Thread by @meghanncuniff

It’s the sixth day of testimony in Michael Avenatti’s Stormy Daniels trial in Manhattan, and prosecutors are expected to rest their case today. Elizabeth Beier, an editor with @StMartinsPress, is to take the witness stand again at 9 a.m. for continued direct exam. ⚖️🧵⚖️

Beier took the stand after Stormy and Avenatti’s 5 1/2 cross-exam, which ended with sustained objections for both cross and re-cross. (Furman ended re-cross with “Thank you, Mr. Avenatti. You can have a seat.”

https://twitter.com/meghanncuniff/status/1487230617536368643

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Baier is an editor at @StMartinsPress, which she described as “a large trade bookseller” for “real people who like to read as opposed to students or professionals.” Her job is to find books to sell, and she’s been with St. Martins for “more than 23 years.”

Beier said they were interested in Stormy's controversy with Donald Trump “because it was an incredibly interesting story.”

Ever an eye for writing, Beier identified Avenatti by saying “he’s got a pen in his right hand and wearing a black mask” on Friday. She said book royalties are typically $4 a book, and poor sales are not a reason for not fulfilling contract payments like $800,000 Stormy was due.

Beier said Friday they were keeping Stormy’s book “very quiet even within our own company” through a code name for the book: The October Project. (It was to publish in October 2018.) Here’s the @StMartinsPress press release on Stormy’s book: bit.ly/3rY98Iu

Beier said Stormy was great, and she really seemed to genuinely like her, judging by her emphatic tone of voice. She was “really pleased” with what she and the ghostwriter came up with. “I just thought it was really good.”

AUSA Andrew Rohrbach asked Beier how Stormy was to work with, and Beier said she found it “remarkably easy.” “She was really engaged. She was communicating. She and the writer cliqued.” (If the subject and ghostwriter don’t click you’re “not going to get an interesting book.”)

Rohrbach asked about the dispute over the book cover - Stormy originally agreed to use an old mug shot, but then changed her mind. Janklow wasn’t happy, and Beier said Friday it was a problem, but she also said it’s common to have creative disagreements with clients.

Marketing and publicity is “incredibly important” to a book’s success, Beier said, because “it’s hard to get most of the world to pay attention to a new book in the market place.”

Rohrbach asked Beier about Stormy’s strict no-publicity agreement, and her violating that by doing a Dutch TV interview, which Beier said happen “much to our dismay.” She said the expected big success from the book, and for it “to be this big splashy national thing.

Avenatti was to help, but Rohrbach asked Beier if @StMartinsPress was satisfied with Avenatti’s publicity work, and she answered, “We were not satisfied.” Beier said Stomy “was terrific when she did her appearances. Absolutely terrific.”

But there weren’t enough of them, and she said they were considering withholding the fourth and final payment of Stormy’s $800k advance because it was tied to three weeks of publicity.

Beier’s testimony helps prosecutors try to establish that publishers were upset with Avenatti’s work on publicity for the book. It wasn’t all on Stormy as Avenatti told her at the time and has tried to establish so far.

Rohrbach, one of the prosecutors on the Ghislaine Maxwell trial, will continue direct exam of Beier at 9 (cross should be fun), then there’s a summary witness. Then it will be Avenatti’s turn to call witnesses.

Regarding his subpoenas, it’s likely Furman grants the motions to quash, and he won’t be happy if Avenatti has no one else to call today.

https://twitter.com/meghanncuniff/status/1487938345888104452

Last I heard they still have to finalize jury instructions though, so maybe they’ll do that instead.) The judge runs a tight ship and he works to reign in Avenatti, including as I said Friday by saying sustained when prosecutors haven’t yet said objection.

Furman also is stingy with striking parts of answers from the record, and he once declined to have the court reporter read Avenatti back an answer even though the answer wasn’t objected to. “No. Next question,” the judge said.

He’ll make it clear when the comment doesn’t deserve to be stricken, like when Avenatti asked Stormy about her saying he was always nice and respectful to her and she replied, “You lied to me. That’s not respectful.” Avenatti moved to strike, and Furman replied, “Denied.”

Avenatti reframed, asking her if she told government he was nice and respectful to her. “I was wrong,” she replied.

Then there was the @voguemagazine cover shoot.
“Ms. Daniels, did I force my way into your Vogue photo shoot,” Avenatti asked.
“You told me you were stopping by,” Stormy answered. bit.ly/3g90NMy

Then there was this: “Ms. Daniels, the fact of the matter is that constantly in your adult life, when it has mattered the most, you have lied. Isn’t it true?”
Furman sustained an objection from prosecutors.

Regarding objections, unlike the Central District of California, they don’t state the reasons for objections here, and Judge Furman even specifies in his court rules not to unless he asks for an explanation.  bit.ly/3s0IT45

This seems to be driven by the belief that everyone should understand the federal rules of evidence and criminal procedure.

Avenatti is used to stating a reason and he still does most of the time here, which will make it interesting if he does call a witness and he says “leading” as an objection during prosecutors’ cross. 611c.

https://twitter.com/meghanncuniff/status/1428100027423989762

Ok Beier is off the stand and AUSA Matthew Podolsky is questioning who I think is the last prosecution witness: Shamel Medrano, an investigative analyst with SDNY U.S. attorney’s office who prepared summary charts of messages etc that lay out the prosecutors’ case.

