SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Jan 31 – Michael Avenatti's
financial affidavit to get a
publicly paid lawyer for his
Stormy Daniels case, which
Inner City Press formally
sought to have unsealed for
eleven months, were on July
27, 2021 ordered unsealed. Order.
Podcast here.
Aug 13 podcast here.
On the
weekend before trial there's
was a request to delay it, on
COVID policy and
Constitutional grounds. It was
denied.
The trial
started on the morning of
January 24. Inner City Press
live tweet here.
It continued in the afternoon,
with Stormy Daniels' literary
agency Lucas Janklow being
cross examined about being
introduced to Michael Avenatti
at a hotel bar, by Anderson
Cooper. Inner City Press live
tweeted, thread here;
stream here,
video here
On the
morning of January 31,
Avenatti did two final cross
examinations then was asked
about his own case. Inner City
Press live tweeted, thread here:
Assistant US
Attorney: Are you "EB"?
Elizabeth Beier:
I am.
AUSA: What did
you mean in this email about
not responding? EB: We were
not responding to Denver
Nicks, Ms. Daniels' publicist.
AUSA: At any point did Mr.
Avenatti make any legal threat
about the payments to Ms.
Daniels?
Avenatti:
Objection! Asked and answered.
Judge Furman: Overruled. EB:
No, he never made any legal
threat. Inner City Press
@innercitypress ·
Elizabeth Beier:
I called Ms. Daniels and she
told me she was referring to
the third payment, which we
had already made. AUSA: What
is this document? Beier: A
check request for the last or
fourth payment for Full
Disclosure. Inner City Press
@innercitypress ·
Cross
examination: Avenatti: Did I
ever ask St. Martin's to send
me any money? Beier: No.
Avenatti: You would not be
aware of any communications I
had with Mr. Janklow about
legal action against St.
Martin's? AUSA: Objection.
Judge Furman: Sustained. Inner
City Press @innercitypress ·
Avenatti: The
thought of not paying the
fourth payment was based on
the terrible sales of the
book, correct? Beier: We
believed there was not enough
publicity. Some 40,000 copies
were sold. Inner City Press
@innercitypress ·
Avenatti: How
many did you expect to sell?
AUSA: Objection. Judge Furman:
Overruled. Beier: Four times
that. 150,000. Inner City
Press @innercitypress ·
Avenatti:
How many books would have had
to be sold for Ms. Daniels to
get any royalties? Beier: Back
of the envelope? 100,000.
Avenatti: She'd get $4 per
book, correct? Beier: That's
each hardcover. Inner City
Press @innercitypress ·
Avenatti: Is it
fair to say St. Martin's lost
a ton of money on this book?
AUSA: Objection! Judge Furman:
Overruled. Beier: We
lost money. Avenatti: Hundreds
of thousands of dollars,
right? Beier: I expect that is
correct. Inner City Press
@innercitypress ·
Avenatti: Who is
John Karle? Beier: He works in
publicity for St. Martin's.
Avenatti: Do you recall Denver
Nicks contacted St. Martin's
and said Stormy would not do
any more publicity after the
Don Lemon --
AUSA: Objection!
Judge Furman: Sustained.
Avenatti: Did you tell me and
Mr. Janklow, "Great partners"?
Beier: I don't remember that.
Avenatti: On July 24, 2018,
isn't it true that you thanked
me and Mr. Janklow for our
time and attention on the
book? AUSA: Objection. Judge
Furman: Sustained. Inner City
Press @innercitypress ·
Avenatti: Who
wrote the forward to the book?
Beier: You did. Avenatti: Who
took the time to record the
audio of the forward? Beier:
You did. Judge Furman: Mr.
Avenatti, how much more do you
have of this? Avenatti: Thirty
to forty-five minutes. Inner
City Press @innercitypress ·
Avenatti:
Ms. Beier, do you remember in
September 2018 there was a
leak of the book? Beier: Yes.
Avenatti: Do you remember
there was a book signing
scheduled for Ms. Daniels at
the Museum of Sex here in NYC?
Beier: Yes. Inner
City Press @innercitypress ·
Re-direct:
AUSA: Are poor book sales a
basis for withholding payment?
