her spotlight now?

So, the media got snookered, because like a remote tribe thinking an empty Coca-Cola bottle falling from the sky came from the gods, their desperation made them credulous.

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So, hurray for self-reflection, but remember: These suckers just spent three years calling you “suckers” for supporting the president.

This is a rare moment. They’ll be back on that horse in no time, leaving a trail of manure wherever they go. Which makes it an easy story to follow.

Adapted from Greg Gutfeld’s monologue on “The Five” on Feb. 17, 2020.

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Tucker Carlson, Mark Steyn slam ‘Creepy Porn Lawyer’ Avenatti as ‘sleazy chancer’ after conviction

Tucker Carlson and Mark Steyn reacted on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Friday to celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti’s conviction in a federal case in which he was accused of trying to extort Nike.

Carlson joked that Avenatti, once mooted as a potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, is more likely to be behind bars than on a debate stage with other White House contenders.

SEN. BEN SASSE MOCKS ‘NOTED SCUMBAG’ AVENATTI AFTER GUILTY VERDICT

“I guess the headline is that man is not going to be the Democratic nominee. He’s not going to be giving the State of the Union address next January,” Carlson said. “Creepy Porn Lawyer [Avenatti]… came to the end of the road today.”

Carlson and Steyn then criticized Avenatti for gallivanting in public wearing expensive suits and engaging in hours of media appearances while one of his former clients, Stormy Daniels, was stuck working in striptease establishments.

“This guy was actually just some sleazy chancer  — as we say in Ireland — an undoubted criminal, the most reprehensible kind of guy,” Steyn said. “If he were really the guy those rubes at CNN took him for he would be laughing at us the same way that that awful [former FBI acting director Andrew] McCabe guy is laughing at us today.”

Earlier in the segment, Carlson said that the media owed America an apology for promoting Avenatti, playing off a video clip of MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle saying she owed the attorney an apology for doubting his importance.

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“You owe America an apology for promoting a guy you knew was filthy at the time but because he hated the same person you hate you made him seem like a hero,” Carlson said. “You should acknowledge that the guy you made famous is now going to jail for extortion.”

Steyn noted that Carlson was the only media figure who had Avenatti pegged from the start, asking: “How was it that [you were] the only person in the media who could see that this guy was just a Creepy Porn Lawyer while everyone else thought this very week he should be standing on stage somewhere in Concord, New Hampshire, thanking everyone for his victory on primary night, because he was supposed to be the magic bullet that would take out Donald Trump?”

Sasse mocks ‘noted scumbag’ Avenatti after guilty verdict: ‘Hard to get airtime from the slammer’

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., was apparently in no mood to take the high road Friday after celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti was convicted by a federal jury of trying to extort sportswear giant Nike.

The senator’s office put out a statement following the verdict that referred to Avenatti as a “noted scumbag” and “left-wing media darling who orchestrated attacks on Justice Brett Kavanaugh.“

“Michael Avenatti is a D-list attorney but a Grade-A scumbag,” Sasse began. “It’s hard to get airtime from the slammer, so Nike’s win is cable television’s loss. In the end, Michael Avenatti wasn’t a real attorney, he just played one on TV.”

FLASHBACK: AVENATTI RELEASES GRAPHIC KAVANAUGH ALLEGATIONS

Avenatti became incensed in 2018 after Sasse jabbed at him during a Senate floor speech in which the senator discussed the pain and trouble the contentious confirmation process had brought to the families of both Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, who accused the then-D.C. federal court judge of attempted sexual assault while they were in high school.

“Two families: the Ford family and the Kavanaugh family, both of them homes with children, have been the recipients of constant death threats, and for what? For one seat on the Supreme Court? We know this isn’t about that when people are threatening death. This is about tribe,” Sasse — who voted to confirm Kavanaugh — said at the time.

