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Disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti sends groveling letter to Stormy Daniels ahead of sentencing

May 21, 2022 | | Print Article

After ripping off Stormy Daniels to the tune of $300,000, disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti is now begging his former client for forgiveness ahead of his June 2 sentencing.

“I am truly sorry,” claimed Avenatti in a May 13 letter to Daniels, the Daily Mail reports.

The letter was submitted in Manhattan federal court by Avenatti’s lawyers late Thursday, in a bid to gain leniency for the California attorney.

The lawyers argued that Avenatti’s life has been destroyed by this conviction and the 2 1/2-year sentence he received for attempting to extort $25 million from Nike, and because of that, their client should receive no more than three years in prison for his current offense. If granted, Avenatti would face a total of 4 1/2 years behind bars.

“This sobering reality is as sufficient and powerful a punishment and deterrence as any,” the lawyers argued. “Worse, Mr. Avenatti’s extreme rise and fall played out on the most public of platforms, an experience he is unlikely to ever recover from reputationally.”

 

Avenatti’s previous conviction stemmed from threats he made to Nike’s reputation with allegations that Nike was part of a college basketball recruiting scandal.

The conviction this year came after Avenatti stripped Daniels of roughly $300,000 of an $800,000 payment she received for her autobiography. Avenatti reportedly used some of her money to meet his firm’s payroll and to cover his personal expenses.

During the trial–and just before Daniels was set to testify–Avenatti insisted on representing himself so that he could personally grill Daniels over her book advancements, making the claim that he was justified in taking some of the proceeds because he was representing her in Trump-related lawsuits.

In the emailed letter to Daniels, Avenatti claimed the last few months had given him time for self-reflection.

“It is obvious that I failed you in many respects and that I disappointed you and let you down in multiple ways,” he wrote. “I wish that we could turn back the clock so that the mistakes I made would never be repeated. I am truly sorry.”

Avenatti’s attorneys noted that their client wishes to receive treatment for his use of alcohol in addition to therapeutic counseling, and claim Avenatti understands why the Court may be skeptical of a letter of repentance.

“Mr. Avenatti understands that some may view his remorse as too little too late and that the Court may look skeptically on his contrition given the way in which Mr. Avenatti’s trial transpired,” they stated. “Nevertheless, Mr. Avenatti is genuinely remorseful, especially for the pain his actions have caused his family and close friends.”

Prosecutors are scheduled to file their own sentencing recommendations later this month, and Avenatti had better hope that they are more sympathetic to his pleas than are Twitter users.

Melissa Fine
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