Remember Michael Avenatti, CNN’s favorite anti-Trump lawyer? Before his arrest on extortion charges Monday, Avenatti was a fixture in the liberal media. He even hobnobbed in the Hamptons with CNN media personalities, as seen in a photo at the time.
That’s all over now. The news of Avenatti’s arrest Monday on multiple charges followed closely on the heels of the total implosion of the Russia collusion hoax that Avenatti, and the talking heads he partied with, shamelessly peddled.
Flashback: Avenatti hobnobs with Fake News
But less than a year ago, life looked very different for Avenatti. The outspoken lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels was then a rising D-list media talking head, and in fact, one of the most ubiquitous figures in #Resistance media.
Avenatti’s minor celebrity brought him into elite circles, as a flashback report from Breitbart notes. In a photo that was quickly deleted at the time — but not before getting screen capped by opinion writer Stephen Miller — Avenatti was seen partying in Sag Harbor, New York, with top CNN talking heads. CNN political analyst Errol Louis’ wife, Juanita Scarlett, tweeted the photo in May of 2018.
“Thrilled to have met @MichaelAvenatti at the Sag Harbor soiree of my second favorite on-air journalist @donlemon @errollous @MargaretHoover,” read the now-deleted tweet. The picture depicted Avenatti grinning alongside Scarlett, CNN anchor Don Lemon, and CNN pundit Margaret Hoover.
“It’s okay. I saved that deleted tweet of CNN hosts partying it up with Avenatti. Why would such a thing need to be deleted?” Miller tweeted.
It’s okay. I saved that deleted tweet of CNN hosts partying it up with Avenatti. Why would such a thing need to be deleted? pic.twitter.com/iutCtnwaxi
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) May 17, 2018
CNN and Don Lemon, in particular, played a prominent role in pushing the Russia collusion hoax, and Avenatti’s aggressive rhetoric toward Trump fit neatly into their narrative. At the height of his brief celebrity, he appeared on CNN and MSNBC more than 100 times in a 10-week period.
The rise and fall of “creepy porn lawyer”
Avenatti was arrested in New York on Monday for allegedly extorting Nike for $20 million. The notoriety that the media gave Avenatti last year played a role in his attempt to threaten Nike using his ability to “to garner publicity to inflict substantial financial and reputational harm.” Avenatti allegedly threatened to release damaging information about Nike at a news conference on the eve of their quarterly earnings call if they didn’t fork over millions of dollars.
Just hours before his arrest, Avenatti tweeted that he would hold a conference Tuesday to “disclose a major high school/college basketball scandal perpetrated by @Nike that we have uncovered. This criminal conduct reaches the highest levels of Nike and involves some of the biggest names in college basketball.”
In another twist to the bizarre saga, regular CNN contributor Mark Geragos — a celebrity lawyer who represented Michael Jackson, Colin Kaepernick, and most recently Jussie Smollett, the actor who faced charges for perpetrating a hate crime hoax that were suddenly dropped Monday — was reportedly identified as the unnamed co-conspirator in the criminal complaint against Avenatti, the AP reported. CNN dropped him like a hot potato, saying in a statement Monday, “Mark Geragos is no longer a CNN contributor.”
Separately, Avenatti faces bank and wire fraud charges in Los Angeles for embezzling a former client to pay for his coffee business and law firm as well as his own personal expenses and debts, and allegedly using phony tax returns to obtain more than $4 million in loans for his law firm and coffee business.
Disgrace
In a statement Monday, Daniels said that she was “saddened but not shocked,” adding that she had cut ties with Avenatti for his “extremely dishonest” treatment of her and hinting that “there will be more announcements to come.”
My statement regarding my former attorney Mr. Avenatti.. pic.twitter.com/9aKYCPNN6y
— Stormy Daniels (@StormyDaniels) March 25, 2019
The charges mark the end of Avenatti’s year-long political celebrity. Before his fall from grace, or rather disgrace, Avenatti became a household name for his representation of Daniels, a role for which he was embraced by the likes of CNN and MSNBC to peddle anti-Trump propaganda. At the height of Avenatti’s short career as an anti-Trump bobblehead, he even entertained presidential aspirations, styling himself a thuggish rule-breaker who would go after the president with a Trump-like, no-holds-barred ruthlessness.
But Avenatti experienced a reversal of fortunes this fall with his bungled contribution to the Left’s smear campaign against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Many Democrats blamed Avenatti’s role in promoting the over-the-top “rape gang” allegation for hurting the effort to block Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
Then Avenatti, who styled himself a champion of women’s rights, was ironically arrested in November on suspicion of domestically abusing a girlfriend. He wasn’t charged, but it dealt a significant blow to his political ambitions and his client relationship with Daniels suffered. Then, Avenatti announced in December that he was abandoning his presidential hopes.
Things also got rough for Avenatti when Stormy Daniels accused him in November of filing a defamation lawsuit without her consent. Earlier this month, Daniels and Avenatti parted ways.
Avenatti faces up to 97 years in prison if convicted of all charges.
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