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Stormy Daniels lawyer in Trump trial, Michael Avenatti, sentenced to prison for stealing millions from clients

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Lawyer Michael Avenatti, who represented porn star Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against former President Donald Trump was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Avenatti was sentenced for stealing millions of dollars from his clients. He was also fined a whopping $10 million.

U.S. District Judge James v. Selna said “Avenatti’s sentence in Southern California will be served after he finishes a five-year term for separate convictions in New York” reported the Associated Press.

“This was the last of three major federal criminal cases to wrap up against the 51-year-old Californian. Avenatti is currently serving prison time for stealing book proceeds from Daniels — who sued to break a confidentiality agreement with Trump to stay mum about an affair she said they had — and for trying to extort Nike if the shoemaker didn’t pay him up to $25 million” adds the AP.

Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., used the news of Avenatti’s conviction to bring up an old Tweet of his. On October 11 2018, Avenatti predicted Trump Jr. would be going to prison: “Donald Trump Jr. will be indicted before his birthday on 12-31-18. If you doubt my prediction, please check my record over the last 7 months. #winning.”

Trump Jr. is getting the last laugh. Jr. tweeted Avenatti’s 2018 prediction with the Associated Press headline of the conviction: “BREAKING: Incarcerated lawyer Michael Avenatti sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for cheating clients out of millions of dollars – AP.”

Earlier this year Avenatti plead guilty to “four counts of wire fraud and a tax-related charge despite not reaching a plea deal with federal prosecutors, saying he wanted to be accountable and spare his family further embarrassment” added the AP.

“He was accused of negotiating and collecting settlement payments on behalf of his clients and funneling the money to accounts he controlled, and spending it on his own lavish lifestyle, including a private jet.”

The Associated Press  also went into further detail on Avenatti’s court hearing:

“Despite the significant advantages that this defendant had — a first-rate education, a thriving legal career — he chose to commit the deplorable acts in this case time and time again,” prosecutor Brett Sagel told the court in Santa Ana. “The defendant is just another criminal who thinks the law is something that applies to other people.”

His voice breaking, Avenatti apologized to the clients he bilked, including two who told the court about how losing the money and their trust in someone they thought had their back upended their lives.

“I am deeply remorseful and contrite,” Avenatti said. “There is no doubt that all of them deserve much better, and I hope that someday they will accept my apologies and find it in their heart to forgive me.”

Authorities in California said Avenatti carried out what amounted to a “sophisticated Ponzi scheme” by collecting settlement payments on behalf of vulnerable clients and using the money to fund his exorbitant lifestyle.

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Elections

Trump, Rep Biggs: invoking the Alien Enemies Act to enable widespread deportation will ‘be necessary’

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At a recent rally in Iowa, former President Donald Trump promised that if elected again in 2024, he would invoke the Alien Enemies Act to enable widespread deportation of migrants who have illegally entered the United States. Since President Joe Biden took office in January of 2021, over 6 million people have illegally entered the country.

Republican Representative Andy Biggs from border state Arizona, which is among the states suffering the greatest consequences from the Biden administration policies, lamented that Trump’s suggestion will be “necessary.”

Speaking on the Just the News, No Noise” television show, Biggs stated “[I]t’s actually gonna have to be necessary.” Biggs then added his thoughts on how many more people will continue to cross the border under Biden: “Because by the time Trump gets back in office, you will have had over 10 million, in my opinion, over 10 million illegal aliens cross our border and come into the country, under the Biden regime.”

“And so when you start deporting people, and removing them from this country, what that does is that disincentivizes the tens of thousands of people who are coming,” Biggs went on. “And by the way, everyday down in Darién Gap, which is in Panama… over 5,000 people a day. [I] talk[ed] to one of my sources from the gap today. And I will just tell you, those people that you’ve seen come come in to Eagle Pass, over 7,000 in a three day period, most of those two weeks ago, were down crossing into the Darién Gap.”

“And those people… make their way up and they end up in the Eagle Pass [Texas], Del Rio area,” he continued. “So if you want to disincentivize them, you remove them from the country, which is why they remain in Mexico policy was so doggone effective at slowing down illegal border crossings.”

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