Beier: No. AUSA: Did St.
Martin's expect the third
payment to go to the
defendant? Beier: No. AUSA: No
further questions. Inner City
Press @innercitypress ·
Next US witness:
SDNY staffer Medrano. AUSA:
What is your focus as an
investigative analysis at the
SDNY? Medrano: White collar
crimes. Judge Furman: It's 11
am, usually I'd give a break
here but we are within 15
minutes of a possible longer
break so let's push forward.
Inner City Press
@innercitypress ·
Avenatti
launching cross examination of
SDNY staffer Medrano Avenatti:
Who decided that this timeline
would end on Feb 19, 2019 at
2:09 pm? Medrano: The
prosecution team. Avenatti: Do
you read books? Medrano: Yes.
Avenatti: Do you just read
sections out of the middle?
AUSA: Objection. Judge Furman:
Sustained. Inner City Press
@innercitypress ·
And now
Judge Furman tells the jury,
the US has rested its case.
The defendant has no duty to
put on a case. I need to
discuss this with the parties.
I'm checking with the
cafeteria to see if you lunch
can be brought early. Inner
City Press @innercitypress ·
Jury leaves.
Judge Furman: Is there a
motion under Rule 29?
Avenatti: There will be. But
first, I intend to move to
exclude the chart Mr. Medrano
spoke about but didn't
prepare. Judge Furman: I don't
see any basis for that. Inner
City Press @innercitypress ·
Avenatti: The
government has given the jury
to false impression that Ms.
Daniels informed me she had
retained Mr. Brewster before I
terminated her as a client.
That is false. And we've told
the government. It is
incumbent on them to correct
the misimpression. Inner City
Press @innercitypress ·
Judge Furman:
It's called the adversary
process. You can cross
examine, you can put on a
case. I don't understand what
your application is. Avenatti:
I move under Rule 29 because
the US has not satisfied the
elements. Inner City Press
@innercitypress ·
Judge Furman:
There is ample evidence in the
record on which the jury could
find you acted contrary to
your duties. You can argue
what you want to the jury.
Next argument. Avenatti: The
US is relying on Ms. Daniels
saying I wouldn't take money
from the book deal Inner City
Press @innercitypress ·
Avenatti: I was
entitled to a reasonable fee.
I cannot be convicted for
stealing money I was entitled
to. Judge Furman: Your Rule 29
motions are denied. I don't
understand why you are not
prepared to tell me what
exhibits you intend to ask to
introduce. Inner City Press
@innercitypress ·
Avenatti: We had
5 witnesses ready, but your
Honor issued an order for them
not to come. Judge Furman:
That's not true. I told only
one not to travel from
California, due to the motion
to quash. Judge Furman: Mr.
Avenatti you have some
obligation to be prepare to
put on your case. Avenatti: Mr
Loupe has flown back to New
Orleans after your ruling --
Judge Furman: Mr.
Avenatti, I did not MAKE any
rulings. Inner City Press
@innercitypress
Judge Furman:
We'll take a break of 15
minutes. Then I expect you to
be ready to speak to me about
exhibits then who will testify
tomorrow, or who will testify
at all. Adjourned.
On January
30, the US wrote in on quantum
meruit, and invited Avenatti
to testify: "Although the
defendant is wrong that he was
entitled to take Ms. Daniels’s
book payment under the
law of quantum meruit, a
mistaken belief about his
legal rights could support a
good faith defense. The
Government is required to
prove that the defendant had
the requisite mens rea,
including that he acted with a
wrongful purpose. (See Letter
Mot. on Willfulness, Dkt. No.
311). Good faith is a
“complete defense to charges
of wire fraud.” United States
v. Dupre, 462 F.3d 131,
139 (2d Cir. 2006). The
defendant therefore should be
permitted to testify about his
purported belief that
quantum meruit permitted him
to take Ms. Daniels’s money to
support an argument that
he acted in good faith. 3 The
Court should carefully
circumscribe the defendant’s
testimony, however, and
provide an appropriate
instruction both at the time
of the testimony and in the
jury charge regarding
the correct law, so as
to avoid confusing and
misleading the jury. First,
while the defendant may
describe the bases for his
beliefs at a very high level,
he should not be permitted to
offer documentary
evidence, delve deeply into
legal theory that may confuse
the jury and usurp the
Court’s role." Full letter on
DocumentCloud here.