Referencing Avenatti’s representation of subsequent accuser Julie Swetnick — who had claimed Kavanaugh was “present” during alleged “gang” rapes at high school parties — Sasse said on the Senate floor that the American “body politic” will not improve “by giving more oxygen to the one-man clown show that is Michael Avenatti.”

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Avenatti responded to the critique by calling Sasse a “one man moron who knows nothing about the law or the [Supreme Court].”

The statement from Sasse’s office concluded by noting that Avenatti “faces up to 42 years in prison for his genius legal theories.”

Fox News’ Andrew O’Reilly and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Gutfeld rips media after Avenatti verdict: Their ‘deranged filter’ depicted ‘bald bozo’ as anti-Trump savior

The mainstream media failed to see convicted attorney Michael Avenatti for who he really was, but latched onto him because he seemed able to damage President Trump, Greg Gutfeld said on “The Five” Friday.

Earlier Friday, a federal jury in Manhattan convicted Avenatti of trying to extort athleticwear giant Nike, but not before he made hundreds of appearances on the likes of CNN and MSNBC, Gutfeld said after playing a montage of TV hosts praising the onetime attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels.

MICHAEL AVENATTI CONVICTED OF TRYING TO EXTORT NIKE

“‘The Five’ saw him for what he was, but the clowns from the [media] … they couldn’t because they have a deranged filter,” Gutfeld said. “All they saw when they looked at this clown was somebody that could hurt Trump, so they all lined up to kiss the bald bozo’s ring,”

The montage featured CNN anchors Christopher Cuomo and Don Lemon, MSNBC hosts Chris Matthews and Lawrence O’Donnell, and CBS “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert.

“This is a piece of evidence that shows you the corporate media cannot be trusted,” Gutfeld continued, adding that those same media figures portray themselves as more knowledgeable and sophisticated than the American people.

“But they are credulous. They’ll take in anybody. They are a tribe looking for a savior and that’s what they saw in this guy.”

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At the height of Avenatti’s fame, images circulated on social media that showed him partying with CNN anchors.

Juanita Scarlett, a former aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (brother of Chris Cuomo) once tweeted —  and then deleted – a photo of herself with Avenatti and another CNN anchor, Don Lemon, who apparently hosted a bash at his posh Hamptons home.

Avenatti, 48, was convicted of extortion, wire fraud and transmission of interstate communications with intent to extort. He faces up to 42 years in prison.

Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.

Ex-CNN darling Michael Avenatti convicted of trying to extort Nike

Brian Stelter and Joy Behar thought he could run for president in 2020. Now he’s going to jail.

Former liberal media darling and frequent CNN guest Michael Avenatti won’t be offering anti-Trump talking points on cable news anytime soon after the disgraced lawyer on Friday was found guilty of trying to extort Nike.

A New York jury found Avenatti, 48, guilty on three counts, including extortion, wire fraud and transmission of interstate communications with intent to extort. He faces up to 42 years in prison and did not testify in the case against him.

MICHAEL AVENATTI HOBNOBS WITH CNN STARS IN RARE FREE TIME BETWEEN APPEARANCES ON NETWORK

Back in 2018, a Media Research Center study revealed that Avenatti, who represented a porn star in a lawsuit against President Trump, appeared on CNN a whopping 74 times over a 10-week period and the network’s in-house media critic famously declared the now-disgraced porn lawyer was a legitimate threat to challenge Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

Stelter told Avenatti on air, “Looking ahead to 2020, one of the reasons why I’m taking you seriously as a [2020 presidential] contender is because of your presence on cable news.”

At the height of Avenatti’s fame, he spent his rare time away from CNN’s greenroom partying with the network’s anchors while regularly appearing on late-night shows, MSNBC and “The View.”

PRO-TRUMP MEME KING CARPE DONKTUM EXPLAINS HIS MEDIUM: ‘HATE IS POISON TO COMEDY’

Juanita Scarlett, a former aide to Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic governor of New York and brother of CNN host Chris Cuomo, once tweeted —  and then deleted – a photo of herself with Avenatti and another CNN host, Don Lemon, who apparently hosted a bash at his posh Hamptons home.

