Michael Avenatti
Michael John Avenatti (born February 16, 1971) is an American lawyer and businessman. Avenatti is best known for suing President Donald Trump on behalf of porn star Stormy Daniels in an attempt to prove that Trump paid Daniels to stay silent during their affair.
Avenatti said that he would run for president in 2020 if Trump runs for re-election and if no other candidate is good enough to beat Trump.
Born on February 16, 1971 in Sacramento, California, Avenatti spent his early childhood in Colorado and Utah. He moved with his family to Chesterfield, Missouri, near St. Louis, in 1982, where he attended Parkway Central High School. After graduating in 1989, Avenatti attended Saint Louis University for a year before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with a B.A. in political science in 1996.
He attended George Washington University Law School, where he graduated Order of the Coif and first in his class with a J.D. in 2000. In 2003, George Washington University Law School established the Michael J. Avenatti Award for Excellence in Pre-Trial and Trial Advocacy, an annual award given to the member of the graduating Juris Doctor class who demonstrates excellence in pre-trial and trial advocacy. Avenatti also received George Washington University's prestigious Alumni Recognition Award in 2010.
While in college and later in law school, Avenatti worked at The Research Group, a political opposition research and media firm run by Rahm Emanuel (later White House Chief of Staff for President Barack Obama, and Mayor of Chicago). Avenatti worked on over 150 Democratic and Republican campaigns in 42 states while studying at George Washington University.
After law school, Avenatti worked at O'Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles, California, alongside Daniel M. Petrocelli, who previously represented the Ron Goldman family in its case against O.J. Simpson. He assisted Petrocelli on multiple legal matters, including the representation of singer Christina Aguilera and litigation surrounding the movie "K-19: The Widowmaker", and worked extensively for Don Henley and Glenn Frey of the musical group the Eagles, including in a suit brought by former bandmate Don Felder against the group and Irving Azoff.
Avenatti later joined Greene Broillet & Wheeler, a Los Angeles boutique law firm. While there, he handled a number of high-profile cases, including a $10 million defamation case against Paris Hilton, settled an idea-theft lawsuit relating to the show "The Apprentice" and against producers Mark Burnett and Donald Trump, and a $40 million embezzlement lawsuit involving KPMG.
In 2007, Avenatti formed the law firm Eagan Avenatti, LLP (formerly known as Eagan O'Malley & Avenatti, LLP) with offices in Newport Beach, Los Angeles and San Francisco, California. He has since appeared on "60 Minutes" three times in connection with cases he has handled. Avenatti has also served as lead counsel on a number of historically large cases, including an April 2017 $454 million verdict after a jury trial in Federal Court in Los Angeles in a fraud case against Kimberly-Clark and Halyard Health, later reduced to a $21.7 million verdict upon appeal, an $80.5 million class-action settlement against Service Corporation International, a $41 million jury verdict against KPMG, and a $39 million malicious prosecution settlement.
In 2013 Avenatti formed a company, Global Baristas, to buy Seattle-based Tully's Coffee out of bankruptcy. Since 2015, Global Baristas has been named in more than 50 lawsuits in state and federal courts for breach of contract, unpaid bills, and unpaid taxes.
In 2015, Avenatti prevailed against the National Football League (NFL) following a jury trial in Dallas. He later pursued a class-action suit on behalf of fans who showed up for Super Bowl XLV with tickets that didn't correspond to actual seats but the courts in Texas declined to certify the class. Later, in 2016, Avenatti filed another class action lawsuit against the NFL, this time on behalf of ticket-holders to the annual Hall of Fame Game, which was cancelled a few hours before kickoff.
In 2017, a Florida man named Gerald Tobin alleged Avenatti failed to pay him $28,700 for private investigatory work. As a result, Avenatti's firm was abruptly forced into bankruptcy. The issue was resolved when the pair entered into a Non-Disclosure Agreement, and Avenatti paid Tobin the $28,700.
In 2018, Avenatti's law firm was subjected to a $10 million judgment in U.S. bankruptcy court. In June 2018, a former partner filed a motion in U.S. bankruptcy court asking for a lien on any and all legal fees Avenatti's firm might collect, up to $10 million, from clients in 54 cases including his representation of Stormy Daniels.
Avenatti has on several occasions, including in a post to Twitter, expressed interest in running for president in 2020. In a CBC TV interview published in September 2018, Avenatti said he would run in 2020 only against Trump or Pence.
Michael Cohen (lawyer)
Michael Dean Cohen (born August 25, 1966) is an American attorney and convicted felon of Jewish descent. He worked as a lawyer for Donald Trump from 2006 until he was fired in May 2018.
Cohen was a vice-president of the Trump Organization and special counsel to Donald Trump, and was co-president of Trump Entertainment and was a board member of the Eric Trump Foundation.
, he has been under investigation by federal prosecutors on multiple matters, including bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance violations due to payments made by him in the Stormy Daniels–Trump scandal. The investigation led to him pleading guilty on August 21, 2018 to eight counts of campaign finance violations, tax fraud, and bank fraud. On December 12, 2018, Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison.<ref name="BBC 12/12/2018"></ref>
Marina Silva
Maria Osmarina Marina Silva Vaz de Lima (born 8 February 1958) is a Brazilian politician. She is a presidential candidate in the 2018 Brazilian elections. She is a member of the Sustainability Party (REDE). She is known both for her pro-environmental views and her conservative social views.
Silva was a member of the Worker's Party (PT) until 2009. She was a Senator before becoming Minister of the Environment in 2003. She ran for president in the 2010 Brazilian elections as the candidate for the Green Party (PV).
In April 2014, Eduardo Campos announced his candidacy for the fall 2014 Presidential Election, naming Marina Silva as his Vice Presidential candidate. After Campos's death in a plane crash on August, she was selected to run as the Socialist Party's candidate for the Presidency.
In 2012 she was one of eight people chosen to carry the flag for the opening ceremonies of the London Olympic Games.
2018 Brazilian general election
General elections were held in Brazil on 7 October 2018 to elect the President and Vice President and other political figures in the nation.
The first round of the presidential election was held on 7 October 2018. Jair Bolsonaro won 46% of the vote with Fernando Haddad winning 29.3%. Since no candidate won more than 50% of the vote, a second round was held on 28 October 2018 with Bolsonaro being elected president.
The 2014 elections Dilma Rousseff re-elected as president in the second round with 51.6% of the vote.
However, on 3 December 2015, impeachment process against Rousseff were officially accepted by the Chamber of Deputies. Vice President Michel Temer, of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, became Acting President of Brazil. On 31 August 2016, the Senate voted 61–20 in favor of impeachment, finding Rousseff guilty of breaking budgetary laws and removing her from office. Vice President Temer replaced Rousseff as the 37th President of Brazil.
Even though current President Temer said he would not run, he received an eight-year ban from holding office on 2 June 2016 for violating election laws.