Trump’s refusal to grant key Zelenskyy demand led to heated Oval Office meeting
FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump’s refusal to grant a key demand made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy precipitated their explosive confrontation during a live press event at the White House.
A stunned world watched Friday as Vice President JD Vance and Trump reprimanded Zelenskyy in full view of reporters, with cameras rolling. From the moment the Oval Office event started, the dynamic between Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart was noticeably different from the two other press events Trump held with world leaders this week.
According to sources close to Zelenskyy, tempers had flared even before the event began. The Ukrainian president was apparently presented with a minerals for security agreement by the Trump administration prior to the press event, but the deal included no security guarantees to protect Ukraine from another Russian invasion.
Zelenskyy had warned repeatedly ahead of his trip to Washington, D.C., that, in order to reach a mineral agreement, Kyiv needed these security assurances. Even so, he angered Trump and Vance by rejecting the deal, the source said.
TUNE IN: BRET BAIER INTERVIEWS ZELENSKYY ON ‘SPECIAL REPORT,’ 6 PM ET ON FOX NEWS
Subsequently, just minutes after reporters asked their first questions, an aggressive spat unfolded between the heads of state that left officials behind the scenes scrambling to understand how the situation fell apart so quickly.
“We cannot just sign an … agreement without any substantial guarantees,” one Ukrainian defense advisor told Fox News Digital. “It’s not going to work. It’s just going to reward the aggressor.”
Zelenskyy’s refusal to sign a deal apparently contributed to the ire of Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
The White House has not confirmed the discussions that occurred ahead of the press event.
The heated spat unfolded after Trump suggested Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in 2014 and again in 2022 because Trump wasn’t in office, blaming Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, who sat in the Oval Office at the corresponding times.
ZELENSKYY BREAKS SILENCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA AFTER FIERY OVAL OFFICE EXCHANGE WITH TRUMP: ‘THANK YOU AMERICA’
“Yeah, that’s exactly right,” Vance said.
Zelenskyy pointed out that Russia never stopped attacking Ukraine between 2014 and 2022, four years of which included Trump’s first term.
“Nobody stopped him you know,” Zelenskyy said, adding that Putin repeatedly violated bilateral agreements.
ZELENSKYY LEAVES WHITE HOUSE AFTER BEING ‘KICKED OUT’ FOLLOWING HEATED MEETING
“What kind of diplomacy are you … speaking about? What do you mean?” Zelenskyy asked at the White House after Trump said he was “aligned” with both Russia and Ukraine.
Vance interjected, saying, “I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media.”
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Zelenskyy has repeatedly pointed out that while the U.S. under the Biden administration approved substantial aid to Kyiv, it is Ukrainian soldiers fighting on the front lines to stop Russian aggression that poses a threat to all of Europe and could embolden adversaries like China, North Korea and Iran, which run counter to U.S. interests.
“You have nice ocean and don’t feel now, but you will feel it in the future,” he argued.
An angered Trump said, “Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel. We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel.”
During a heated exchange between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Friday, Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova appeared distraught with her head in her hand.
The moment was captured in a number of viral photos and videos as Trump questioned Zelenskyy about not wanting a ceasefire with Russia at a live White House press event.
As shaky microphones hovered above the spatting leaders, Markarova lowered her head to her right hand and closed her eyes.
ZELENSKYY BREAKS SILENCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA AFTER FIERY OVAL OFFICE EXCHANGE WITH TRUMP: ‘THANK YOU AMERICA’
President Trump addressed Zelenskyy, saying, “You’re saying you don’t want a ceasefire. I want a ceasefire because you get a ceasefire faster than an agreement.”
The Ukrainian president chimed in, “I said to you … with guarantees. Ask our people about [a] ceasefire, [about] what they think.”
Trump starkly halted the conversation, saying “that wasn’t with me.”
ZELENSKYY LEAVES WHITE HOUSE AFTER BEING ‘KICKED OUT’ FOLLOWING HEATED MEETING
The leaders were expected to sign a deal sharing Ukraine’s rare earth minerals and discuss a peace deal with Russia when the conversation turned contentious.
After questions were posed by Zelenskyy about diplomacy, Vice President JD Vance reprimanded him for “try[ing] to litigate” in front of the American media, calling his actions “disrespectful.”