Judge Furman said he might let Avenatti wait until Tuesday to begin his case in chief, but he’s going to consider all the subpoenas and motions to quash today. He said he’s never seen so many filings during trial.

One important courthouse discovery: The courtroom tech specialist for the Southern District of New York is an Oregon native (Roseburg) and a graduate of the University of Oregon. He broke the news to me after he saw my Oregon beanie. #GoDucks (c.c. @UOAlumni, @anthonywarren)

Another thing: Avenatti’s paralegals from his California case are here at the courthouse in New York today.

Ok they’re on a break for about another 10 minutes after prosecutors rested and Judge Furman rejected Avenatti’s Rule 29 acquittal motion. (More on by at later, but for the legal newbies here’s a primer: bit.ly/3HhPRIu

Avenatti also told Furman his witnesses didn’t think they needed to be in court today because of what the judge said this weekend about Carlos Colorado not needing to travel to NYC from California, and Furman got pretty irritated.

In arguing for a Rule 29 acquittal, Avenatti brought up his impeachment of Stormy over her saying she never told Avenatti her book account was closed, when Avenatti had a text showing she did.

Some people have reported that text was sent the same day Avenatti sent his own account info to @JanklowNesbit, but Avenatti said today those happened two weeks apart. Furman also said there’s ample evidence Stormy never authorized Avenatti to take her money.

“That argument is meritless. Next argument,” Judge Furman told Avenatti.
“There’s ample evidence in the record for the jury to find you acted in” contradiction to his duties. Furman also said Avenatti seemed to be blaming him for his complete lack of preparation for his own case

Judge Furman says normally after the prosecution rests the defense presents some type of case, but the total uncertainty from Avenatti regarding who is witnesses are and if they’re here is astonishing. “I’m losing my patience,” the judge said. “It’s just astonishing to me.”

Furman said Avenatti trying to blame the judge for not having witnesses available is an “unpersuasive” argument that’s also inappropriate. And now I’m headed back into the courthouse to see what happens next. (It’s a ghost town in the courtroom today. No Stormy = no press.)

Now they’re on a break for another 20 mins or so as Avenatti tries to get defense expert ready (Mr. Fisher) to introduce some messages as evidence, like the text Sean Macias sent Avenatti saying he was going to find him some “do-re-mi” so he can “run like a banshee” for president

Judge Furman took a judicial approach to this “do-re-mi” stuff.
“Certainly there’s a valid argument that do-re-mi is a reference to dough, which is a reference to money,” the judge analyzed.

So Furman is going to allow the Macias text to be introduced by Fisher, unless Avenatti can get a stipulation for it from prosecutors. But judge is not going to allow messages from Stormy about firing her “dragons” aka security guards.

Furman says doing so would require a “mini-trial” about the theft allegations involving the security guards. “For all I know, they were,” the judge said. So Avenatti is to have Fisher ready to go, or a stipulation for the text, when court is back.

Then they’ll take that witness or read then stipulation, then the jury will be dismissed for the day and Judge Furman will go over the motions to quash for Avenatti’s witnesses and figure out what his case is going to be “if at all.”

Ok they just got out for the day (here’s the press scrum following Avenatti) after Avenatti told Judge Furman he doesn’t think he’ll testify. They went over what will happen in cross if he does, with prosecutors allowed to ask about Nike convictions and the California charges.

A lot of witness talk, with Richard Marshack (trustee for Avenatti’s bankrupt law firm) and @USAO_LosAngeles John Drum filing motions to quash in the last couple hours. Judge says Avenatti has until 6 pm today to file one response to those motions.

I’ll share more, but Judge Furman said he’s never been in a trial, either as a judge or a lawyer, with more sustained objections than this one. Said he’s worked hard to police the trial to keep it focused on the case.

Redoing this tweet because I mixed up name: So Judge Furman is letting Loupe testify on a limited basis, but if he’s not ready to go tomorrow morning he’s not testifying, and Avenatti said he learned today that Loupe traveled home to New Orleans yesterday. (not Barrale)

Avenatti wants to ask Loupe about witnessing Stormy’s memory loss, and seeing her operate in a trance. Furman asked prosecutors why they wouldn’t be admissible, and AUSA Robert Sobelman said Loupe isn’t a doctor and has no expertise.

Sobelman said they have “no idea” where Avenatti is getting the idea that Stormy has a bad memory, which he said is “inconsistent with what we [heard] on the stand.”

Avenatti said Loupe lives with Stormy and has seen her in “this trance-like state” and Judge Furman replied, “She wasn’t in a trance on the stand as far as I can tell.”

AUSA Robert Sobelman actually quipped something about being happy to spend more time with the paranormal society YouTube videos, and Judge Furman corrected him: "Let me be clear: You're not happy to do that." (Was weird to see these New Yorkers attempting courtroom humor.)

"After this trial, I may take up the paranormal," Sobelman said. But he quickly returned to the point: Prosecutors say Avenatti is trying to smear Stormy, and it's obvious from the websites he listed regarding Loupe, saying he "can tell from the URLs."

Judge Furman agrees Avenatti covered this ground already, saying he "plowed that ground perhaps exhaustedly." But Avenatti wants witness testimony to support that, and Furman said he's not going to prohibit Loupe's testimony about it

Regarding Richard Marshack, the trustee for Avenatti's bankrupt law firm, here's his motion to quash. As suspected, the bankruptcy judge rejecting Marshack's request to comply with the subpoena is driving things. . bit.ly/3renFAt

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