Michael Avenatti can no longer afford to pay his attorneys in a criminal case accusing the brash California lawyer of stealing money from his former client Stormy Daniels, his attorney said in a motion to withdraw as counsel.

Tom Warren, who left Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht to start his own firm in April, told a Manhattan federal judge Monday that his team had "no expectation of any compensation" from Avenatti, a fierce critic of President Donald Trump whose dealings with former clients have landed him under federal indictment on two coasts.

Warren said in the filing that Avenatti had been unable to pay Pierce Bainbridge for its prior work on his behalf. Still, Warren said, his fledgling firm, Warren Terzian, had agreed to represent Avenatti earlier this year because pretrial filing deadlines in the case were "fast approaching."

Since then, however, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant trial delays, and costly burdens for defense counsel, as the possibility of another adjournment lingered on the horizon, Warren said.

"While we are excited about our future prospects, Warren Terzian is a young Los Angeles firm with no New York office and no attorneys barred in New York, and we have no expectation of any compensation in this case," he wrote in a four-page motion.

"We anticipate that Mr. Avenatti will shortly request that the court appoint the Federal Defenders of New York to represent him," Warren said.

The filing also cited a "nonwaivable conflict of interest" that Warren said prevented his team from continuing its representation.

U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman of the Southern District of New York did not immediately grant the request Monday. Instead, the judge ordered Avenatti's lawyers to further explain the conflict, and directed prosecutors to respond to the request. Both submissions were due by Wednesday, according to Furman's order.

If the motion to withdraw is granted, Warren said Avenatti would continue to be represented by defense counsel from the Law Offices of Mariel Colon Miro in New York, until he could obtain a federal defender to take over the case. Avenatti, Warren said, did not object to the request.

Monday's filing came less than two weeks after Avenatti told another judge that he could not afford to cover his legal costs in Los Angeles federal court, where he is accused in a sprawling, 36-count indictment of tax evasion, fraud and other alleged crimes.

Avenatti, who was convicted in February of attempting to extort Nike Inc., has been released from Manhattan's Metropolitan Correction Center due to coronavirus-related concerns, and is currently staying at a friend's house in Southern California under strict conditions imposed by the court.

A federal jury in the Southern District of New York found Avenatti guilty on three counts related to a scheme to shake down Nike in exchange for not going public with allegations of wrongdoing at the sports apparel giant. Sentencing in that case has been postponed until October, as the pandemic continues to rage in certain parts of the country.

Trial in the Stormy Daniels case is currently set to begin Oct. 13 in Manhattan.

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