Avenatti Wants His Big Spending Ways Kept Out of Nike Trial

Celebrity lawyer <-bsp-person state="{"_id":"0000016e-f122-dfcb-a9fe-f7f7ac340000","_type":"00000160-6f41-dae1-adf0-6ff519590003"}">Michael Avenatti said the government’s plan to raise as evidence his debt from spending on items like a luxury home or Ferrari would unfairly bias jurors against him in his upcoming trial on charges that he tried to extort millions of dollars from Nike Inc.

Avenatti, who gained a national profile after suing President Donald Trump on behalf of adult-film star Stormy Daniels, said in a court filing Monday in Manhattan that evidence of his spending, as well of a $5 million debt he owned to another lawyer, is irrelevant to the alleged crimes and should be barred ...