# Why is Michael Avenatti Doing All This? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 9, 2018, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876 "2018-05-09T19:54:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876/141 "2019-03-13T15:57:33Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > “the porno actress that the president of the united states raw-dogged while his 3rd wife (who also did porn) was pregnant.” I think she was more prostitute than porn star. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876/142 "2019-03-13T16:08:17Z")
Let’s be fair. Stormy Daniels was born in the U.S.A., so her porn work was legal. Melania Knauss was on a tourist visa and working illegally when she “modeled” for Trump’s agency. [Of course, hiring illegal aliens as cheap labor was part of the Trump business model](http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trumps-business-purges-many-the-undocumented-immigrants-it-hired), and a reason he’s such a smart and famous businessman. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876/143 "2019-03-13T16:09:42Z")
Oh, I have no doubt. I mean, she “modeled” for Paolo Zampoli, fer chrissakes! ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876/144 "2019-03-13T16:11:02Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Let’s be fair. Stormy Daniels was born in the U.S.A., so her porn work was legal. Melania Knauss was on a tourist visa and working illegally when she “modeled” for Trump’s agency. [Of course, hiring illegal aliens as cheap labor was part of the Trump business model](http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trumps-business-purges-many-the-undocumented-immigrants-it-hired), and a reason he’s such a smart and famous businessman. Let’s make sure that the conservatives reading this also know that the First Lady was born and raised a Communist, and, in fact, isn’t the first Communist that Donald Trump married. I know that modern American conservatives love Communists while hating Communism, but still… it should be pointed out. ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876/145 "2019-03-18T17:17:09Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Let’s make sure that the conservatives reading this also know that the First Lady was born and raised a Communist, and, in fact, isn’t the first Communist that Donald Trump married. I know that modern American conservatives love Communists while hating Communism, but still… it should be pointed out. And this has what to do with Michael Avenatti??? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876/146 "2019-03-18T17:19:00Z")
Absolutely nothing, just riffing off Septimus’s post. Wasn’t that clear? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876/147 "2019-03-25T17:15:44Z")
Avenatti arrested. Tried to extort Nike for $20 million. He’s now become the John Delorean of trial lawyers. This is the break the Castro campaign has been waiting for! > **[Stormy Daniels' ex-lawyer Michael Avenatti arrested for alleged $20 million...](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/25/michael-avenatti-to-be-charged-with-wire-and-bank-fraud.html)** > > Federal investigators say Avenatti tried to extort up to $25 million from Nike by threatening to reveal negative publicity. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876/148 "2019-03-25T20:18:27Z")
He tried to extort NIKE? Jesus, why not pick a flght with Floyd Mayweather while you’re at it? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876/149 "2019-03-25T20:22:35Z")
Did he not think what he was doing was illegal? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876/150 "2019-03-25T20:43:31Z")
The indictment also mentions Mark Geragos as an unindicted co-conspirator. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2019, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876/151 "2019-03-26T01:03:20Z")
This sounds very much like the way attorneys operate when negotiating a settlement. I am not certain what makes it extortion. I would also really like to know what exactly he had to share about Nike. Lastly - raise your hand if you’re surprised that this guy got in legal trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2019, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876/152 "2019-03-26T01:45:56Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > This sounds very much like the way attorneys operate when negotiating a settlement. I am not certain what makes it extortion. I would also really like to know what exactly he had to share about Nike. Lastly - raise your hand if you’re surprised that this guy got in legal trouble. I am surprised. You’d assume a lawyer would know better. My understanding (could be wrong) is that Avenatti stayed out of legal trouble for the first ~46 years of his life. Then he became a national figure, and then suddenly he started getting arrested. Domestic violence, extortion, embezzlement, etc. I’m not sure if he just got too large of an ego, or if he became a target because of his high profile. But I’m surprised a lawyer doesn’t know the law. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2019, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876/153 "2019-03-26T01:47:59Z")
Raises hand. Very surprised. I’m still trying to see what happened. At this stage, I think both Avenatti and Nike will come out looking bad. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876/154 "2022-02-05T12:35:23Z")
Bump. Michael Avanetti re-surfaces. And not in a good way. > **[Michael Avenatti found guilty of defrauding Stormy Daniels over Trump book...](https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6340065)** > > Michael Avenatti was convicted Friday of charges he cheated the porn actor Stormy Daniels out of nearly $300,000 US she was supposed to get for writing a book about an alleged tryst with former president Donald Trump. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2022, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876/155 "2022-02-06T09:05:24Z")
I’ve been getting tidbits from the trial for a few days from Twitter. Avenatti fought for the right dismiss his lawyer at the last moment before trial starting and then did a poor job representing himself. If I understood it correctly his defense was basically: 1. Daniels is unreliable and kooky 2. Even without a contract specifying this approach I’m a lawyer, and lawyers should get paid, and you can’t steal money that is actually yours. ---
**Author:** ![SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpacemanSpiff_II)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876/156 "2022-02-07T15:55:37Z")
It’s interesting to read some of the early comments to this thread and see numerous posters asserting that Avenatti couldn’t possibly be motivated by money because he was so rich and successful as it is. Meanwhile, the guy was deeply in debt and desperate for cash and was embezzling everything he could get his hands on. It’s also interesting that this putative white knight turned out to be an even bigger crook than Trump himself. Trump is a corrupt grifter. Avenatti is a professional thief and con artist. Really a remarkable story. I sense a movie, one day. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876/157 "2022-02-07T17:44:11Z")
The original post started off with what a wonderful guy, he’s just swell!, sort of tone and it seemed awfully weird to fawn over a lawyer. But, I suppose it’s human nature to project and see what one wants to see. I guess the answer is clear now though. He did this to enrich himself and for fame. CPL is now CCPL. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876/158 "2022-06-02T18:39:12Z")
sentence has been handed down. "Disgraced attorney Michael Avenatti was sentenced to four years in prison for stealing nearly $300,000 from his former client, adult film actress Stormy Daniels. District Judge Jesse Furman said Avenatti’s conduct was “so brazen and egregious” adding, he “took advantage of a vulnerable victim given her unorthodox career and somewhat unorthodox beliefs.” at present he is serving a 30 month sentence from a trial involving nike. the sentences will be served along side. he also have hundred of thousands in fines to daniels and the u.s… he has another trial for embezzlement next month in california. he is being bounced between ny and ca. ---
**Author:** ![SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpacemanSpiff_II)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876/159 "2022-06-02T18:42:20Z")
The remarkable thing about this case is that all the people involved are lowlifes. Trump is an all-purpose sleazeball, Avenatti is a con artist and crook, and Daniels is a double-crossing blackmailer/extortionist. I kind of think they all deserve each other (though in the case of the first two at least, they have a lot of other victims as well). ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876/160 "2022-06-02T19:31:58Z")
> [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](#): > > Trump is an all-purpose sleazeball, Avenatti is a con artist and crook, and Daniels is a double-crossing blackmailer/extortionist. You have a weird definition of both double-crossing and blackmail. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-michael-avenatti-doing-all-this/813876.md?page=9)