Michael Avenatti, the lawyer most famous for representing porn actress
Stormy Daniels in her case against
President Trump, was arrested in
California last week and transferred over the weekend to New York's federal Manhattan Correctional Center to face charges of extortion and embezzlement, his lawyers told a federal court on Monday. In fact, lawyer Scott Srebnick wrote, Avenatti is being housed, for reasons that are unclear, in the MCC's "Special Housing Unit on the notorious 10-South," the "most secure secure floor in the entire facility," in "a cell reportedly once occupied by El Chapo, on a floor that houses individuals charged with terrorism offenses."Not only is Avenatti being held in the freezing cell that once housed notorious Mexican drug trafficker and escape artist Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, Srebnick said, but he's on 24-hour solitary confinement with a guard and two cameras keeping watch on him from outside his cell 24 hours a day. MCC appears to have learned from the suicide of another recent inmate, Jeffrey Epstein, as Srebnick alludes to in his filing.> Avenatti’s lawyers also write that the Manhattan federal jail’s staff and SDNY’s line prosecutors have been as helpful as they can. > > It all raises the question—if the letter is accurate, who decided that the SHU and SAMs were appropriate conditions of confinement for Avenatti?> > — southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) January 21, 2020Srebnick asked for the court's help in finding out why Avenatti is under such strict lockdown and in getting him moved to regular incarceration amid the general population of MCC, saying the current conditions are hindering Avenatti's participation in his defense case.More stories from theweek.com Chief Justice Roberts admonishes impeachment managers and Trump team, reminds them to 'remember where they are' Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow's odd impeachment rant about 'lawyer lawsuits' may stem from a misheard phrase Rep. Hakeem Jeffries explains Trump's impeachment to Trump's lawyers, drops in Biggie Smalls reference