On January 25,
the cross examination of
Janklow continued, then an
SDNY Special Agent and
Avenatti law firm staffer. But
in the middle, Federal
Defenders said Avenatti may
want to fire them and
represent himself. Judge
Furman said, Not so fast.
Inner City Press live tweeted
it, thread here
In the
afternoon of January 25,
Avenatti confirmed he wants to
represent himself and Judge
Furman granted it. He will
cross examine Stormy Daniels,
then. Inner City Press live
tweeted it, thread here
and below.
On the morning of
January 26, podcast here,
Avenatti cross examined
Regnier than an FBI agent.
Inner City Press live tweeted,
thread here.
On the
afternoon of January 26
Avenatti cross examined Sean
Macias who hooked him up with
Garagos, before those two
double teamed Nike. Inner City
Press live tweeted it, thread
here.
On the
morning of January 27, after
the end of Macias and another
SDNY witness, Stormy Daniels
took the stand to begin direct
examination. Inner City Press
live tweeted it here.
On the
afternoon, at the end,
Avenatti began his cross
examination. Inner City Press
live tweeted the afternoon, here.
On January 29,
Avenatti's cross examination
continued, to two videos,
thread here.
In the afternoon
Avenatti got into, or tried to
get into, Trump; afterward
Inner City Press asked
him about the case - and
the Supreme Court. Thread here.
Judge
Furman released his juror
questions, asking each side to
respond by January 19 at 10
am. The questions include:
"Based on anything that you
have read, seen, or heard
about Mr. Avenatti, have
you formed any opinions
about Mr. Avenatti that might
make it difficult for you to
be a fair and impartial
juror in this case? 10.
Would you have any trouble
following my instructions to
put anything you may
have read, seen, or
heard about Mr. Avenatti out
of your mind and decide this
case based only on the
evidence presented at
trial? 11. Do you or
does any member of your family
or a close friend personally
know or have past or
present dealings with the
alleged victim in this case,
Ms. Clifford (also known
as “Stormy Daniels”), or
with any of her family
members?...
"Do you know or
have you heard of any of the
following people or entities,
which include the
lawyers in this case, people
who may testify at the trial,
and other names that may
be mentioned during the
course of the trial? •
Pamela Baez • Elizabeth Beier
• Thomas Bolus • Clark
Brewster • Christine Carlin •
Michaela Catando (also known
as Kayla Paige) • Dmitri
Chitov • Dwayne Crawford •
Jennifer Donovan • Anna Finkel
• Mark Geragos • Jack
Guiragosian • Holtzbrinck
Publishers • Luke Janklow •
Janklow & Nesbit
Associates • Geoffrey Johnson
• Global Baristas • Sean
Macias • Macmillan Publishers
• Susan McClaran • Benjamin
Meiselas • Travis Miller •
Mareli Miniutti • Erik Nathan
• Denver Nicks • Kevin Carr
O’Leary • David Padilla •
Brandon Parraway • Pro Tech
Security and Automation • Judy
Regnier • Sally Richardson •
Security and Automation LLC •
St. Martin’s Press • Enrique
Santos • Jessica Volchko •
Juliet Vicari • Donald Vilfer
25. Are you familiar with
anyone else present in the
courtroom, including your
fellow jurors, all Court
personnel, and myself?"
On October 14
Judge Furman held a proceeding
in the Stormy Daniels case and
Inner City Press live tweeted
it here
and podcast here
On August 10
Avenatti's Federal Defenders
filed a copy of the affidavit
with multiple redactions. The
form refers on nearly every
question to an attachment,
which is blacked out in absurd
ways. It reads, for example,
"I own stock in two closely
held companies that may have
value: (a) [REDACTED] located
in [REDACTED]
and (b) [REDACTED]
located in [REDACTED]...
I technically
still have an
interest in a
private
aircraft
(model:
HondaJet 420)
that was
seized by the
IRS and is
still in their
possession.
This interest
is held
through a
single-purpose
entity named [REDACTED],"
and so forth.
