Page 7 - ARUBA TODAY

A7
U.S. NEWS Friday 16 august 2019

$ 10

Michael Avenatti blames arrest

on 'vindictive' prosecutors

By LARRY NEUMEISTER licize claims the sportswear League told a colleague
Associated Press company enabled pay- "about carrying large
NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyer outs to promising young amounts of cash through
Michael Avenatti wants a athletes and their families. airport security and indicat-
judge to dismiss criminal Avenatti represented Dan- ed that she would lie and
charges that he extorted iels over a nondisclosure 'just say I just sold my car' if
Nike, and he is blaming his deal regarding Daniels' she got stopped."
arrest on what he calls vin- claims that she had an af- Nike said in a statement:
dictive prosecutors as he fair with Trump. "Nike will not respond to the
releases material his attor- Avenatti is also charged allegations of an individual In this July 23, 2019 file photo, California attorney Michael
neys say support his claims separately with defraud- facing federal charges of Avenatti makes a statement to the press after leaving a
courthouse in New York.
the sportswear company ing Daniels in a book deal, fraud and extortion. q Associated Press
was paying amateur ath- and he faces federal fraud
letes. charges in California re-
Avenatti's attorneys filed lated to clients. He has de-
papers Wednesday in nied wrongdoing.
Manhattan federal court, Meanwhile, Avenatti's
saying the lawyer who lawyers gave a glimpse
gained fame by represent- of some of the alleged
ing porn star Stormy Daniels wrongdoing within Nike
and by sparring on social that Avenatti claimed he
media with President Don- referenced with their law-
ald Trump is being unfairly yers before his arrest.
targeted by the Justice De- The lawyers said "wide-
partment. spread corruption of ama-
The lawyers wrote that Av- teur basketball at Nike" was
enatti was facing criminal revealed in evidence giv-
charges in part because of en to Avenatti's lawyers as
"his aggressive public per- they prepare for a Novem-
sona, long feud with Presi- ber trial.
dent Trump, and brief en- They cited, for instance,
tanglement with" New York proof that an unspecified
prosecutors who blamed University of Kentucky men's
him for spoiling a planned basketball assistant coach
meeting with Daniels last exchanged text messages
year in their probe of ex- with a Nike youth league
Trump lawyer Michael Co- director alleging that the
hen. company's plan to pay
Cohen is serving a three- elite high school players in-
year prison sentence after cluded New Orleans rookie
pleading guilty to charges. and No. 1 overall draft pick
"President Trump, the lead- Zion Williamson, as well as
er of the Executive Branch, Romeo Langford, chosen
and his family have dem- 14th in the NBA draft by the
onstrated genuine animus Boston Celtics. There was
toward Mr. Avenatti," the no claim a payment was
lawyers said. "President made.
Trump's son, Donald Trump, The filing said Nike Elite
Jr., gleefully celebrated on Youth Basketball League
Twitter when Mr. Avenatti director Carlton Debose
was arrested on March 25." acknowledged texting
Prosecutors declined the Wildcats assistant that
through a spokesman to Nike paid players "through
comment. at least ten different" Elite
Avenatti has pleaded not League coaches.
guilty to charges he tried to The filing also said a Nike
extort up to $25 million from executive who led "Event
Nike by threatening to pub- Strategy" for the Elite