“Do you think that it’s respectful to come into the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country,” Vance asked Zelenskyy.
Sources close to Zelenskyy noted tensions were high prior to the meeting, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Zelenskyy reportedly rejected the mineral security agreement before Friday’s meeting due to the absence of security guarantees protecting Ukraine from another Russian invasion.
Even though the Ukrainian president warned he would need those assurances to sign the deal, sources said the dismissal angered Trump and Vance.
Just minutes after reporters asked their first questions, the heated disagreement unfolded.
Reporters watched in shock as the meeting came to an abrupt halt, and Zelenskyy was rushed out of the White House.
Minutes later, Trump posted to Truth Social, saying, “President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE.”
Zelenskyy subsequently posted to X, thanking America and Trump for their support and allowing the visit.
“Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that,” he wrote in the post.
Markarova was ambassador for roughly a year when Russia invaded Ukraine, thrusting her into the spotlight.
In September, Fox News Digital exclusively reported that House Speaker Mike Johnson wrote a letter to Zelenskyy seeking Markarova’s firing after she allegedly organized a U.S. taxpayer-funded tour of an American manufacturing site for Zelenskyy in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Johnson, R-La., said the tour “purposely excluded” Republicans, calling it “election interference.”
“The facility was in a politically contested battleground state, was led by a top political surrogate for Kamala Harris and failed to include a single Republican because — on purpose — no Republicans were invited,” Johnson wrote in the letter.
He said the “shortsighted and intentionally political move” prompted Republicans to “lose trust” in Markarova’s ability to fairly and effectively serve as a diplomat.
“She should be removed from her post immediately,” Johnson wrote.
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The Embassy of Ukraine to the United States of America did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Carbon monoxide test results, pacemaker data shed new light on ‘suspicious’ Hackman death
Santa Fe, New Mexico – Gene Hackman and his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, tested negative for carbon monoxide, according to the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department. And the Oscar-winning actor likely died about nine days before his body was discovered by authorities.
During a news conference Friday, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed the last event noted on Hackman’s pacemaker was Feb. 17. When asked if Feb. 17 — nine days before his body was found — could be the day Hackman died, Mendoza noted that was a “very good assumption.”
“According to the pathologist, I think that is a very good assumption that that was his last day of life,” Mendoza said. He also confirmed after a discussion with the medical examiner that Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, “tested negative for carbon monoxide.”
“The manner and cause of death has not been determined,” Mendoza said.
GENE HACKMAN AND WIFE’S DEATHS CALLED ‘SUSPICIOUS,’ BODIES SHOWED SIGNS OF ‘MUMMIFICATION’
Mendoza noted that detectives will analyze “cellphone data, phone calls, text messages, events, photos in the cell phone to try to piece the timeline together.”
“One of the things is, in an investigation we try to piece the timeline together, usually before the event happens, and that gives us a lot of information,” Mendoza said. “But in this case, it seems like we’re doing a reverse timeline.
WATCH: Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza gives insight into Gene Hackman’s likely ‘last day of life’
“The manner and cause of death has not been determined.”
“We’re doing a timeline from the time of death and the autopsy and the results. We’re going to start working our way backwards. We’re going to do both and then hopefully make a determination as to what may have happened to both of the individuals.”
GENE HACKMAN, WIFE FOUND DEAD IN SPRAWLING SANTA FE ESTATE: WHAT THE INVESTIGATION TELLS US SO FAR
Hackman and Arakawa were last publicly photographed together March 28, 2024. Hackman was spotted holding onto his wife’s arm. He held onto a walking cane in his other hand. Arakawa looked out in the distance and held up her arm to support her husband.
The couple were pictured outside Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Hackman has lived in the area since the 1980s.
While Hackman and his wife mainly lived a private life, the last event they attended together appeared to be the 2003 Golden Globes, when he was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office released a search warrant inventory Friday of the items collected from Hackman and his wife’s home after their deaths, Fox News Digital has learned.
In the documents, obtained by Fox News Digital, investigators list two cellphones, MyQuest records, a 2025 planner, thyroid medication, blood pressure medication and Tylenol as the items they took from the house.
GENE HACKMAN’S DEATH MOURNED BY HOLLYWOOD: ANTONIO BANDERAS, GARY SINISE, FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA REMEMBER STAR
An orange prescription bottle was found near Hackman’s wife, according to a search warrant affidavit. It appeared to be open with pills scattered on a countertop.
