SCOTUS Denies Appeal, Won’t Hear Case

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(NationRise.com) – Supreme Court justices announced on May 28th that they will not hear Michael Avenatti’s appeal of his extortion case with Nike.

Avenatti originally petitioned the Supreme Court for an appeal in February. That came after a lower appeals court also refused to hear his case by a unanimous vote. He claimed that his conviction only came after the jury was intentionally misinformed about applicable laws and that, ultimately, there was insufficient evidence to support the case against him.

He also said extortion codes were too vague. However, officials with the Justice Department said his attorney failed to discuss the issue of vagueness and then added that his remaining arguments didn’t have merit.

Avenatti was sentenced to 30 months in prison for attempting to extort the Nike brand after it hired him as part of an internal investigation. He claimed Nike was paying actors who weren’t professionals and said he would go public with his alleged evidence unless he received $25 million to stay quiet.

The case draws irony since Avenatti originally represented Stormy Daniels in her “hush money” lawsuit against former president Donald Trump. He notably got into heated arguments with Michael Cohen, Trump’s lawyer, during those deliberations.

However, Avenatti himself later admitted that the case against Trump was politically motivated from his prison cell. He admitted that he now sees Trump as a “victim of the system” while arguing that the charges against him were simply brought to prevent him from serving a second term.

According to a brief published by SCOTUS, Justice Bret Kavanaugh immediately refused to even consider the petition. He never gave a reason for his decision. However, Avenatti also represented a woman who filed a lawsuit against Kavanaugh that accused him of sexual harassment.

Avenatti’s sentence also includes time for stealing nearly $300,000 in royalties from Daniels over book earnings and for refusing to pay taxes. He will also be required to pay restitution totaling $148,000.