Judge accused of helping illegal immigrant evade ICE claims right to ‘absolute immunity’
The legal team representing a Wisconsin judge accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities recently expanded their motion to dismiss the case.
Judge Hannah Dugan’s attorneys say that she is entitled to judicial immunity for her official acts and that the federal government overstepped its authority by arresting and charging her. Additionally, the legal team asserts in its memo that the charges violate the Constitution’s Tenth Amendment and the principle of separation of powers.
They further argue that Dugan can be charged for conduct that is “wholly unrelated” to her duties as a judge, such as taking bribes or violating someone’s constitutional rights. Dugan is not accused of doing either of those things in this case.
“The indictment itself is an ugly innovation. Its dismissal will not be,” Dugan’s attorneys write in the memo.
MILWAUKEE JUDGE HANNAH DUGAN ENTERS NOT GUILTY PLEA IN FEDERAL COURT
The Wisconsin judge is accused of helping illegal immigrant Eduardo Flores-Ruiz evade plainclothes ICE agents who were allegedly attempting to serve him a warrant.
A federal indictment claims Dugan “falsely” told the agents that they needed a judicial warrant and directed them to go to the chief judge’s office. Dugan then addressed the case off the record instead of holding the scheduled hearing. Flores-Ruiz faces three misdemeanor battery charges. Despite Dugan’s efforts, Flores-Ruiz was arrested.
NEW FOOTAGE SHOWS MILWAUKEE JUDGE CONFRONTING ICE BEFORE ALLEGEDLY HELPING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT EXIT
The Department of Homeland Security celebrated Flores-Ruiz’s arrest and slammed “activist judges” who, in the department’s view, have attempted to obstruct President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
“Since President Trump was inaugurated, activist judges have tried to obstruct President Trump and the American people’s mandate to make America safe and secure our homeland— but this judge’s actions to shield an accused violent criminal illegal alien from justice is shocking and shameful,” Assistant Secretary Dept. of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
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Footage released last week appears to show Dugan interacting with the ICE agents in a hallway before allegedly escorting Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a private exit.
On May 13, a grand jury indicted Dugan on federal charges of concealing a person from arrest and obstruction of justice. Dugan pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go to trial in July. If found guilty of both charges, she could face up to six years in prison and $350,000 in fines.
A member of Dugan’s legal team declined to comment on the case.
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Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman and Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.
Community left outraged after HOA sues veteran over American flag display
A disabled veteran in Volusia County, Florida, is at the center of a heated dispute with his homeowners association (HOA) over a flagpole installed in his yard.
According to Fox News affiliate WOFL-TV, the Countryside Villas PUD3 HOA has filed a lawsuit against the unnamed veteran, claiming he failed to obtain the required approval before erecting the permanent structure.
Despite the legal friction, community support for the veteran has surged, with neighbors speaking out against what they see as harassment and unnecessary litigation.
“Leave the veteran alone. He hasn’t done anything wrong,” Frank Johnson, a veteran himself, told the outlet. “He’s called me crying that they’re harassing him and bullying him. He’s served this country. He’s paid his dues. They wanted to get him on a flagpole and some weeds in the lawn. It’s pathetic. It’s really pathetic.”
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The HOA maintains that its actions are grounded in procedural compliance.
In a letter sent to the veteran, the association emphasized that it was not denying his right to fly the American flag, but rather enforcing a policy requiring prior approval for permanent flagpoles. The letter noted that the veteran’s military service does not exempt him from these rules.
The situation only escalated when the veteran refused to remove the flagpole, accruing $1,000 in fines. The HOA responded by initiating a lawsuit for $8,000 and threatening to place a lien on his property.
Orlando Law Managing Partner Jennifer Englert told WOFL-TV that this action may not be legally defensible. Englert explained that Florida statute says as long as the flagpole is under 20 feet, a homeowner can have a flagpole on their property, even if the HOA has rules against it.
“Why are you fighting about something that you know you have to allow? That is very clear,” she said.
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Concerned neighbors and a caregiver have come forward to condemn the HOA’s tactics, describing them as bullying and deeply disrespectful to someone who served the country.
Margaret Murphy, a resident who attended HOA meetings, took the issue to State Sen. Tom Wright, expressing in a letter that her own father’s legacy as a Pearl Harbor survivor compelled her to act.
“My father was a survivor in Pearl Harbor. He would be rolling over in his grave if I didn’t say something,” she told the outlet.
