Michael Avenatti, the ambulance chasing lawyer, has been officially “cleared” by the California bar association. Fox News reports:
The State Bar of California has closed its investigation into Michael Avenatti and allegations of professional misconduct leveled against him earlier this year, stating it does not have clear evidence of violations of the state’s ethics rules.
The complaint, which was filed in late March by attorney David Nold of Bellevue, Wash., was related to Avenatti’s role in purchasing Tully’s Coffee several years ago through an entity called Global Baristas. The complaint said Avenatti and Global Baristas faced a lien for unpaid federal taxes worth roughly $5 million, claiming taxes were withheld from workers’ paychecks but not paid to the government.
“The State Bar has completed the investigation of the allegations of professional misconduct reported by David Nold. We have determined that this matter does not warrant further action,” Joe Nunley, an investigator with the California State Bar, wrote in a letter to Avenatti’s attorneys. “Therefore, the matter is closed.”
Avenatti posted the letter on Twitter Tuesday night, blasting the complaint as “baseless.”
Could we have expected anything else in a state tightly controlled by one party rule, with smut peddlers having huge influence in the government and institutions?
I’d rather see the evidence on both sides of the case than make a decision based on what I think of Creepy Porn Lawyer: that is the IRS and other tax records involved showing non-payment of the withheld taxes and the records he filed with these agencies coupled with proof of payments (ach data or cancelled check images) from a legitimate source like a real bank (a.k.a. Wells Fargo, Citigroup, etc. with the potential for serious consequences and many oversight controls). Someone could probably get the relevant information from the parties involved or a FOIA request.
If the claims are legitimate, they can no be filed in federal court since they were dismissed rather than tried and acquitted — Double Jeopardy does not apply.
Figures that the Creepy Porn Lawyer in Commiefornia would get a pass … ‘birds of a feather …’.