Avenatti had once considered a presidential bid.
Michael Avenatti, who once represented adult film actress Stormy Daniels and was previously considering a bid for the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nomination, has been arrested.
Avenatti faces charges in both California and New York.
He is charged, along with an unnamed co-conspirator with attempting to extort Nike for $20 million.
He also faces wire fraud and embezzlement charges.
According to prosecutors, “Avenatti told Nike he would go public unless it paid his client $1.5 million and hired him to conduct an internal investigation for between $15 million and $25 million, according to the complaint. Avenatti also offered to accept a $22.5 million payment for his silence.”
“In one call, Avenatti threatened, “I’ll go take ten billion dollars off your client’s market cap… I’m not fucking around,” according to the complaint.”
In addition to his efforts to gain power within the Democratic Party, Avenatti has also been a regular CNN contributor, at one point appearing almost daily on the network.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – YouTube