In a statement to WOFL-TV, The Countryside PUD Unit III-B HOA, Inc. Board of Directors said that they never told the veteran homeowner that the “flagpole/flag was prohibited.”
“Factually, this has never been about a flag or a flagpole. The resident was told via multiple correspondences that he absolutely can have them. The situation boils down to that he failed to submit an ARC application, which is required for flagpoles by the HOA. That rule has been in place since 1990,” they said.
“The resident was given multiple opportunities to remedy the situation including assistance from the American Legion and the Elks. He also was given an opportunity at a hearing that he never showed up for. Florida Statute makes it clear that an HOA resident also needs to follow the governing documents which he has failed to do. This situation is no different than any other architectural guidelines in our docs. As a result, a fine was imposed, and he failed to pay the fine.”
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A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for September.
Fox News Digital has reached out to The Countryside PUD Unit III-B HOA, Inc. Board of Directors for comment.
Loretta Swit, beloved ‘M*A*S*H’ star who played Major Houlihan, dies at 87
Loretta Swit, who starred as quick-witted Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in the TV series “M*A*S*H,” has died. She was 87.
A spokesperson for the actress confirmed to Fox News Digital that Swit passed away on Friday at her home in New York City. The suspected cause of death is natural causes.
In her lifetime, Swit was honored with several awards for her acting, including the People’s Choice Award, The Genie Award, The Silver Satellite Award, The Jean Golden Halo Award, the Pacific Broadcasters Award, and two Emmy Awards. With 10 Emmy nominations and four nominations for the Golden Globe, she most recently received her third Career Achievement Award.
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Swit previously made her Broadway debut in “Same Time, Next Year” opposite Ted Bessell and toured with Susan Hayward and Celeste Holm. She would go on to play the title role of “Mame” in New York and Pennsylvania.
Her television career boasts over 25 movies. She appeared in “Games Mother Never Taught You” with Sam Waterston, “Hell Hath No Fury” with Barbara Eden, “The Execution” with Rip Torn, “Dreams of Gold” with Cliff Robertson and “A Killer Among Friends” with Patty Duke. Swit also appeared in “The Muppet Show” with Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy.
She starred in “Stand Up and Be Counted” with Jacqueline Bisset, “Freebie and the Bean” with James Caan and Alan Arkin, “Race With the Devil” with Peter Fonda, “Beer” opposite Rip Torn, “S.O.B.” with Julie Andrews and William Holden, “Whoops Apocalypse” with Peter Cook and Herbert Lom, “Forrest Warrior” with Chuck Norris, and “BoardHeads” with Bronson Pinchot.
Swit was also known for her passion for animals. She set up the SwitHeart Animal Alliance to prevent cruelty and end animal suffering. She also raised awareness of other nonprofit organizations and programs that protected and rescued animals in need, as well as wildlife preservation. She created her critically-acclaimed art book, “SwitHeart,” which featured 65 full-color paintings and drawings. It raised money for numerous animal causes. She also launched a fragrance, SwitHeart, where all proceeds go to SwitHeart.
Back in 2023, Swit spoke to Fox News Digital about Major Margaret’s famous nickname.
“I understand nicknames come with great love and admiration for a character,” the star explained at the time. “But it was an insult as far as I was concerned. She wasn’t just a piece of anatomy. She was a major in the United States Army, and she should not be disrespected.”
WATCH: MIKE FARRELL TALKS ABOUT HIS FRIENDSHIP WITH ALAN ALDA
“This was a woman who had rank, who worked hard and wanted to be good at her job,” Swit shared. “She was an inspiration. I was proud of her. I was proud to represent all the servicewomen out there. I wanted to make a change.”
Swit said she was also proud of being part of the celebrated sitcom, so much so she was worried the nickname would overshadow the heroic efforts of real-life servicewomen, belittling them to a punchline.
“I didn’t want those women to be disrespected,” Swit reflected. “Obviously, people are going to see it differently. Margaret did not see [the nickname] as a compliment. She saw it as disrespect. So, yes, I would say it was never a comfort zone.”
Looking back, Swit admitted she even approached the writers of the show to phase out “Hot Lips.”
“I think my perseverance probably became very annoying,” she chuckled. “But I felt it was important for the women out there who were supporting our country. I kept telling the writers, ‘She’s so much more than this.’”
“M*A*S*H” was based on the 1968 novel by Richard Hooker, which led to the 1970 film by the same name. The series, set during the Korean War, aired from 1972 to 1983. The finale was watched in over 60% of U.S. homes.
