Disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti says life behind bars has changed him into a better person and is asking a federal judge to consider that personal transformation when he gets resentenced on May 27.

Avenatti was originally sentenced to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to defrauding clients of millions of dollars and hiding millions more from the IRS. He appealed that sentence, and a new hearing was ordered by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which said the trial judge erred by ultimately giving Avenatti a too-lengthy sentence. 

‘Since his 2022 original sentencing, [Avenatti] has lived every day of his incarceration seeking to atone for the harm he caused and set his life on a different path,’ Avenatti’s lawyers wrote on Tuesday in their 41-page argument for a more lenient sentence.

That filing offers details about Avenatti’s life at the Terminal Island prison in Los Angeles. They described how Avenatti is trusted by prison officials to help other inmates – including serving as ‘suicide watch companion.’ He also completed a drug abuse program and ‘regularly attended AA meetings and religious services.’

Avenatti’s lawyers also included an internal Bureau of Prisons report, which says he ‘has been a model inmate….[and] has distinguished himself through his work in the library, where he has voluntarily assisted academically challenged inmates with legal matters.’  

The lawyers also claim Avenatti’s prison behavior is a true reflection of his character and done without regard to the upcoming resentencing hearing. ‘His actions demonstrate remorse, rehabilitation, and a strong desire to become a source of positive change,’ they wrote.

Federal guidelines allow for judges to consider an inmate’s good deeds behind bars when resentencing. Prosecutors argue Avenatti is still the same shady lawyer – now disbarred – and still deserves a long sentence.

‘Defendant’s egregious violations of his duties and the trust placed in him by his clients, his infliction of great harm by stealing millions of dollars from them, and his greed and arrogance leading to the calculated choices and deception that he carried out for years against his clients and the IRS, all remain the same,’ Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brett Sagel and Ranaee Katzenstein wrote in their filing submitted early Wednesday morning.

Avenatti’s release date is currently set for July 31, 2035. He is asking U.S. District Court Judge James Selna for a sentence that would have him released in just a few years. Prosecutors are asking for a sentence of only a few months less than the 14 years originally handed down.

Both filings offer detailed arguments about the different factors they want Selna to reconsider at the upcoming hearing, including determinations about how to properly assess how much money Avenatti’s clients actually lost. Those technical determinations are significant as they influence the severity of the sentence. In essence, as the financial amounts increase, so does the sentence. The appellate court ruled Selna miscalculated some of those losses at the original sentencing hearing.

‘Mr. Avenatti acknowledges that nothing can change how much he hurt the former clients he was entrusted to help,’ federal public defender Margaret Farrand wrote about her client. ‘Nothing can change the shame he still feels. But Mr. Avenatti has tried his best to show that his remorse and concern for others are real, not through his words, but through his actions while in custody.’

This case is separate from Avenatti’s other convictions for attempting to extort Nike and stealing money from his most famous client, Stormy Daniels. Avenatti’s attempts to get those convictions and sentences overturned on appeal all failed.

President Donald Trump – whose second-term agenda has been bogged down by judicial roadblocks – announced several judicial picks in Truth Social posts on Tuesday, and complained in a post on Wednesday that the judiciary is preventing him from executing the job Americans elected him to do.

‘Our Court System is not letting me do the job I was Elected to do. Activist judges must let the Trump Administration deport murderers, and other criminals who have come into our Country illegally, WITHOUT DELAY!!!’ he declared in a Wednesday post.

Trump announced Missouri Principal Deputy Solicitor General Maria Lanahan as a nominee to sit as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, calling her ‘a true patriot’ in a Tuesday post.

He also picked Judge Cristian Stevens to serve on the same court, calling Stevens, who currently serves on the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, ‘a Great Patriot,’ in another post.

The president also selected Zachary Bluestone to sit on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, referring to him as ‘a True Legal Warrior’ in a Tuesday post.  

A Tuesday White House press release notes that ‘Zachary Bluestone is appellate chief and a violent crimes prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.’ 

Trump is tapping Show-Me State Solicitor General Joshua Divine for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri as well as the Western District of Missouri.

‘I am proud to nominate Edward Aloysius O’Connell to serve as Associate Judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Eddie will help fix Violent Crime in the City by restoring the RULE OF LAW to Washington, D.C.,’ Trump declared in a post on Tuesday.

According to the White House release, ‘Edward Aloysius O’Connell is Chief of Staff and Deputy General Counsel of the Office of the Inspector General of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.’

The president’s judicial picks will need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Last week, Trump announced his pick of Whitney Hermandorfer to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, calling her ‘a Fighter who will inspire confidence in our Legal System.’ She is the Strategic Litigation Unit director with the office of the Tennessee state attorney general.

