Remember him? He was a media star for awhile because he was going after Trump. CNN's Brian Stelter – star of the unaptly named Reliable Sources – suggested he'd be a good presidential candidate.
Disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti, who skyrocketed to fame for representing adult film star Stormy Daniels in her hush money suit against former President Trump, was sentenced Thursday to two-and-a-half years in prison for trying to extort Nike for millions of dollars.
Avenatti cried in court as he gave a short speech, thanking his family and admitting that, “I and I alone have destroyed my career, my relationships, my life, and there is no doubt that I deserve to pay, have paid, and will pay a further price for what I have done.”
But Judge Paul G. Gardephe called Avenatti’s conduct “outrageous” and a betrayal of his clients.
“Mr. Avenatti had become drunk on the power of his platform or what he perceived the power of his platform to be,” he said. “He had become someone who operated as if the laws and rules which apply to everyone else didn’t apply to him.”
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Before Gardephe's ruling, Avenatti wept in court, and for the first time expressed contrition for his crimes—shedding tears while standing at a lecturn before the judge, with friends and family at his back in the gallery.
“I’ve learned that all the fame and notoriety in the world is meaningless,” Avenatti told the court, referring to his months-long stint in the spotlight. “TV and Twitter mean nothing.”
“I look forward to working hard to become the person I once was and will be if given the chance,” he added, choking up. “But I know I will never have the privilege of practicing law again.”
Avenatti dramatically concluded that he didn’t want his three children to be proud of him, but instead ashamed, because “then their moral compass is where it should be.”
I hope that's how he really feels.
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