It’s unclear how many other CNN personalities were at Lemon’s “Sag Harbor soiree,” but it was clear Avenatti had a cozy relationship with the liberal network prior to his drastic fall from grace.

Michael Avenatti once attended a party at Don Lemon’s weekend home in the prestigious Hamptons area east of New York City, according to Juanita Scarlett.

CNN was even accused of downplaying Avenatti’s Nov. 2018 arrest and Stelter once admitted critics “have a legit reason to dunk on me” when he chalked up omitting a negative story about Avenatti from his newsletter to a mix up.

CNN’S BRIAN STELTER DELETES TWEET CLAIMING HE COVERED MICHAEL AVENATTI STORY: ‘I GOT MIXED UP’

“After being called everything from a political and legal expert to the ‘man who could take down Trump’ and given hundreds of segments and hours of television time from both CNN and MSNBC, Michael Avenatti is headed to jail,”author and political satirist Tim Young told Fox News. “Not only has he proven himself to be a fraud, but he’s exposed the fact that these networks are willing to book literally anyone who confirms their Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

Young said Stelter’s theory that Avenatti was a legitimate contender for president shows the CNN pundit has a “complete lack of understanding of the media and political sphere” for valuing a now-convicted felon over most politicians in America.

“It’s an important reminder that people aren’t smarter than you or better judges of character just because they have a major media platform,” Young added.

DON LEMON’S BOYFRIEND IMPLIED ‘LIBERAL’ CNN STAR WENT EASY ON PAL AVENATTI

CNN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

MRC analysts Bill D’Agostino and Rich Noyes wrote in 2018 that there “no guest in CNN’s recent history who has been given as much free media exposure by the network as Avenatti” received.

Attorney Michael Avenatti was on CNN 74 times during a 10-week period in 2018.

But CNN wasn’t the only liberal network to parade Avenatti in front of the camera. Over the same 10-week period, Avenatti appeared on MSNBC 57 times, according to the study.

LIBERAL MEDIA DOESN’T BELIEVE BILL BARR’S CONDEMNATION OF TRUMP TWEETS WAS SINCERE

“On a single day [May 3 2018], MSNBC featured Avenatti a stunning seven times,” D’Agostino and Noyes wrote. “While CNN has been the friendliest network… MSNBC has been close behind.”

He was also asked about a potential run at the White House on ABC News’ “The View” in August 2018.

The disgraced lawyer was accused of trying to extort up to $25 million from Nike by threatening to go public with evidence that the company had paid off the families of young NBA-bound athletes. For about two weeks, prosecutors called several witnesses, including lawyers and Nike employees, and played recordings of Avenatti at his meeting with Nike attorneys.

The defense’s case consisted of documents and stipulations insisting that Avenatti was only being an aggressive attorney and was working on behalf of his client. However, the client, Gary Franklin, the founder and coach of youth basketball team California Supreme, testified in court that Avenatti didn’t keep him in the loop of the negotiations with the athletic giant.

Avenatti hasn’t been able to appear on CNN, or anywhere else, as he was in custody after violating bail conditions in a federal case against him in California and was housed at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center during the trial.

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The once famed lawyer for adult-film star Stormy Daniels faces two other trials. In a second trial in Manhattan, he faces charges that he cheated Daniels out of the proceeds of a book deal. The most serious charges are in a federal case in Los Angeles, where he is accused of defrauding clients and others.

Avenatti has denied all charges and insisted that they were part of an ongoing vendetta by the Trump administration after he represented Daniels in her litigation against the president. Donald Trump Jr. reacted to Avenatti’s conviction by sharing a Free Beacon montage of his frequent media appearances.

Fox News’ Marta Dhanis, Lucia Suarez and Jennifer Olivia contributed to this report.

