CNN cut ties with its legal commentator Mark Geragos shortly after he was reported as a co-conspirator of star lawyer Michael Avenatti, who was arrested Monday on charges of fraud and attempted extortion.
“He’s no longer a contributor at CNN,” a network spokesperson confirmed to HuffPost about Geragos.
It was not immediately clear how long he had been in the role at the cable news network.
According to Los Angeles federal prosecutors, Avenatti, who famously had represented porn star Stormy Daniels over a hush money agreement involving President Donald Trump, had embezzled a client’s money and used it to pay off his own debts. He is also accused of defrauding a bank with phony tax returns.
In New York, federal prosecutors have alleged that Avenatti tried to extort $20 million from Nike by threatening to go public with dirt on the company if it refused to give in.
Earlier Monday, The Wall Street Journal named Geragos, who is a high-profile attorney in celebrity cases, as an unidentified co-conspirator in the unsealed criminal complaint against Avenatti from the Southern District of New York. However, Geragos has not been charged.
Geragos’ client list has included Michael Jackson, NFL athlete Colin Kaepernick and, most recently, actor Jussie Smollett, who has been accused of faking a hate crime against himself.