Fox News’ Luke Trevisan contributed to this report

Three top committees within the House of Representatives are delivering an update to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday about Republicans’ ongoing investigation into ActBlue.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., have been probing the Democratic fundraising platform for years.

‘The Committees write today to draw your attention to our ongoing investigation into ActBlue, a political action committee and fundraising platform for the Democrat Party,’ the letter said.

‘The oversight has uncovered that ActBlue has weak fraud-prevention practices and overlooks bad actors, including foreign actors, who take advantage of the platform to make illicit political donations.’

They said the platform’s ‘concerning activities’ could even have a ‘direct effect on U.S. political campaigns and elections.’

Steil first raised concerns about ActBlue in late 2023 after accusations surfaced that it did not require a card verification value (CVV) number to accept donations via credit card, something lawmakers said made donations significantly less secure.

The letter said ActBlue delivered a ‘lackluster response’ to queries on the matter. As recently as August 2024, however, the site had required CVV numbers for donations on pages observed by Fox News Digital, including former Vice President Kamala Harris’ White House campaign.

However, Republicans pressed ActBlue further, the letter pointed out.

Steil’s panel subpoenaed ActBlue for ‘documents relating to ActBlue’s donor verification policies, contributions originating outside of the United States, deplatformed entities, and reported unauthorized or fraudulent donations.’

‘ActBlue’s responsive documents confirmed that the platform accepted unverified payments during a period of record campaign fundraising,’ the letter said.

‘Although ActBlue has since updated its policies to reject donations without safeguards such as a CVV requirement, the Committees’ oversight found that ActBlue implemented these changes only after ensuring that they would not negatively impact Democrat donations.’

Subsequent inquiries into whether ActBlue and related entities were meaningfully deterring foreign actors ‘have shed some light on the nature of their operations, but many questions remain.’

The committees released a report last month, claiming ‘ActBlue executives and staff are aware that both foreign and domestic fraudulent actors are exploiting the platform but do not take the threat seriously.’

Fox News Digital reached out to ActBlue with a request for comment.

The platform previously dismissed Steil’s accusations as ‘inaccuracies and misrepresentations.’

‘We rigorously protect donors’ security and maintain strict anti-fraud compliance practices. We have zero tolerance for fraud on our platform,’ an ActBlue spokesperson said late last year.

A DOJ spokesperson confirmed receipt of the letter but declined to comment further.

President Donald Trump is reportedly to rename the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Gulf ahead of his trip to the Middle East in the coming days. 

The expected announcement was first reported Wednesday by the Associated Press, which clashed with the Trump administration earlier this year over the president renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not immediately hear back. The AP cited two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.

Iran’s foreign minister slammed the reported change, writing that, ‘politically motivated attempts to alter the historically established name of the Persian Gulf are indicative of hostile intent toward Iran and its people, and are firmly condemned.’

‘Such biased actions are an affront to all Iranians, regardless of their background or place of residence. Let’s hope that the absurd rumors about the PERSIAN Gulf that are going around are no more than a disinformation campaign by ‘forever warriors’ to anger Iranians all over the world and agitate them,’ Seyed Abbas Araghchi wrote on X. 

The foreign minister said the name Persian Gulf ‘is deeply rooted in human history’ and that Iran ‘has never objected to the use of names such as the Sea of Oman, Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, or Red Sea.’

‘The use of these names does not imply ownership by any particular nation, but rather reflects a shared respect for the collective heritage of humanity,’ Abbas Araghchi wrote, adding that he is confident Trump ‘is aware that the name PERSIAN Gulf is centuries old and recognized by all cartographers and international bodies and was even used by all leaders of the region in their official communications until as recently as 1960’s.’ 

‘While any short-sighted step in this connection will have no validity or legal or geographical effect, it will only bring the wrath of all Iranians from all walks of life and political persuasion in Iran, the U.S. and across the world,’ he said. 

Trump is traveling in the coming days to the Middle East, where he will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which all lie on the body of water. 

U.S. and Iranian officials are also expected to meet for the fourth round of nuclear talks in Oman in the coming days. Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday the U.S. was negotiating toward a ‘complete cessation’ of Tehran’s nuclear program. 

Arab nations have pushed for a change to the geographic name of the body of water off the southern coast of Iran, while Iran has maintained its historic ties to the gulf under the Persian Empire. 

The Persian Gulf has been widely known by that name since the 16th century, although usage of ‘Gulf of Arabia’ and ‘Arabian Gulf’ is dominant in many countries in the Middle East, according to the AP. The government of Iran – formerly Persia – threatened to sue Google in 2012 over the company’s decision not to label the body of water at all on its maps.

On Google Maps in the U.S., the body of water appears as the ‘Persian Gulf’ followed by ‘Arabian Gulf’ in parentheses. Apple Maps only says the Persian Gulf.

The U.S. military for years has unilaterally referred to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf in statements and images it releases.

