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After Avenatti Finances Unsealed By Inner City Press Now US Wants In His Failure to File Taxes

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Song Radio
BBC - Decrypt - LightRead - Order Affidavit

SDNY COURTHOUSE, Dec 10 – Michael Avenatti's financial affidavit to get a publicly paid lawyer for his Stormy Daniels case, which Inner City Press formally sought to have unsealed for eleven months, were on July 27  ordered unsealed. Order.
Podcast here. Aug 13 podcast here.

  Late on December 9 both Avenatti and the prosecutors filed with motions in limine in advance of the Stormy Daniels trial. Avenatti wants to preclude introduction as evidence of some of his and others' statements. The US wants in evidence of Avenatti's and his law firm's financial situation and Avenatti's failure to file income tax returns, among other things. We will cover Judge Furman's rulings.

  Reaching back to his conviction in the Nike case, on December 2 this lawyers wrote to Judge Paul G. Gardephe seeking an indicative ruling on the Brady violations identified in his California case, to "help" the Second Circuit. It cites the report of John Drum about his law firm's finances, that he was not in fact desperate for a payola from Nike. But will it work? Watch this site.

On August 27 Avenatti's Federal Defenders wrote to Judge Furman to arguing that, now that Avenatti's iPad has been accessed by DOJ, they do not want the DOJ taint-team involved. They asked for Judge Furman himself to get involved in the review.

On September 9, Avenatti's motions were denied. Full order here.

 On November 18 a sealed document was "placed in the vault," with a listing in the docket for a motion arguing for it: "LETTER MOTION addressed to Judge Jesse M. Furman from Robert Baum, Andrew Dalack, Tamara Giwa dated 11/18/21 re: Motion for In Camera Inspection of Complainant's Mental Health Records . Document filed by Michael Avenatti."

 But even as to the motion, PACER says "You do not have permission to view this document." So even the argument for sealing is sealed?

On November 10, the trial date moved up again: "AMENDED SCHEDULING ORDER as to Michael Avenatti: The Court's trial calendar has changed since the Scheduling Order of November 2, 2021. See ECF No. 156. As a result, the trial date in this matter is hereby advanced by two weeks, as are all of the corresponding pretrial deadlines (give or take a day or two due to Court holidays and the like). Specifically, the new trial date and pretrial deadlines are as follows. Unless and until the Court orders otherwise, trial in this case shall begin (in a courtroom to be determined when trial gets closer) on Monday, January 24, 2022, at 9:30 a.m. As counsel know, that date is contingent on the Court being allocated that date through the centralized trial scheduling process now in effect. For avoidance of doubt, however, the parties should treat January 24, 2022, as a firm trial date."

 Later on November 10, Federal Defender Robert Baum wrote to Judge Furman asking to push the trial back to February 7 or "a later date in February or March, 2022," citing US v. Russo, 21-cr-271 starting on January 17.

On November 3 in the Nike case, Avenatti's surrender date was pushed back to February 28: "MEMO ENDORSEMENT as to Michael Avenatti re: [353] Modification of Surrender Date... ENDORSEMENT: The application is granted. Defendant Michael Avenatti's surrender date is adjourned from December 15, 2021 to February 28, 2022. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Paul G. Gardephe on 11/3/21)."

On October 14 Judge Furman held a proceeding in the Stormy Daniels case and Inner City Press live tweeted it here and podcast here

SDNY

On August 10 Avenatti's Federal Defenders filed a copy of the affidavit with multiple redactions. The form refers on nearly every question to an attachment, which is blacked out in absurd ways. It reads, for example, "I own stock in two closely held companies that may have value: (a) [REDACTED] located in [REDACTED] and (b) [REDACTED] located in [REDACTED]... I technically still have an interest in a private aircraft (model: HondaJet 420) that was seized by the IRS and is still in their possession. This interest is held through a single-purpose entity named [REDACTED]," and so forth.

Inner City Press  published the redacted affidavit on its DocumentCloud here and asked, Will the Court be accepting this?

On August 11, the correct answer was: No. "MEMO ENDORSEMENT as to Michael Avenatti (1) on [139] LETTER MOTION re: [139] LETTER MOTION addressed to Judge Jesse M. Furman from Robert Baum, Tamara Giwa & Andrew Dalack dated August 10, 2021 re: Letter Motion In Response to Court's Order to File Financial Affidavit. ENDORSEMENT: The Court is unpersuaded that privacy interests justify redacting the names and locations of the corporate entities in Paragraphs 14, 15, and 17 of ECF No. 139-1."

  After hours on August 12, some redactions were removed: Avenatti's owned a plane through Passport 420 LLC; an unnamed "non-family-member acquaintance" paid a NY-based attorney in the Nike case, whose name is redacted. Unredacted: Avenatti owns stock in Tyrian Systems (aka Seek Thermal) of Santa Barbara, CA and Centurion Holdings I, LLC of St. Louis Missouri."

 Not to fast. Inner City Press research in the hours after the removal of the improper redactions found that Centurion Holdings I, LLC is based in Arnold, Missouri - and "received a PPP loan of $60,477 in May, 2020." That's the Paycheck Protection Program; the funds came through the Central Bank of St. Louis.

Bigger, the aka: "Seek Thermal, Inc of  6300 Hollister Ave in Goleta, California received a Coronavirus-related PPP loan from the SBA of $1,365,062.00 in April, 2020." We'll have more on this.

 Watch this site.

 On August 27, Inner City Press filed a formal request that documents in the case not be sealed, full filing on Patreon here.

  On November 12, Inner City Press made a third filing with Judge Furman, on a decision to unseal issued earlier in the day by SDNY Judge J. Paul Oetken after Inner City Press filed to similarly unseal Lev Parnas' co-defendant David Correia's financial infor: "we again ask, why should lower income and less high profile defendants in the SDNY -- and now David Correia -- have their financial information so disclosed while Avenatti's information is sealed in its entirety? The documents at issue should not be sealed and should be made available."

  On August 28, 2020 Judge Furman entered an order: "The Court received the attached communication from Matthew Lee of Inner City Press “seeking leave to be heard and for the unsealing of the CJA Form 23, affidavit, and all associated documents” relating to this litigation. To the extent that Mr. Lee (who is admitted to the bar of the Southern District of New York) seeks leave to be heard, his application is GRANTED. The Court reserves judgment on the question of whether Defendant’s CJA Form 23 and related documents should be unsealed. SO ORDERED. Dated: August 28, 2020 New York, New York JESSE M. FURMAN." Docket No. 85, on Inner City Press' DocumentCloud, here.

  On July 27, 2021, Judge Furman four times citing Inner City Press ordered Avenatti's affidavits unsealed: "Avenatti filed a letter brief arguing that the Initial Financial Affidavit should remain under seal. ECF No. 80 (“Def.’s Mem.”). Thereafter, the Court received submissions from Inner City Press, a media outlet that intervened to seek disclosure of the Financial Affidavits, ECF Nos. 85, 90, 99... The Defendant initially argued that the Government lacked standing “to assert any right on behalf of the public to access Mr. Avenatti’s sworn financial statements.” Def.’s Mem. 7 n.1 (citing United States v. Hickey, 185 F.3d 1064 (9th Cir. 1999)). Subsequently, however, the Court granted leave to Inner City Press to be heard on the Defendant’s motion, ECF No. 85, which indisputably does have standing to assert such rights." Full order here, filings due August 10. Watch this site.

This case is US v. Avenatti, 19-cr-374 (Furman).

sdny

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