Danielle Sassoon had served just three weeks as interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York when she penned a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi saying she could not follow a directive to drop the office’s corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Not guilty,” Srebnick told Manhattan federal court jurors of the meeting Avenatti had last March with Nike attorneys. Howard Srebnick told jurors that Avenatti was “on a mission” for his clients when he met with Nike's lawyers. In his closing, Podolsky said Avenatti was looking out for himself and his financial needs rather than his client, Gary Franklin, a Los Angeles amateur basketball coach. “Michael Avenatti, facing a mountain of debt, saw light at the end of the tunnel,” Podolsky said. On one recorded conversation played for jurors, Avenatti could be heard telling Nike lawyers: “A few million dollars doesn't move the needle for me.