The Supreme Courtroom on Tuesday declined to listen to disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti’s attraction of his aggravated identification theft conviction for stealing e book proceeds from porn actress Stormy Daniels.
A jury in 2022 discovered Avenatti responsible of wire fraud and aggravated identification theft for stealing near $300,000 that Daniels was set to obtain for her e book, “Full Disclosure,” which incorporates particulars of her claimed affair with former President Trump. Avenatti was sentenced to 48 months in jail.
Trump denies any affair, however a hush cash fee his fixer made to Daniels within the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election in alternate for her silence grew to become the middle of Trump’s New York felony trial that resulted within the first conviction of a former president this spring.
Avenatti’s petition latched onto a Supreme Courtroom resolution issued final 12 months narrowing the scope of aggravated identification theft. He argued a decrease courtroom in upholding his conviction adopted a “novel standard” when making use of the excessive courtroom resolution.
“This petition presents a clean vehicle for this Court to nip a circuit split in the bud,” Avenatti’s public defender wrote in his petition.
Federal prosecutors opted not to reply to the petition.
Tuesday’s temporary order declining to listen to Avenatti’s attraction is the second time the Supreme Courtroom has accomplished so this 12 months.
In Could, the excessive courtroom equally turned away Avenatti’s attraction of his conviction for plotting to extort as much as $25 million from Nike.
And as he did earlier than, Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Tuesday recused himself from contemplating Avenatti’s petition.
Kavanaugh didn’t publicly clarify his recusal, which two of the 9 justices now do after a current change started giving them the choice. Avenatti had represented a girl who accused Kavanaugh throughout his affirmation course of of sexual misconduct, which he denies.
The Hill reached out to Avenatti’s public defender for remark.
