After Boosting Hoax Claims, NBC Downplays Avenatti’s Extortion Conviction

Nicholas Fondacaro | February 16, 2020
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***To read the full blog, please check out the complete post on NewsBusters***

As NewsBusters media editor and research analyst Bill D’Agostino documented last year, NBC News and MSNBC gifted lawyer Michael Avenatti with 113 TV appearances, with Today giving him his first as he pursued cases against President Trump. On Friday, the so-called “creepy porn lawyer” was convicted of trying to extort shoemaker Nike for $25 million dollars. Despite their intertwined history, NBC Nightly News kept Avenatti at an arm’s length.

In a news brief lasting a mere 20 seconds, anchor Lester Holt sprinted past Avenatti’s conviction:

LESTER HOLT: Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who represented porn actress Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against President Trump, was found guilty today of trying to extort tens of millions of dollars from Nike. Prosecutors said Avenatti wanted the money to keep silent about evidence he said he had involving misconduct by Nike employees in recruiting college basketball players.

Holt didn’t even care to note that Avenatti was facing around 40 years in prison along with other charges of defrauding his clients, including the one he was famous for, Stormy Daniels.

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