WATCH: Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza discusses the investigation into Gene Hackman and his wife’s death
When asked whether the prescription bottles could have been related to the deaths, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza told the “Today” show Friday, “That’s obviously very important evidence at the scene. That information was collected … passed to the medical investigator to help them make a determination. … Yes, we’re looking at that specifically and other medications possibly in the residence. … That is something of concern.”
Sheriff Mendoza and Santa Fe Fire Chief Brian Moya shared more information about the ongoing investigation with “Today,” saying Hackman and Arakawa may have been dead “up to a couple of weeks.”
“Just based on their bodies and other evidence on the body, it appears several days and possibly up to a couple weeks,” Mendoza said when asked when the couple died.
GENE HACKMAN DEAD AT 95: HIS LIFE IN PHOTOS
When asked whether Hackman and his wife died simultaneously or whether one died before the other, the sheriff replied, “I think that’s very difficult to determine. I think it’s going to be pretty close.
“You know, there’s no indication that anyone was moving about the house or doing anything different. So, it’s very difficult to determine if they both passed at the same time or how close they passed together. We’re trying to put that information together and, obviously, with the assistance of the office of the medical investigator, I think the autopsy report is going to be the key to this investigation.
“We’re trying to put things together, a timeline when the decedents were last spoken to. Of course, we understand that is a challenge because they were very private individuals, and a private family. So, we’re trying to put all that information together right now.”
WATCH: Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza shares details about the death of Gene Hackman and his wife
The Oscar-winning actor was found dead alongside his wife, a classical pianist, and their dog in their sprawling Santa Fe, New Mexico, home Wednesday afternoon.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department revealed that autopsies have been completed for both Hackman and his wife. No external trauma was seen on either the actor or the musician.
Carbon monoxide and toxicology tests were ordered for Hackman and his wife because the manner and cause of death have not been determined.
Moya said his team had not found anything that was “concerning” and declared that it was safe to investigate the home.
He noted that the home had natural gas and that there could have been a carbon monoxide leak that had dissipated by the time officials arrived. But he added that he had not found any evidence of an active leak.
“When we arrived, we made sure that our people, as well as the sheriff, were safe, and there was nothing that we found. We also went back yesterday to do another round of searches,” Moya told “Today.”
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He continued to describe the layout of Hackman’s home, saying, “It was a very large home. It took a while for all of us to locate.”
Sheriff Mendoza confirmed there were several doors “unlocked at the residence.”
“I believe the front door was closed but unlocked and unsecured. There was one door that was ajar and that was towards the rear of the residence that two of the dogs that survived were coming in and out of the residence. … We’re not sure if that door was open upon the arrival of the emergency personnel,” Mendoza said.
The Santa Fe sheriff said the toxicology report may take up to three months for results or “possibly longer,” depending on how “busy the laboratory is.” Mendoza added his team hopes the results come “sooner rather than later.”
Mendoza said he is “pretty confident there is no foul play, just based on the lack of evidence of foul play.”
GENE HACKMAN, WIFE FOUND DEAD AT SANTA FE ESTATE: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE PROPERTY
“But we, of course, we’re not ruling that out. … The autopsy results, the official results, will steer us in the right direction. That could change, obviously, and we’re not ruling that out. This is an open investigation. It’s a couple [of] days old. We’re putting together the timeline. We’re trying to figure out all the evidence. … The autopsy is key, and that’s going to take some time.”
In the search warrant affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital, officials revealed that Arakawa’s body had been found decomposed with bloating on her face and mummification in her hands and feet. Hackman showed the same signs of decomposition as his wife.
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A harrowing 911 call, obtained by Fox News Channel, was made by a distressed maintenance worker after the man discovered the bodies of Hackman and his wife.
The employee frantically pleaded for police to rush to the New Mexico home.
“A search warrant was executed just before 10 p.m. last night. They’ve been working diligently through the night and starting again in the morning to completely process the scene. We’re still in the preliminary steps of the investigation,” authorities said.
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Hackman’s daughter Leslie told Fox News Digital Thursday that although her father “was 95, he was in very good health,” adding he did yoga and Pilates regularly.
