Joe.My.God. LGBT News
NBC News reports:
A California judge declared a mistrial Tuesday in lawyer Michael Avenatti’s embezzlement case, where he was accused of stealing nearly $10 million in settlement funds from his clients.
The Orange County judge ruled that federal prosecutors failed to disclose data in connection with a law firm server that included a database that tracked expenses and costs associated with cases, officials told NBC News.
After Avenatti raised the issue last week, U.S. District Court Judge James Selna agreed that it should have been turned over and declared the mistrial. Selna said he thinks prosecutors’ failure to turn over the information was a mistake and found no malice or misconduct.
With his standby counsel standing by him, Avenatti just made a statement to the press in the hallway, aka me, Gina Kim from @LADailyJournal, @ReporterCraig from @Law360 and Paul from City News Service.
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) August 24, 2021
“This has been an incredibly difficult journey for my family, for my children for my friends and lastly, for me. I am extremely thankful to Mr. Steward, Ms. Cummings Cefali and our entire team for standing by me and advocating tirelessly on my behalf,” Avenatti said.
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) August 24, 2021
“Today is a great day for the rule of law in the United States of America,” Avenatti said.
Then they went back to the conference room.— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) August 24, 2021