A spat developed in 2017 during Trump’s first term when he used the name Arabian Gulf for the waterway. Iran’s president at the time, Hassan Rouhani, suggested Trump needed to ‘study geography.’

‘Everyone knew Trump’s friendship was for sale to the highest bidder. We now know that his geography is, too,’ Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote online at the time.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Vice President JD Vance previewed the next round of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks on Wednesday, saying President Donald Trump would be ‘open’ to sitting down with Chinese and Russian officials in the future to prevent proliferation.  

U.S. and Iranian officials are scheduled for a fourth round of nuclear talks in Oman in the coming days. Trump will visit the Middle Eastern countries of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates next week. 

At the Munich Leaders Meeting in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, former German ambassador to the U.S., Wolfgang Ischinger, asked Vance if the administration would ‘go for zero enrichment’ by Tehran and noted the unresolved ‘Gaza issue.’ 

Vance cited ‘two big issues’ with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the formal name of the Iran nuclear deal secured in 2015 during the Obama administration. 

Trump has said the flawed deal did not prevent Iran from building an atomic bomb. The vice president on Wednesday added that former President Barack Obama’s agreement had ‘incredibly weak’ enforcement regarding inspections, and he, therefore, didn’t believe ‘it actually served the function of preventing the Iranians from getting on the pathway to nuclear weapons.’ 

Secondly, Vance said the Trump administration believes there were some elements of the Iranian nuclear program that were actually ‘preserved’ under the JCPOA.

‘Yes, there weren’t nuclear weapons. Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapon,’ Vance said, arguing the deal ‘allowed Iran to sort of stay on this glide path towards a nuclear weapon if they flip the switch and press go.’ 

‘We think that there is a deal here that would reintegrate Iran into the global economy,’ Vance said ahead of the talks. ‘That would be really good for the Iranian people, but would result in the complete cessation of any chance that they can get a nuclear weapon. And that’s what we’re negotiating towards. And as the president has said, that’s Option A.’ 

If Option A is ‘very good for the Iranian people,’ Vance offered that Option B ‘is very bad.’ 

‘It’s very bad for everybody. And it’s not what we want, but it’s better than Option C, which is Iran getting a nuclear weapon. That is what is completely off the table for the American administration. No ifs, ands or buts,’ Vance said. 

Trump told NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ in an interview that aired Sunday that he would only accept ‘total dismantlement’ of Iran’s nuclear program. 

The vice president on Wednesday said the Trump administration’s broader objective is to prevent nuclear proliferation, noting that he believes the president would be ‘open’ to sitting down with China and Russia down the road. 

‘If Iran gets a nuclear weapon, which country then next gets a nuclear weapon, and then when that country gets a nuclear weapon, which country after that? We really care not just about Iran, but about nuclear proliferation,’ Vance said. ‘The president hates nuclear proliferation. I hate nuclear proliferation. And I think that the president would be very open to sitting down with the Russians and the Chinese and saying, ‘look, let’s get this thing in a much better place. Let’s reduce the number of nuclear weapons that are in the world writ large.’ That’s obviously not a conversation for tomorrow. That’s a conversation, God willing, for a few years from now.’ 

‘But there is no way you get to that conversation if you allow multiple regimes all over the world to enter this sprint for a nuclear weapon,’ Vance added. ‘And we really think that if the Iran domino falls, you’re going to see nuclear proliferation all over the Middle East. That’s very bad for us. It’s very bad for our friends. And it’s something that we don’t think can happen.’ 

As for negotiations with Iran, Vance gave a grade of ‘so far, so good,’ thanking intermediaries, including the Omanis, for ensuring that the talks are ‘on the right pathway.’ 

‘But this is going to end somewhere, and it will end either in Iran eliminating their nuclear program — their nuclear weapons program,’ Vance said. ‘They can have civil nuclear power. Okay. We don’t mind that. But let me ask this basic question – which regime in the world has civil nuclear power and enrichment without having a nuclear weapon? And the answer is no one.’ 

‘So our proposition is very simple. Yes, we don’t care if people want nuclear power. We’re fine with that. But you can’t have the kind of enrichment program that allows you to get to a nuclear weapon. And that’s where we draw the line.’ 

Trump announced on Tuesday that the U.S. military, which has been bombing Iran-backed Houthis since March 15 to defend freedom of navigation, would stop its strikes on the Yemen-based terror group, which communicated it does ‘not want to fight’ anymore. The Houthis claimed responsibility for a missile launched from Yemen that struck near the main terminal of an Israeli airport last weekend hours before the Israeli Cabinet voted to expand fighting in Gaza. 

From the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump also teased a ‘very, very big announcement’ happened before his Middle East trip, but declined to clarify the subject, besides saying it ‘wasn’t necessarily about trade.’