WATCH: Santa Fe Fire Chief Brian Moya shares how Gene Hackman’s dogs may have survived
Leslie said she hadn’t seen her father in a “few years,” only because he no longer traveled much, and she lives in California. But she said they were close and had “been in touch over the last couple of months.”
“I loved him dearly,” she said. “He was a genuinely good-hearted person.”
New ‘common sense’ law reverses Dem transgender policy that stood for 18 years
Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill on Friday that removes protections for transgender people in the state’s civil rights code.
While not every state has protections for transgender people, Iowa Democrats added them to the civil rights code in 2007.
Iowa is the first state to remove gender identity protection from its state civil rights code.
The new law follows President Donald Trump’s executive orders only recognizing two sexes, restricting sex change operations and restricting trans people in the military, as well as state efforts to ban trans women from women’s bathrooms and women’s sports.
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The bill also defines male and female based on the person’s reproductive organs at birth.
Iowa’s civil rights code will still include protections for race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin and disability status.
Reynolds described the bill in a video she uploaded to X on Friday.
“Today I’m signing into law a bill that safeguards the rights of women and girls,” she said. “It’s commonsense to acknowledge the obvious biological differences between men and women. In fact, it’s necessary to secure genuine equal protection for girls. It’s why we have men and women’s bathrooms, but not men and women’s conference rooms. Girls’ and boys’ sports, but not girls’ math, boys’ math.”
She said that “these commonsense protections were at risk because, before I signed this bill, the civil rights code blurred the biological line between the sexes.”
Reynolds acknowledged that it is a “sensitive issue for some, many of whom have heard misinformation about what this bill does. The truth is that it simply brings Iowa in line with the federal civil rights code, as well as most states.”
She added that every Iowan, “without exception, deserves respect and dignity. We are all children of God and no law changes that.”
Trump signaled his approval of the law on Thursday, shortly before it was signed.
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“Iowa, a beautiful State that I have won BIG every time, has a Bill to remove Radical Gender Ideology from their Laws,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Iowa should follow the lead of my Executive Order, saying there are only two genders, and pass this Bill – AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. Thank you Iowa!”
Critics of the law say it will allow transgender people to be discriminated against in all aspects of life.
Democratic Iowa state Rep. Aime Wichtendahl, who identifies as a transgender woman, said, “The purpose of this bill and the purpose of every anti-trans bill is to further erase us from public life and to stigmatize our existence. The sum total of every anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ bill is to make our existence illegal.”
Protesters also filled the state Capitol’s rotunda on Thursday, holding up signs like “Trans rights are human rights” and shouting, “No hate in our state!”
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Keenan Crow, who directs policy and advocacy for the LGBTQ advocacy group One Iowa, told The Associated Press that the group will take any legal action “available,” adding that they’re still trying to understand how the law will be enforced.
All Democrats in the state House and Senate voted against the bill and were joined by five House Republicans.
The law goes into effect July 1.
Biden insider comes clean about how White House hid former president’s decline
A former Biden White House official claims that his colleagues “gaslit” the public and journalists concerned about former President Biden’s age and cognitive abilities.
During a Wednesday seminar held by Puck reporter Tara Palmeri at the Sine Institute of Policy and Politics at American University, longtime press secretary to former first lady Jill Biden, Michael LaRosa, opened up about efforts to shield Biden from media exposure.
Throughout the 2024 presidential race, many media pundits and commentators ran to Biden’s defense when there was speculation about his mental acuity, including after Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report about him being well-meaning but forgetful, viral videos of him looking confused and a Wall Street Journal report about his faltering behind-the-scenes demeanor.
CNN’S JAKE TAPPER GETS RIPPED ON SOCIAL MEDIA FOR ‘TRYING TO REWRITE HISTORY’ WITH NEW BOOK ON BIDEN’S DECLINE
While LaRosa was hesitant to characterize these efforts as a “cover-up,” he admitted that the White House was aware from “day one” that the former president’s age was an issue.
He also revealed that his colleagues were downplaying and excusing data suggesting Biden’s poll numbers heading into the 2024 election had stalled.
Despite polls showing the majority of Americans felt Biden was too old to serve a second term, many journalists treated questions about Biden’s health like a right-wing conspiracy.
These concerns came to a tipping point after Biden’s faltering June debate performance, after which he was pressured to drop out of the race.