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Over the years, Swit stayed in touch with veterans. Many also flock to her appearances. Those encounters, she said, made her fight to ditch the “Hot Lips” title worth it.
“I worked for a long time with World War II vets and got to know them really well,” she explained. “It made you realize how much work we needed to do in this country to support them. So many of them came back to a life that was foreign to them. It took them a long time to grasp the situation. They endured so much and many faced those struggles in silence. It has been the honor of my life to help get their stories out there.
“It has been a privilege, an honor, to meet so many of these wonderful heroes – they’re still my heroes,” she explained. “The very fact that a serviceman or woman puts themselves on the front lines and says, ‘I give you my life’ – that’s the ultimate sacrifice. And we just don’t thank them enough. They give their lives to our country. These are the best friends I’ll ever have. And they always deserve our respect.
“I often quote this wonderful thing that I read,” she continued. “It’s a statement: ‘What is a veteran? A veteran is someone who at one time in their lives wrote out a blank check made out to the United States of America, giving them the sum of up to and including their life.’ That says it all to me what exactly our servicemen and women do. How could such a statement not make you emotional? It’s a lasting feeling. It’s a feeling that will always stay with me.”
Swit said, hearing the stories of veterans has “enhanced” her life.
“It gives you such a deep appreciation for our country, for the sacrifices they made, even after they come back home,” she said. “It can be difficult to absorb their stories. But they need us. So many of them are misunderstood. And a simple thank-you goes such a long way.”
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While Swit played an army brat on TV, the role has given her more than fame, she pointed out.
“It introduced me to the real experiences of our servicemen and women,” she said. “And I gained so many friends along the way. These friendships will last forever. And that has truly been a gift.”
USDA unveils ‘one of the largest’ fraud, bribery schemes in its history
A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) employee and five others are under arrest as of Friday morning, after allegedly misappropriating tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer food stamp funds.
“At [the] USDA, we are hyper-focused… on rooting out that waste, fraud and abuse, and… yesterday was, if not the largest, one of [the] largest stings,” Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said Friday on “Mornings with Maria.”
“This is a new day, and President Trump promised, as he was traveling across the country over the last few years,” she continued, “that it would not be the government that we know.”
With the assistance of the FBI and U.S. attorney’s office, six individuals have been criminally charged with a bribe and fraud scheme that generated more than $66 million in unauthorized transactions under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), otherwise known as food stamps.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS’ MEDICAID WORK REQUIREMENTS COULD SEE MILLIONS KICKED OFF BENEFIT ROLLS
The defendants — Michael Kehoe, Mohamad Nawafleh, Omar Alrawashdeh, Gamal Obaid, Emad Alrawashdeh and Arlasa Davis — are accused of “conspiracy to steal government funds and to misappropriate U.S. Department of Agriculture benefits,” according to a press release.
Starting in 2019, the indictment states that Kehoe created a network that supplied 160 unauthorized electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards to stores across the New York area, to illegally process more than $30 million in EBT transactions.
“This fraud was made possible when USDA employee Arlasa Davis betrayed the public trust by selling confidential government information to the very criminals she was supposed to catch. Their actions undermined a program that vulnerable New Yorkers depend on for basic nutrition,” U.S. Attorney Perry Carbone said in the media release.
“These charges should be a reminder that those who exploit anti-poverty programs for personal gain will be held accountable for their crimes,” Carbone expanded.
The group also allegedly created fraudulent USDA applications, misappropriated license numbers and, in some cases, doctored application documents for unauthorized stores.
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“That is no longer going to be allowed here in Washington, and with these programs like the food stamp program. So we’re going to move forward, obviously in partnership with the FBI, with the Department of Justice, of course our team at USDA. This is not the ‘one and only,’” Rollins said. “There are going to be many more to come, and we’re gonna make sure that we’re delivering on our promises to the taxpayers.”
“It’s just the tip of the spear,” the secretary added. “We’re trying to lock it down right now to ensure that it doesn’t keep happening. But when you’ve got employees that basically don’t follow the law, then we’ve got to fix it, and that’s what we’re doing. There’s going to be real consequences for breaking the law across America’s federal government with President Trump, but this is just one of many more to come.”
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FOX News correspondent returns after successful Mount Everest summit climb
Fox News Senior Correspondent Mike Tobin has completed one of the riskiest feats in the world: climbing Mount Everest.