Michael Avenatti’s lawyer describes jail conditions, reportedly held in El Chapo’s former New York cell

The lawyer for Michael Avenatti submitted a letter to a New York judge on Monday, requesting his client’s release to the general population after indicating he may be currently housed in the cell used by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

Avenatti was transferred from a federal lockup in California to the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in lower Manhattan on Friday.

His attorney, Scott Srebnick, claimed in a letter addressed to New York District Judge Paul G. Gardephe, that Avenatti is being held in solitary confinement in“Special Housing Unit on the notorious 10-South of the MCC-New York.”

AVENATTI ALLEGEDLY TOOK SETTLEMENT MONEY FROM FOOTBALL FANS

California attorney Michael Avenatti leaves a courthouse in New York following a hearing. Avenatti was arrested Tuesday by IRS agents for alleged violations of his pre-trial release. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

California attorney Michael Avenatti leaves a courthouse in New York following a hearing. Avenatti was arrested Tuesday by IRS agents for alleged violations of his pre-trial release. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Srebnick argues that under Avenatti’s “current conditions of confinement,” they can’t effectively prepare for the trial and he cannot “meaningfully” assist in his defense.”

“He is in a cell reportedly once occupied by El Chapo, on a floor that houses individuals charged with terrorism offenses,” said the letter addressed to Gardephe. “He is apparently under special administrative measures (SAMs) which almost completely restricts his communications with the outside world.”

Avenatti has reportedly been in lockdown for 24 hours a day except for attorney visits and tow medical exams, according to the letter. Srebnick added that an officer has been placed outside Avenatti’s cell for 24 hours a day with two cameras focused on him.

MICHAEL AVENATTI ACCUSED OF COMMITTING NEW STATE, FEDERAL CRIMES WHILE ON BAIL, PROSECUTORS SAY

“The temperature in his cell feels like it is in the mid-40s,” the letter said. “He is forced to sleep with three blankets. Not surprisingly he has been having great difficulty functioning.”

Srebnick is asking the judge to accommodations his client, and give him an “afforded reasonable opportunity” for a private consultation with their counsel. They also want him to have legal materials in his cell, including a computer to review discovery and some social privileges.

Avenatti is being held without bail after prosecutors said he defrauded and concealed money from creditors while on bail last year. He is also charged with trying to extort millions of dollars from Nike.

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The MCC was home to Jeffrey Epstein until he allegedly killed himself last August.

Feds arrest Avenatti during California Bar Association hearing

Attorney Michael Avenatti was arrested by Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents Tuesday evening during a break in a disciplinary hearing in Los Angeles over allegations that the high-profile lawyer scammed a client out of $840,000.

The arrest occurred around 6 p.m. outside the State Bar Court, where the State Bar of California has initiated proceedings against him.

“I can confirm that he was arrested by federal agents,” Avenatti’s lawyer Dean Steward said. “I anticipate a bail hearing at 2 p.m. tomorrow in Magistrate’s Court in Santa Ana. I haven’t seen the details of the warrant, but should have it later this evening.“

Avenatti did not return to the court when the hearing resumed. His attorneys called for a sidebar with the judge and said he would not be able to return due to circumstances related to a criminal matter in Orange County.

The former lawyer for Stormy Daniels is accused of fraud, cheating on his taxes and lying to investigators. Federal prosecutors allege that he embezzled funds from clients. He has pleaded guilty to the charges.

Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, told Fox News that Avenatti was arrested on suspicion of violating his pre-trial release.

“I do expect him to appear in federal court in Santa Ana tomorrow,” he said, adding that documents related to the arrest were under seal.

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Tuesday’s hearing centered on allegations that Avenatti misappropriated $840,000 in settlement money owed to Gregory Barela, his former client. Barela made continued inquiries about the funds to Avenatti, and the attorney allegedly kept the cash for himself. He still owes Barela $710,000 but denies any wrongdoing.

Avenatti was supposed to travel to New York on Tuesday night for his criminal trial over his alleged plot to extort $25 million from sports apparel giant Nike.

Fox News’ Lee Ross and Nick Givas contributed to this report.