Free Republic

NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Avenatti, the brash California lawyer who publicly sparred with then-President Donald Trump before criminal fraud charges on two coasts disrupted his rapid ascent to fame, faces sentencing in one of those cases Thursday. Over a year after a jury concluded Avenatti tried to extort millions of dollars from Nike by threatening the company with bad publicity, U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe will sentence him in Manhattan. Avenatti was convicted on charges that he tried to extort up to $25 million from the Beaverton, Oregon-based sportswear giant as he represented a Los Angeles youth basketball...

Federal judge ruled Trump can't enforce non-disclosure agreement he required his campaign aides to sign U.S. District Court Judge Paul Gardephe, an appointee of President George W. Bush, said the language was too broad and unenforceable 'The non-disclosure provision is thus much broader than what the Campaign asserts is necessary to protect its legitimate interests, and, therefore, is not reasonable,' he ruled Issue came about when Jessica Denson, a Hispanic outreach director for Trump in 2016, accused the campaign of sex discrimination in a separate lawsuit In return, the campaign accused her of violating the non-disclosure

NEW YORK - Michael Avenatti was stuck in a "rat-infested" jail cell for a 10-day stretch during a recent lockdown at a federal detention center and was able to shower only twice in about two weeks, his attorney said in a letter to a judge Wednesday. The details of Avenatti's recent experience at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan were discussed in a letter sent by his attorney Scott Srebnick to U.S. District Court Judge Paul Gardephe seeking a postponement to a probation background interview Avenatti is supposed to complete. The lockdown in recent weeks was due to a...

A federal judge on Wednesday rejected Michael Avenatti’s bid to dismiss criminal charges accusing him of trying to extort Nike Inc (NKE.N), after the celebrity lawyer claimed he was targeted in a “vindictive” prosecution because of his feud with U.S. President Donald Trump. U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe in Manhattan ruled the morning after Avenatti was arrested in California for potential violations of his bail conditions, in a separate case there accusing him of defrauding other clients. Avenatti has pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges he faces. Lawyers for Avenatti told Gardephe on Wednesday their client is in custody,...

Michael Avenatti does not want U.S. prosecutors to present evidence at his criminal trial this month that his alleged financial straits, including an inability to pay child support, gave the celebrity lawyer a motive to extort Nike Inc. In a filing on Friday, lawyers for Avenatti said it would be "so prejudicial to Mr. Avenatti as to deprive him of a fair trial" for prosecutors to suggest he was more than $15 million in debt, a claim Avenatti "vehemently disputes," when he allegedly tried to extort up to $25 million from Nike. Avenatti became famous representing porn star Stormy Daniels...