Along with a team, Tobin hiked the mountain in the Himalayas, reaching the highest point on Earth.
Tobin was back on the channel, joining “America’s Newsroom” on Friday from China to share the details of his experience.
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“Some people say weather-wise, it was one of the best summit windows they’ve seen in like 20 years,” said Tobin.
“And you compare that to the other people who climbed Everest this season — most of them got beat up on the summit.”
He said that his team saw people going down the mountain with “big black mittens on,” indicating that “they were covering up frostbite damage.”
Tobin shared that when he reached the summit, it was a little bit cloudy.
“I’m very well aware that 90% of the accidents happen on the way down and so you’re tired, you’re a little hypoxic, and it was a moment of concentration for me,” said Tobin.
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“I wanted to make sure that I didn’t let up because we still had a long way to get down to advanced base camp.”
In 2023, 12 climbers were reported dead while five went missing following 478 hiking permits issued by Nepal, according to Reuters.
“I was just trying to think, ‘Keep your head about yourself. Don’t make any mistakes, don’t turn what’s otherwise going to be a celebration into a tragedy.'”
About 700 to 1,000 climbers attempt the summit each year, with success rates ranging between 60% and 70%, according to Climbing Kilimanjaro.
“I was trying to think, ‘Keep your head about yourself. Don’t make any mistakes.'”
Tobin said he “certainly was spooked at different times on the climb,” sharing that it hit him when he came back down on the second step.
The second step is on the northeast ridge of Mount Everest, one of three major obstacles.
He said it was a bit “odd” as he “was pretty enthused on the way up,” but added that other team members shared the moment was spooky for them, too.
While in the “death zone,” Tobin participated in the 22 Pushup Challenge to raise awareness about the issue of veteran and first responder suicide.
“The only way you survive the death zone is to get in and out of there as fast as you can before the sand runs out of your hourglass or before the oxygen runs out of your bottle,” said Tobin.
The “death zone” is an area above 26,247 ft. on the mountain; the air is too thin to support human life without supplemental oxygen.
“It was kind of an add-on to the climb … You’ve seen some of the different events that people have done as far as the 22 push-ups in recognition of veteran suicide,” said Tobin.
“I hope that a troubled guy out there somewhere who was looking at suicide as a reasonable response to his troubles will realize that someone took the time to do that in a perilous situation and reconsider before he hurts himself,” he added.
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Tobin credited his wife for keeping him on track during his preparation leading up to the hike.
“Between work and training for Everest, there really wasn’t any time, and she ran the house and made sure I got fed.”
He shared that the training process was pretty “arduous.”
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“I did crazy kinds of training, like I’d take the sandbags that our cameramen use, and I put them in a backpack, and I ran up and down the Indiana Sand Dunes for hours at a time,” said Tobin.
Kentucky Democratic senator switches parties and reveals why she did it
Kentucky state Democratic Sen. Robin Webb, who represents Kentucky’s rural 18th Senate district, is switching her party affiliation to Republican after she says the Democrat Party “left me.”
“First and foremost, I’m a mother, a rancher and a lawyer with deep personal and professional roots in Kentucky’s coal country,” Webb explained. “As the Democratic Party continues its lurch to the left and its hyperfocus on policies that hurt workforce and economic development in my region, I no longer feel it represents my values.
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“It has become untenable and counterproductive to the best interests of my constituents for me to remain a Democrat.”
Webb was originally elected to the Kentucky State House after defeating Republican Ramona Gee in 1998.
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This comes as a major blow to Kentucky Democrats, who have historically held a stronghold in rural regions of the state largely due to union workers and the coal industry.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear told a local Louisville news outlet that he “would consider” a run as the Democratic nominee for president in 2028, and the newly elected Democratic governor and potential presidential candidate now faces an additional challenge to mobilize his state’s party ahead of the 2026 midterms.
“Like countless other Kentuckians, [Webb] has recognized that the policies and objectives of today’s Democratic Party are simply not what they once were, and do not align with the vast majority of Kentuckians,” Republican Party of Kentucky Chairman Robert Benvenuti said.
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“I always respected that [Webb] approached issues in a very thoughtful and commonsense manner, and that she never failed to keenly focus on what was best for her constituents,” Benvenuti added. “It is my pleasure to welcome Sen. Robin Webb to the Republican Party.”
Despite Beshear serving in the governor’s office, the attorney general’s office, secretary of state and both chambers of the state legislature have a Republican majority.
