Michael Avenatti Sues Feds for Mistreatment in Prison, Claims Guards Only Let Him Read Trump’s Art of the Deal
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Michael Avenatti, the former attorney for Stormy Daniels who was later jailed for extortion, claimed that prison guards only let him read former President Donald Trump’s Art of the Deal while in federal custody.
Avenatti made the allegation in a new filing with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), claiming he was mistreated while in custody as punishment for his criticisms of Trump and former Attorney General William Barr.
In July 2021, the lawyer was sentenced to 30 months in prison for attempting to extort Nike for $25 million — U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe concluding that “he hijacked his client’s claims and he used those claims to further his own agenda.”
According to the filing obtained by CBS News, Avenatti is now seeking $94 million from the United States, or $1 million for each day he claims he was held in solitary confinement.
“He alleges under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) that the federal government is liable for intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment and false arrest, among other acts, while he was held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Manhattan in 2020,” reported CBS News.
The suit alleges that he was only allowed access to Trump’s Art of the Deal during his time in jail, claiming that officials also limited his contact with friends, family, and other inmates.
“A federal district court judge has found that I was held under terrible conditions and that it was hard to believe it occurred in the United States of America,” Avenatti stated. “I agree and I look forward to holding Trump and Barr accountable for what they did to me in the interest of politics and revenge.”
Avenatti has been serving his sentence in home confinement in Venice, California since April 2020, as a federal judge granted his request to be released from the Metropolitan Correctional Center due to Covid-19 risks. He is set to return from home confinement on Feb. 1.
When asked for comment by CBS News, a spokesman for the BOP said it “does not comment on pending litigation or matters subject to legal proceedings” and “for privacy, safety, and security reasons we do not provide information about the conditions of confinement for any particular inmate, to include housing quarters.” The Department of Justice also declined to comment.
