Avenatti decides not to testify at trial vs. Stormy Daniels
By TOM HAYS
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Avenatti says he won’t testify at his trial on charges that he cheated porn actor Stormy Daniels out of nearly $300,000 in book proceeds. Avenatti announced his decision Tuesday in Manhattan federal court. The California lawyer who became well known representing Daniels in 2018 in her legal fights against then-President Donald Trump said he chose not to testify because prosecutors had not proven their case. Prosecutors say Avenatti falsely claimed to Daniels for months that a publisher wasn’t making timely payments from the $800,000 advance for her autobiography. They say he was spending the payouts himself. He maintains his innocence.