The Kentucky Democrat Party responded to Webb’s party switch, saying “she isn’t a Democrat.”
“Senator Webb has chosen to join a political party that is currently working around the clock to take health care away from over a million Kentuckians, wipe out our rural hospitals, take food off the table of Kentucky families and take resources away from our public schools,” Kentucky Democratic Party Chair Colmon Elridge told Fox News Digital. “If those are her priorities, then we agree: she isn’t a Democrat.”
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“While it’s cliché, it’s true: I didn’t leave the party — the party left me,” Webb said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Gov. Beshear’s office but did not receive a response.
Jurors intently watched Mia as defense attorney questioned her about alleged abuse
Sean “Diddy” Combs appeared in court Friday wearing a light-blue sweater, white shirt and black pants.
Following the lunch break, Diddy hugged his attorneys when they were all back in the courtroom. When Combs’ mother and sons returned, the rapper turned around, made eye contact with them and nodded.
As Mia walked into the courtroom to resume her testimony, she kept her head down. She walked quickly and was fidgeting with her hands. Throughout questioning, Mia kept her head down. She did not look up to make eye contact with anyone.
As Diddy’s attorney, Brian Steel, questioned her about a photo of Cassie and Mia from October 2015, one juror was holding the binder in her hands, looking at it intently. Two other jurors were taking notes.
When looking at the picture collage posted by Mia, Steel asked if the former assistant had put the alleged rape aside. She answered strongly, “Yes.” Some jurors were watching Mia. Others were looking down at the picture.
Later on, when Steel asked about another birthday post for Diddy being the same day as the anniversary of the sexual assault, the jurors quickly went from watching Steel to Mia.
The jurors intently watched Mia as she answered various questions.
Throughout Mia’s cross-examination, the defense team passed Steel pink post-it notes.
When Steel pulled up the handwritten birthday note from Mia to Diddy, the jurors carefully followed along. One juror raised his eyebrows twice as Mia read the note. The jurors looked back and forth between Steel and Mia as he asked and she answered questions. Again, Mia kept her head down as she responded to questions.
The jurors were paying close attention to Mia as she responded to questions about staying with Diddy even after he allegedly threatened to kill her.
Diddy’s ex-assistant, Mia,
finished up her direct examination before lunch Friday. The former employee testified that the rapper once threatened to kill her. According to Mia, she would get suspended from her job after witnessing the rapper become violent. Mia claimed she was once suspended without pay after calling Diddy a “psycho” to his security guard following an alleged violent outburst from the rapper.
Mia testified that she continued working for Combs until 2017. According to the ex-assistant, she did not feel like she could leave because she had tried to “run away before and it didn’t work.” The ex-assistant feared Diddy would try to ruin her reputation.
According to Mia, she suffers from PTSD due to her time working for the rapper. Mia told prosecutors that she can’t hold a job because she’s triggered by normal situations and has an overwhelming fear of being fired.
Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump responded to a question about a potential pardon for Sean “Diddy” Combs during a press conference Friday.
“I haven’t been watching it too closely…I haven’t seen him,” Trump told Fox News’ Peter Doocy in the Oval Office. “I haven’t spoken to him for years…I don’t know. I would certainly look at the facts. If I think somebody was mistreated, whether they like me or don’t like me it wouldn’t have any impact.”
Diddy has been on trial
for sex trafficking, racketeering and more since May 5. After completing jury selection the first week, testimony began with opening statements on May 12.
The jury has heard from Diddy’s ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, law enforcement and former employees. Most recently, the jury heard from “Mia” – an ex-employee of Diddy who claimed the rapper sexually assaulted her more than once.
Read more about Trump’s potential pardon.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ lawyer, Brian Steel, asked the rapper’s former assistant about contents of a gift she gave him for his 45th birthday in November 2014.
His ex-assistant, who is testifying under the alias Mia, told Steel that Combs’ former employee gave her an archive of information about the rapper. She had received scans of articles, which she collected for an album, with Combs’ name.
Mia had previously collected birthday shout-outs from Combs’ friends as a gift. In these gifts she also provided more admiration of Combs.
Steel shared a “book of magazine articles” that Mia gave to Combs for his 45th birthday. The attorney noted that the letter Mia wrote to go along with the gift was given to Combs personally.
The letter concluded with her saying she loved Combs, and that she meant it (at the time).
Mia noted that it’s hard to get someone who has a lot of money a present, so she felt that something like this would be more meaningful.
