Michael Avenatti rests his case without taking the stand in $300,000 Stormy Daniels fraud trial

Jury will hear closing arguments on Wednesday before retiring to deliberate

Michael Avenatti has declined to take the stand in his own defence (Associated Press)

Michael Avenatti has rested his case without testifying in his own defence on charges of stealing a $300,000 book advance from former client Stormy Daniels.

Mr Avenatti announced in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday that he was resting without calling a single witness as none were ready to take the stand.

He told Judge Jesse Furman he did not intend to testify himself because the prosecution had failed to prove its case against him.

Closing arguments will be on Wednesday.

Mr Avenatti ​​is on trial for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges, accused of stealing a $300,000 (£223,800) advance from an $800,000 (£596,000) deal with St Martin’s Press for Ms Daniels’ 2018 book Full Disclosure.

He has denied any wrongdoing, and said he was entitled to payments for his work representing Ms Daniels in several lawsuits in 2018 including for litigation brought against President Donald Trump.

Mr Avenatti represented Ms Daniels in a 2018 lawsuit against Donald Trump as she wanted to go public with claims she had a one-night stand with the former president a decade before he ran for office. Mr Trump denies the tryst happened.

Mr Avenatti, who was representing himself after firing his lawyers at the start of the trial, had been warned by Judge Furman that his previous conviction for extorting Nike would be open to cross-examination.

Last July, Mr Avenatti was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for trying to extort up to $25m from Nike by threatening to shame the sportswear company with bad publicity.

He has been ordered to surrender in September to begin his sentence.

Mr Avenatti, 50, faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the Manhattan charges.

Last week, he cross-examined Ms Daniels about her ability to speak to the dead, and her relationship with a possessed doll named Susan who features in her paranormal TV show Spooky Babes.