Remember celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti, the man who represented porn star Stormy Daniels? Well, the media’s favorite guest is back in the news after being indicted on 36 charges Thursday.
Two hundred fifty-four—that’s how many times Avenatti was featured on major TV networks in one year, according to NewsBusters.
CNN alone featured Avenatti a staggering 121 times.
Now he has been charged with numerous crimes, including tax evasion, fraud, and stealing money from clients—including scamming a paraplegic man out of a $4 million settlement.
Avenatti denied the charges, saying that he plans to “fully fight all charges and plead NOT GUILTY.”
If Avenatti is found guilty of all the charges against him, he could serve a maximum of 335 years in prison.
It’s been quite a fall for Avenatti, who until recently was a fixation for many media outlets. In fact, he was an almost permanent fixture on CNN, MSNBC, and ABC, among many others.
Political commentator and co-host of “The View” Ana Navarro even equated him to the “the Holy Spirit.”
Media outlets loved him when he was attacking the president and they continued to give him a platform when he became a ringleader in the sexual assault accusations against now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
CNN’s Brian Stelter actually touted Avenatti as a presidential contender, as did his collegue, Chris Cillizza, with an article titled “President Michael Avenatti? Never say never!”
The bottom line is that this was a huge media miss. In their desire to give airtime to a colorful and aggressive Trump critic, they gave a massive platform to a man of questionable credibility.