Fox News’ Brendan McDonald contributed to this report.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former assistant shared that she would help the rapper, even when she was at her wit’s end.
Combs’ ex-assistant, who is testifying under the alias Mia, told the court that she is an “empath” and a “follower.”
Mia said that allowing herself to be mistreated did not only occur in incidents with Combs.
She said she forgives people all the time for things.
Mia noted that if she was ever pushed to the edge, Combs would say that she is right and that he needs her.
She previously testified that by November 2014 she had been sexually assaulted multiple times by Combs.
Fox News’ Brendan McDonald contributed to this report.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’
ex-assistant claimed her ability to stay around the rapper was due to the alleged psychological abuse.
Diddy’s defense lawyer, Brian Steel, shared a “book of magazine articles” that Mia gave to Combs for his 45th birthday. The attorney noted that the letter Mia wrote to go along with the gift was given to Combs personally, and not shared on social media like the other exhibits.
The letter concluded with Mia, who is testifying anonymously, saying she loved Diddy, and that she meant it. She told the attorney that it’s hard to get someone who has a lot of money a present, so she felt that something like this would be more meaningful.
“The man who you say has ruined your life, this is what you say to him?” Steel questioned.
He asked how Mia could even stand to be around Diddy, or have him near her family. Mia replied that it was a result of psychological abuse.
Mia claimed she was always in trouble and trying to find a way to not be in trouble, so when things went well she valued it greatly.
Fox News’ Brendan McDonald contributed to this report.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’
former assistant, who is testifying under the pseudonym Mia, has been shown several of her previous social media posts by Combs’ lawyer Brian Steel during cross-examination.
Mia was shown photos she posted of her and Combs at Burning Man and other events, apparently having a good time.
While on the stand, Mia read a post from August 2016. The post contained a collage of photos of her and Cassie Ventura, Combs’ ex-girlfriend, where Mia said how good of a friend she was and how much she loved her.
Mia discussed a post containing a pop-up shop for D-Roc’s clothing brand.
Steel argued that these posts emphasized Mia’s support for Combs.
Mia was then shown another post made on Combs birthday. Mia thanked Combs for dinner and praised him again. She referred to the rapper as “awesome.”
Mia said that she meant the praise toward him at the time.
Mia was asked to ID people in the photo. She said they are all Combs’ friends, including, Justin, Christian, Janice, D-Roc and Mia, who was positioned next to Combs.
There are an assortment of other friends of Combs in the photo like choreographers, stylists, security. This photo, again taken on November 4th, is the last birthday that she would be with Combs. She was notified that she would be terminated that December.
Fox News’ Brendan McDonald contributed to this report.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ defense team continued to confront his former employee, Mia, with her own social media posts after a long lunch break.
Mia, testifying under a pseudonym, was shown a social media post with a collage of photos. The post appeared to be made on November 4th, Diddy’s birthday. Mia testified that she had tried to suppress the significance of the date as it made her remember Diddy.
Diddy’s defense attorney, Brian Steel, pointed out that the post containing photos of Diddy and a caption praising the rapper was made at the same time Mia alleged he was doing unspeakable things to her.
Steel added that he doesn’t understand why Mia would put all of these things aside to praise the “Last Night” rapper.
Fox News’ Brendan McDonald contributed to this report.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former assistant is back on the witness stand for cross-examination after the court took a lunch break at 12:34pm ET.
Combs’ lawyer, Brian Steel, is resuming the cross-examination of Mia, the rapper’s ex-assistant who is testifying under an alias.
Steel joined Combs’ legal team in April, along with other powerhouse lawyers: Marc Agnifilo, Teny Geragos, Alexandra A.E. Shapiro, Anna Estevao, Jason Driscoll, Xavier Donaldson and Nicole Westmoreland.
Fox News’ Brendan McDonald contributed to this report.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has gotten continued support from his mother, Janice Combs, throughout his sex trafficking and racketeering trial.
His mother has been present at almost every day of testimony.
Janice previously defended Diddy in a statement shared with Fox News Digital at the time.
“It is heartbreaking to see my son judged not for the truth, but for a narrative created out of lies,” Janice Combs wrote, in part, this past October. “To bear witness what seems to be like a public lynching of my son before he has had the opportunity to prove his innocence is a pain too unbearable to put into words. Like every human being, my son deserves to have his day in court, to finally share his side, and to prove his innocence.”
