SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Feb 2 – 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 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 February 2, the US
Attorney's Office gave its
closing, calling Avenatti a
liar. Inner City Press did a vlog,
here, then live tweeted
it, thread here:
Judge Furman:
Welcome back, jurors. Now you
know Mr. Avenatti was a part
of these events, so he will
inevitably refer to himself in
his closing. But he is not
testifying. The government may
proceed.
AUSA: "The
defendant was a lawyer who
stole from his own client."
Inner City Press
@innercitypress ·
AUSA: He told
lies to try to cover it all
up. Lies he told to try to get
away with it. But he failed.
His lies caught up with him.
At this trial, the truth came
out. Defendant's lies were
exposed. He committed fraud
and ID theft. Inner City Press
@innercitypress ·
AUSA: Ms. Daniels
signed a book contract, which
agreed to pay Ms. Daniels
$800,000 in four installments.
The first went fine. But the
second, the defendant stole.
She asked, Where's my money?
So he called Mr. Macias and
asked to get a loan & got
one [from Geragos]
AUSA: Defendant
spent the money on his
ex-wife, his girlfriend, car
payments... But he got tangled
in his own web of lies. That
is why we are here. Look at
this exhibit: Ms. Daniels
complained - she didn't know
that the defendant had taken
her money. Inner City Press
@innercitypress ·
AUSA: You know
that the second payment had
been made on time, but
defendant was keeping her on
the dark. Then came the third
payment, and more lies.
October 2, 2018, the book was
published. The defendant
invested a new lie. GX 35
Inner City Press
@innercitypress ·
AUSA: He invented
a new lie - that the payment
was dependent on her doing
publicity. But that was the
fourth payment Now GX 37: on
October 26, 2018 Ms. Daniel
wrote, the publisher owes me
money. He wrote back, Agreed.
That was false.
AUSA: Defendant
didn't say, I took the money
because we agreed. Or, I took
the money because I earned it.
He said, Let me check. What
was he going to check - the
empty bank account he stole
from? GX 302E Inner City Press
@innercitypress ·
AUSA: Now
defendant switched from his
"let me check" lie to his
"publicity requirement" lie.
The third book payment was
paid early, it was not held up
waiting for a letter about
publicity. GX58: On Feb 12,
2019, Ms. Daniels wrote, Did
you speak to publisher? Inner
City Press @innercitypress ·
AUSA: The
defendant told Mr. Janklow
that Ms. Daniels had money
problems, pay her the 3d
payment early. But he planned
to steal it. He kept them from
speaking to each other. Mr.
Janklow said, He asked I have
all conversations particularly
about money through him. Inner
City Press @innercitypress ·
AUSA: Here
is a text message: "Dude, she
just called me again... She is
a client, I have obligations
to her." Why would the
defendant not let Mr. Janklow
speak with his own client? To
not get caught. GX31: Ms.
Daniels complains, Mr. Janklow
has not called me Inner City
Press @innercitypress ·
AUSA: Then
there's the fake letter he
used to trick Mr. Janklow. GX
210. He told Mr. Janklow to
send the money to a bank
account that he controlled.
But Mr. Janklow wanted
instructions from her. He
texted, "We need something
from Stormy." Inner City Press
@innercitypress ·
AUSA: So here is
GX 213, the fake letter, with
copy and paste signature. The
defendant didn't ask for Ms.
Daniels submission. Ms.
Daniels told you she never had
anyone sign her contracts.
AUSA: Then there
is the lawyer's duty to serve
his or her client. Violation
of these, without more, does
not constitute wire fraud. But
you will hear Judge Furman's
instructions. I expect he will
instruct you that a lawyer
must promptly provide info to
client Inner City Press
@innercitypress ·
AUSA: Think back
to Ms. Regnier's testimony.
Defendant and his law firm
were broke. They were evicted.
She said payments and payroll
were late. No party at the
Montage in December 2018.
Inner City Press
@innercitypress ·
AUSA: Then Mr.
Janklow sent Ms. Daniels proof
of defendant's schemes and it
became to unravel... There are
two charges here: Wire fraud,
and aggravated identity theft.
There is overwhelming proof,
of intent to trick Mr. Janklow
to send her money to him Inner
City Press @innercitypress ·
AUSA: The
fake letter makes out
aggravated identity theft. Mr.
Avenatti's defenses are just
distractions. There's the
"everyone is lying or crazy"
defense. There's the "I
deserved it" defense. He
suggests he was entitled to
Ms. Daniels money. That
doesn't matter.
AUSA: His work
doesn't provide any excuse for
his fraud. And did Ms. Daniels
have some unusual experiences?
Sure. But what she's said has
been backed up by dozens of
messages. Inner City Press
@innercitypress
AUSA: The
defendant is guilty. Judge
Furman: Let's take a short
break before Mr. Avenatti's
closing. Jurors, do not
discuss the case.
[With
jurors out of room]
Avenatti: I'm
going to request a curative
instruction about what the
AUSA said about the bar rules
--
Judge Furman: The
request is denied. See you in
5 minutes.
On February
1, Judge Jesse M. Furman held
the charging conference from 1
to 4 pm, after which Inner
City Press asked
Avenatti about the possibility
of remand to jail, video here.
Inner City Press live tweeted,
thread 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.
In the afternoon
of January 31, after the jury
was sent home early, most of
Avenatti's proposed witnesses
were rejected. He said he does
not intend to testify. And it
appears closing arguments will
be on February 2. Inner City
Press live tweeted here
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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