Celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti is delaying his press conference to discuss what he calls a “major scandal” involving Nike after being indicted Monday.
Avenatti, who rose to prominence representing porn star Stormy Daniels in her cases against President Trump, tweeted that he would be holding a press conference on Tuesday at 11 a.m. He was charged with attempting to extort Nike for millions less than an hour later.
Avenatti confirmed to the Washington Examiner in a phone call Tuesday he has postponed his press conference and expects it to happen later this week, but did not disclose a day or time.
His tweet announcing the press conference has not been deleted. It said: “Tmrw at 11 am ET, we will be holding a press conference to disclose a major high school/college basketball scandal perpetrated by @Nike that we have uncovered. This criminal conduct reaches the highest levels of Nike and involves some of the biggest names in college basketball,” Avenatti tweeted just before he was arrested.
Tmrw at 11 am ET, we will be holding a press conference to disclose a major high school/college basketball scandal perpetrated by @Nike that we have uncovered. This criminal conduct reaches the highest levels of Nike and involves some of the biggest names in college basketball.
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) March 25, 2019
Avenatti alleges the company paid college recruits in exchange for committing to college teams sponsored by Nike. In a 3 a.m. tweet, he said, “We never attempted to extort Nike & when the evidence is disclosed, the public will learn the truth about Nike’s crime & coverup.”
Avenatti, 48, was arrested and appeared in Manhattan federal court Monday after being charged for allegedly attempting to extort millions from Nike. He was released on $300,000 bond. Avenatti also was charged with bank and wire fraud in a separate federal case out of Los Angeles.
Former CNN legal analyst Mark Geragos was reportedly an unnamed co-conspirator in the case, but wasn’t charged in the complaint, and has since been fired by the news network.
Joseph Simonson contributed to this article.