Diddy’s former partners have also attended court, including Misa Hylton. The fashion designer, who is the mother of Diddy’s son Justin, left the courthouse abruptly during a break in Cassie’s testimony during the first week.
While the testimony from Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ex-employee, Mia, has been “extremely powerful,” her allegations don’t help prove the prosecution’s RICO charges, an expert told Fox News Digital.
Mia, testifying under a pseudonym, told the court about the “toxic” environment she experienced working for the rapper. The rapper’s moods allegedly dictated how Mia was treated. According to the ex-assistant, Diddy threw things at her, once threw her into a wall, threw her into a pool and slammed her arm into a door.
“The highs were really high and the lows were really low,” Mia told prosecutors.
The ex-assistant also claimed Diddy sexually assaulted her more than once.
“Mia’s testimony was extremely powerful and will have a major effect on the jury,” attorney David S. Seltzer explained. “It will hit hard with anyone who hears the abuse she endured. The Government has clearly proven that Mr. Combs is a reprehensible person who committed despicable acts – but what we didn’t hear is how the acts against Mia support the government’s case as charged.”
“It doesn’t tie together prior testimony to the charges,” the lawyer added. “It is still individual/isolated violations of State law, with the statute of limitations having run. RICO is very specific, and involves a for profit enterprise between multiple people. So far we have one person, Mr. Combs, who is not a mobster, but a rapist.”
Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
Atlanta-based lawyer, Brian Steel , joined Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal team on April 15, joining Marc Agnifilo, Teny Geragos, Alexandra A.E. Shapiro, Anna Estevao, Jason Driscoll, Xavier Donaldson and Nicole Westmoreland.
After graduating from Fordham University School of Law, Steel initially began his career as a tax attorney, but has since taken on clients accused of many crimes, including RICO, wire fraud, immigration fraud and money laundering to murder, armed robbery, drug offenses, rape and child sex offenses.
Diddy isn’t the first rapper Steel has defended in his career, having defended rapper
Young Thug in 2022 when he was indicted under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), as authorities claimed he used his music label YSL as cover for a violent gang.
After spending 30 years defending people accused of criminal conduct, Steel told the New Yorker, “I don’t believe allegations…I go into it believing the person is innocent.”
“The more challenging the case is, the more likely I’ll take it,” Steel told the outlet. “Do I like the person I’m defending? That’s the main thing.”
In addition to being known as a “legend” in his career, Steel is known for his clean lifestyle.
“Brian doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke and can’t believe anybody would,” lawyer David Botts told the New Yorker. “He won’t curse, even in court, even if he’s reading from a transcript. So when he’s cross-examining, he’ll say, ‘So-and-so F-word.’ The court will say, ‘Mr. Steel, you can read that word.’ But Brian still won’t do it.”
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ex-assistant testified that the rapper would punish her for reacting to his alleged attacks on Cassie Ventura.
Diddy’s defense lawyer, Brian Steel, asked if Mia said anything about the rapper violating her in the posts she shared to social media. Mia responded, “Never.”
The jury was shown a post from Mia’s personal social media account from October of 2014. The photo featured Diddy at a Revolt conference in Miami. Mia wrote, “Legends recognizing legends…” Mia told Diddy’s attorney this “legend” traumatized her.
Another post from Mia’s personal social media account from April 6, 2016 was shown. The photo was of the “Last Night” rapper and Jimmy Iovine. Mia wrote, “The Diddy door has finally been christened…” Steel asked if Mia posted a photo of the person who ruined her life. Mia replied yes, and pointed out Diddy was her boss and the person she was with all the time.
Mia explained to the jury the dynamics would shift. When things were good, you would forget about the bad things. Steel questioned how someone could forget about waking up to a man on top of you. Mia said it’s too horrible to think about. She explained that she was afraid when the moments weren’t good and added that there were actually moments when she felt bad for Diddy.
Steel asked about Diddy allegedly throwing Cassie into the bedpost. Mia replied, “You don’t forget that. You get punished for reacting to it.”
Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former assistant, who is testifying under the pseudonym “Mia,” testified that by November 2014 she had been sexually assaulted multiple times by the rapper.
When asked during cross-examination about her positive social media posts about the rapper at the time, Mia said she would highlight the highs and that people don’t promote the bad things on Instagram.
One of Combs’ lawyers, Brian Steel, asked why she would promote the man who is traumatizing her. Mia said it was a cycle of ups and downs.
