Former attorney Michael Avenatti spoke to MSNBC’s “The Beat” in a telephone interview Tuesday from California’s Terminal Island Prison.
Avenatti, who was convicted of stealing money from former customers, obstructing the IRS from collecting payroll taxes, and attempting to extort footwear maker Nike, has been linked to New York state authorities seeking to prosecute former President Donald Trump. criticized the efforts of
“I think what I’m about to say will surprise a lot of people, and that is, I think this is the wrong incident at the wrong time, Ari,” Avenatti said. At this point, I think this case is in many ways a dead end. You are talking about an act that happened about eight years ago. I think the fact that this case is happening in New York state court is wrong. And at a time when we are potentially stripping tens of millions of Americans of their choice in the American presidential election, regardless of whether we agree with them or not, and what we think about Donald Trump. Regardless, I think it’s a problem. It would be a mistake to do so on the basis of an incident of this nature. ”
He continued, “I don’t think he can get a fair trial in New York. And in fact, I don’t think he can get a fair trial in New York by a New York jury.” would ask them what if they went to bed tonight and woke up tomorrow to find that the case had been moved somewhere else, whether it was Mississippi or Alabama, would they still think the trial would be fair? If they were honest, I think they would say no.”
Avenatti added, “I advocated for the indictment of then-incumbent President Trump. I support that 100%. I advocated for federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York to file campaign finance charges. did.”
He concluded: “The problem I have with this case right now is, number one, the case is not like a fine red wine, Ari. It doesn’t get better with age. And this case doesn’t get better with age. Second, I don’t think this case belongs in state court and is based on a legally tenuous theory, i.e., the crime it was trying to cover up was “It was a federal election crime. I think that could potentially be an issue in an appellate court.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