“There are some things that are true. I mean, like the gaslighting, there was a lot of denial of the polling. And I will use the term gaslight because that’s what they were doing the campaign, former colleagues,” LaRosa told Palmeri.
‘EMBARRASSINGLY WRONG’: LIBERAL MEDIA FIGURES ADMIT BEING IN DENIAL ABOUT BIDEN’S MENTAL DECLINE
“The message to everybody was to make sure that you tell people it’s too early. It’s too early. These polls don’t mean well; it became too early, and these polls don’t mean anything,” he continued.
Suddenly, the data that the White House constantly touted when Biden was ahead became inconsequential to staffers when his lead slipped away, according to La Rosa.
He also criticized the White House’s “attack” on left-leaning outlets like The New York Times, which had begun covering polling and age issues in mid-2024.
Reports from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and other outlets have revealed that some advisers close to the president have been concerned about Biden’s health since the early days of his administration. The White House frequently dismissed questions about his abilities and even called videos that appeared to show Biden confused or out of step “cheap fakes.”
BIDEN RIPPED FOR ‘OLD’ APPEARANCE, ‘WEAK’ VOICE DURING FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: ‘DEEPLY ALARMING’
“I think if you were watching MSNBC, you probably believed [the White House] and were probably pretty shocked. But if you were, if you were consuming information, consuming data and looking at it objectively and trying to interpret it and process it objectively, then none of it was surprising,” LaRosa said.
The former White House official also claimed that Biden’s team was “scared to death” about letting the former president engage in impromptu and unrehearsed press conferences, telling Palmeri that Biden simply “couldn’t compete for the attention economy.”
“They just couldn’t do it. They didn’t have any idea. And they didn’t have the vessel either in Biden, by the way, who would have done anything. He loves TV. He loves doing stuff. It was the orbit that did not trust their own candidate,” he added.
Biden’s office did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Portnoy turns Musk’s viral question back on him as he raises concern about Tesla
While discussing Elon Musk’s role in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy revealed he was asked to join the Trump administration’s Department of Commerce – under a certain condition.
“They said a condition would be I can’t run Barstool Sports. Do you have somebody who could run it? Now, I don’t know if it was serious if I said yes, but if you’re running a company, it’s tough to also run the government it would seem,” Portnoy said during “Varney & Co.” on Friday.
Portnoy praised Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s efforts to rid the government of wasteful spending through DOGE, but questioned just how present Musk can be in running his company as his government efforts dominate headlines nationwide. Tesla stock surged after Trump returned to the White House, but is now on pace for its worst month on record.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 293.05 | +11.10 | +3.94% |
“I’m a big stockholder of Tesla and I certainly raise my eyebrows,” Portnoy said. “I like DOGE, I like what they’re doing. But let me tell you this, if you’re going to send out, and you got to call it both ways, if you’re going to send emails to federal workers and say, ‘What have you done for the last five days?’ I think Tesla shareholders are entitled to ask their CEO, Elon Musk, ‘What have you done for Tesla the last five days?'”
“Seemingly all he cares about right now is DOGE. Now, could it be coincidence that the stock is down 25% since he really started this? I guess,” he continued. “But I think it’s fair, as a shareholder of Tesla, to say, ‘What are you doing for Tesla shareholders?’ Now maybe you’re greasing the wheels, and you’ll get some deals through the government. I don’t know, but it’s certainly in bounds to ask.”
Musk ignited a firestorm this month when he emailed government employees asking them for five things they accomplished in the previous workweek, or face termination.
“Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week,” Musk wrote on X on Saturday. “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”
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He later appeared to walk back the termination threat after backlash, confirming shortly before Monday’s deadline that federal workers would be given another chance to respond to the request, and that failure to do so “will result in termination,” although the actual OPM email made no mention of any firings.
Musk later mentioned at President Donald Trump’s first Cabinet meeting that the email was simply a “pulse check.”
Despite questioning how much Musk is able to lead Tesla while his efforts are focused on DOGE, he commended the administration and said he was “overall happy” with the first 40 days – even despite bitcoin’s performance.
“I’m confused… on why bitcoin’s down. He’s the Bitcoin czar. That confuses me,” he said.
Varney also asked Portnoy whether he is staying out of meme coin.
“For now,” Portnoy said.
