Michael Avenatti offers to plead guilty in remaining criminal case in California

Michael Avenatti, the one-time cable news staple who represented porn actress Stormy Daniels in her legal battles against former President Trump, offered over the weekend to plead guilty to multiple criminal charges he is facing in California. He has already been convicted for crimes against Daniels and attempting to extort Nike Inc.

For his prior convictions, Avenatti is already facing five years in prison and is potentially facing 300 more for 36 criminal charges in the California case. Some of those charges include deceiving the IRS, stealing millions of dollars from his clients, and defrauding a bank.

In a court filing in Santa Ana, Avenatti said he wants to plead guilty to be "accountable; accept responsibility; avoid his former clients being further burdened; save the court and the government significant resources; and save his family further embarrassment."

It is unclear to which of the several dozen counts Avenatti will plead guilty. The filing does, however, say that over the last 30 days, he has been unable to reach a plea deal with prosecutors and wants a hearing.

Following a mistrial last August, a trial for the first 10 charges is scheduled on July 26. Avenatti will represent himself. 

He is appealing his two-and-a-half year sentence in the Nike extortion case, and his, partially overlapping, four-year conviction in the Daniels case.

In February, a federal jury convicted Avenatti of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for embezzled nearly $300,000 in book proceeds intended for Daniels.