Inner
City
Press
published the
redacted
affidavit on
its
DocumentCloud
here
and asked,
Will the Court
be accepting
this?
On
August 11, the
correct answer
was: No. "MEMO
ENDORSEMENT as
to Michael
Avenatti (1)
on [139]
LETTER MOTION
re: [139]
LETTER MOTION
addressed to
Judge Jesse M.
Furman from
Robert Baum,
Tamara Giwa
& Andrew
Dalack dated
August 10,
2021 re:
Letter Motion
In Response to
Court's Order
to File
Financial
Affidavit.
ENDORSEMENT:
The Court is
unpersuaded
that privacy
interests
justify
redacting the
names and
locations of
the corporate
entities in
Paragraphs 14,
15, and 17 of
ECF No.
139-1."
After hours on
August 12,
some
redactions
were removed:
Avenatti's owned
a plane
through
Passport 420
LLC; an
unnamed
"non-family-member
acquaintance"
paid a
NY-based
attorney in
the Nike case,
whose name is
redacted.
Unredacted:
Avenatti owns
stock in
Tyrian Systems
(aka Seek
Thermal) of
Santa Barbara,
CA and
Centurion
Holdings I,
LLC of St.
Louis
Missouri."
Not
so fast. Inner
City Press
research in
the hours
after the
removal of the
improper
redactions found
that Centurion
Holdings I,
LLC is based
in Arnold,
Missouri - and
"received a
PPP loan of
$60,477 in
May, 2020."
That's the
Paycheck
Protection
Program; the
funds came
through the
Central Bank
of St. Louis.
Bigger,
the aka: "Seek
Thermal, Inc
of 6300
Hollister Ave
in Goleta,
California received
a
Coronavirus-related
PPP loan from
the SBA of
$1,365,062.00
in April,
2020." We'll
have more on
this.
Watch
this site.
On August
27, Inner City Press filed a
formal request that documents
in the case not be sealed,
full filing on Patreon here.
On
November 12, Inner City Press
made a third filing with Judge
Furman, on a decision
to unseal issued earlier in
the day by SDNY Judge J. Paul
Oetken after Inner City Press
filed to similarly unseal Lev
Parnas' co-defendant David
Correia's financial infor: "we
again ask, why should lower
income and less high profile
defendants in the SDNY -- and
now David Correia -- have
their financial information so
disclosed while Avenatti's
information is sealed in its
entirety? The documents at
issue should not be sealed and
should be made available."
On August
28, 2020 Judge Furman entered
an order: "The Court received
the attached communication
from Matthew Lee of Inner City
Press “seeking leave to be
heard and for the unsealing of
the CJA Form 23, affidavit,
and all associated documents”
relating to this litigation.
To the extent that Mr. Lee
(who is admitted to the bar of
the Southern District of New
York) seeks leave to be heard,
his application is GRANTED.
The Court reserves judgment on
the question of whether
Defendant’s CJA Form 23 and
related documents should be
unsealed. SO ORDERED. Dated:
August 28, 2020 New York, New
York JESSE M. FURMAN." Docket
No. 85, on Inner City Press'
DocumentCloud, here.
On July
27, 2021, Judge Furman four
times citing Inner City Press
ordered
Avenatti's affidavits
unsealed: "Avenatti filed a
letter brief arguing that the
Initial Financial Affidavit
should remain under seal. ECF
No. 80 (“Def.’s Mem.”).
Thereafter, the Court received
submissions from Inner City
Press, a media outlet that
intervened to seek disclosure
of the Financial Affidavits,
ECF Nos. 85, 90, 99... The
Defendant initially argued
that the Government lacked
standing “to assert any right
on behalf of the public to
access Mr. Avenatti’s sworn
financial statements.” Def.’s
Mem. 7 n.1 (citing United
States v. Hickey, 185 F.3d
1064 (9th Cir. 1999)).
Subsequently, however, the
Court granted leave to Inner
City Press to be heard on the
Defendant’s motion, ECF No.
85, which indisputably does
have standing to assert such
rights." Full order here,
filings due August 10. Watch
this site.
This case is US v. Avenatti, 19-cr-374
(Furman).
***
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