“Here’s the thing with this world,” he continued. “Everyone yells at you, calls you a scammer or a scumbag because people are losing money. For everyone who makes a couple bucks, someone’s losing a couple bucks. I got a lot of money. Is it worth my reputation to make another five, ten, 20 million? I don’t think so.”
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Judge shuts down Blake Lively for ‘overly intrusive’ request in bitter Baldoni battle
A judge shut down Blake Lively’s “overly intrusive” request for Justin Baldoni’s phone records in the heated legal battle.
Lively’s legal team subpoenaed the phone records of Baldoni and others involved in the courtroom showdown over an alleged plot to ruin the actress’ reputation. However, Judge Lewis Liman partially denied the actress’ request in an order filed Friday and obtained by Fox News Digital.
“The Court put a stop to Ms. Lively’s egregious attempt to invade our clients’ privacy,” Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “This is a big win. No matter how the Lively Parties may try to spin this decision, the Court saw their efforts for what they really are: a desperate fishing expedition intended to salvage their debunked claims long after they already savaged our clients’ reputations in the New York Times.”
JUSTIN BALDONI CALLS OUT BLAKE LIVELY FOR DEMANDING PRIVACY AFTER PUBLICIZING SEXUAL HARASSMENT ALLEGATIONS
Liman denied Lively’s request specifically for Baldoni’s records but gave the “Gossip Girl” star options to subpoena records from “non-parties.”
“This request implicates legitimate privacy interests,” the federal judge wrote. “Even though Lively has narrowed her request to exclude the content of calls or messages, the phone records themselves would still contain sensitive information regarding which doctors, psychologists, or even acquaintances the Wayfarer Parties spoke to, and when.”
BLAKE LIVELY VS. JUSTIN BALDONI: EVERYTHING TO KNOW
However, Lively will be able to request phone records of others who may have been involved in the alleged smear campaign.
“Lively may make discovery requests tailored to those individuals,” Liman noted. “She is permitted to use the tools of discovery to identify the contact information or telephone numbers for those individuals. Even assuming additional individuals participated in the alleged campaign, the hope that discovery will turn up information on such participants does not justify the broad scope of the Subpoenas.”
He added, “The Wayfarer Parties may assert a privacy interest in their own phone records, but they have not provided any basis for asserting an interest in the communications of non-parties.”
Lively’s team revealed that they are sending requests “directly” following Liman’s order.
“What is Bryan Freedman hiding? After promising to release all the ‘receipts,’ Freedman ran into court to keep secret the phone records of who Baldoni, Heath, Sarowitz, Nathan, Wallace and Abel were calling during their retaliatory campaign,” a spokesperson for Lively told Fox News Digital.
“So, instead of getting these records from the phone carriers the way we initially requested, the judge has ruled that if we simply submit more specific requests, we will be able to get the records we are seeking. Today we will do that, we are submitting those requests directly to defendants involved, and we look forward to seeing the records.”
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Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds’ legal team subpoenaed phone records of Baldoni and others on Feb. 13. Lively accused Baldoni of setting out on a smear campaign after allegedly sexually harassing the actress on the set of “It Ends With Us.”
“Ms. Lively has initiated discovery that will expose the people, tactics, and methods that have worked to ‘destroy’ and ‘bury’ her reputation and family over the past year,” Lively’s lawyers, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, told Fox News Digital in a statement at the time.
“We will now receive all of the ‘receipts’ that, unsurprisingly, are nowhere to be found on Mr. Freedman’s website, and like Ms. Lively, those ‘receipts’ will have their day in court.”
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In December, Lively detailed allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, intentional affliction of emotional distress, negligence and more against Baldoni and film producer Jamey Heath in a complaint first filed with the California Civil Rights Department and later in federal court.
Baldoni, in his own lawsuit filed in January, insisted that Lively had “falsely” accused him in an attempt to repair her reputation amid the fallout around the movie’s press tour after the actress took control of the film. Baldoni’s legal team claimed that Lively had no evidence of a deliberate smear campaign and instead had worked to repair her reputation by accusing the actor and others of sexual harassment.
In an amended complaint, Lively claimed that two additional female cast members are willing to testify during the scheduled 2026 trial. However, Baldoni’s lawyer slammed the new version of the lawsuit as “unsubstantial hearsay.”
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