One week after the media-friendly lawyer was arrested in New York on two indictments, he appeared in a California court to be arraigned. The celebrity lawyer appeared in federal court here on Monday on one of two indictments—this time finding himself the defendant in a raucous arraignment instead of the defender.
As he left the courthouse, Avenatti attempted to address a crowd of reporters but was interrupted by warring hecklers, with one man howling that he was a “creepy porn lawyer” and another yelling adulation.
“Lock him up!” called the first.
The dueling cries captured competing visions of the well-known attorney, who rose to national fame representing adult actress Stormy Daniels in her case against Donald Trump, but whose recent legal troubles have soured his national profile.
Among other crimes, federal prosecutors alleged that Avenatti had attempted to “shakedown” Nike executives, threatening to publicize damaging information unless they turned over more than $20 million. Following his arrest on March 25, Avenatti surrendered his passport and was released from New York jail later that day on a $300,000 bond. The lawyer maintains his innocence on all counts.
In California, prosecutors claim that the media-friendly lawyer misappropriated $1.6 million in settlement money. They say he funneled the funds into his coffee business and personal expenses, rather than into his client’s account. The long legal file details counts of wire and bank fraud, which are separate from his charges in New York.
What makes this even more delicious is the fact that Avenatti, has publicly blown a fuse over being called a ‘porn lawyer’ so we know this just chapped his cheeks.
Avenatti had an unforgettable interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson which went something like this:
“Let me ask you a question,” Avenatti told Carlson. “Why is it that you don’t call Donald Trump ‘the creepy porn president?’ He’s the one that had sex with a 4-month-old son at home with my client without a condom. But you don’t want to acknowledge that. Acknowledge it. Do you believe he had sex with my client?”
“Yes, I do,” Carlson responded. “I’ve said that on the air multiple times.”
The two then argued about whether Trump had a moral obligation to disclose the alleged sexual relationship, whether Avenatti is exploiting his client and whether Carlson is disrespecting them.
“Why don’t you show some respect to my client and me and stop calling us ‘a porn star’ and ‘a creepy porn lawyer?'” Avenatti said: “Do you have that big a problem with porn?”
To that, Carlson replied: “You’re a little creepier even than I realized.”