Avenatti uses COVID-19 as excuse to move trial to California

Photo credit: Mark Lennihan/ AP as reported by Law.com.

Photo credit: Mark Lennihan/ AP as reported by Law.com.

“Michael Avenatti has again asked a Manhattan federal judge to transfer his pending criminal case to California, where he is also under federal indictment, arguing that complications from the COVID-19 pandemic made it impractical to proceed with separate trials on two coasts,” reports Law.com.

Avenatti became a household name when he represented adult-film star Stormy Daniels in her lawsuits against President Donald Trump. Avenatti wants to move the case accusing him of stealing from Daniels from New York to Los Angeles, where he is charged with “tax fraud, bankruptcy fraud and other offenses in a 36-count indictment alleging that he had stolen from former clients.” 

In a six-page transfer motion he argues both cases should be tried together due to court backlogs and public safety.