Steel proceeded to ask Mia if she was afraid of Combs every day. Mia said she was not afraid of Combs on the days he called her his “best friend.” He then asked if she was afraid of the man who stole her innocence. She replied, “Yes… I was in fear anytime Puff was not happy.”
Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ defense confronted his ex-assistant with social media posts she voluntarily shared while working for the rapper.
The jury was shown a post from Mia’s personal social media account from Nov 4, 2013 – Diddy’s birthday. In the photo, Mia is wearing a hospital gown, replicating giving birth, from a video shoot. Diddy was “delivering” the baby. In the caption, Mia was thanking the rapper for letting her give birth to her ideas and dreams.
Mia testified that it was a comedy video shoot. Diddy’s defense lawyer, Brian Steel, pointed out Mia posted this image of her alleged rapist.
The jury was then shown another post from Mia’s personal social media account celebrating Diddy’s birthday. Steel asked if Mia is commemorating the day she was allegedly assaulted. In the picture, Diddy was holding his genitals in his hand. Mia wrote, “You are one of my greatest friends…”
Mia confirmed she picked this picture to post. Steel asked if Mia was proud of Diddy. She said no, claiming she wrote it because Instagram was a place to post how great your life was, even if it wasn’t true. Mia said Diddy and his fans followed her. The ex-assistant also claimed she didn’t want her family to know her misery.
Another post from Mia’s personal social media account from Dec 2013 was shown in court. The post featured a photo of Mia and Diddy. The ex-assistant wrote “#tbt to before I had real friends…” She agreed with Diddy’s defense lawyer that she chose to post this.
Mia admitted she made all these posts voluntarily.
Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ex-assistant testified that she may have been drugged before the rapper sexually assaulted her.
During cross-examination, Diddy’s defense lawyer, Brian Steel, asked about the alleged rape at Combs’ 40th birthday party.
Mia confirmed she took two shots of alcohol.
The former assistant testified on Thursday that Diddy gave her two shots of alcohol, which she claimed “hit me kind of hard.” Diddy went to kiss Mia and had his hand up her dress, she testified. Mia claimed she did not want Diddy to kiss her or put his hand up her dress, but she couldn’t say no.
Steel asked during cross-examination if Mia believes she may have been drugged. After a pause, Mia told the attorney she never said that. Then Mia said, “It’s a possibility, yes.”
She confirmed Diddy allegedly put his hands under her dress and her next memory is of waking up in a chair.
Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former assistant, Mia, spoke more about the trauma she endured working for the rapper during cross-examination.
Mia worked for Diddy from 2009 until 2017.
Diddy’s defense lawyer, Brian Steel, asked about the trauma Mia endured. The ex-employee confirmed she slept in a room without a lock. She claimed Diddy came into a room and violated her. Mia also reiterated to the attorney that if someone calls her name, she panics.
Mia agreed with Diddy’s defense lawyer that “Sean Combs’ conduct was the worst thing that ever happened to her.”
Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ex-assistant, testifying in his sex trafficking trial under a pseudonym, claimed she suffers from severe PTSD.
Mia testified that she does not work now. According to Mia, she has tried to work since leaving her job working for Diddy. However, she claimed she suffers from complex, severe PTSD.
Mia said that she can’t hold a job because she’s triggered by normal situations and has an overwhelming fear of being fired. Diddy’s ex-employee said she often misinterprets simple emails and someone saying “where are you” leads to her “freaking out.” Mia claimed all the feelings of getting in trouble come flooding back. According to Mia, Diddy caused these feelings.
Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
Sean “Diddy” Combs
texted his former assistant twice after Cassie Ventura filed her sexual abuse lawsuit against the rapper.
Cassie accused Diddy of abuse and rape in her lawsuit filed in November 2023. The singer-songwriter settled the lawsuit with Diddy one day later.
Mia, testifying under a pseudonym, told the jury Friday that she received two texts from Diddy after the lawsuit drama. The first message was sent to her on Feb. 4, 2024.
Diddy texted asking to call. Mia said did not respond. “I was terrified,” she told prosecutors.
The next message was sent to the ex-assistant on Feb. 7, 2024. In the message, Diddy asked to talk with Mia in order to have his “memory jogged.” Mia claimed she didn’t respond because she “wanted nothing to do with him or anything.” According to Mia, she believed these messages were “a front.”
Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
Mia, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ex-employee, testified she received a call from the rapper and his security after Cassie Ventura filed her civil lawsuit in November of 2023.
Diddy’s security guard, D-Roc, texted the former assistant after Cassie’s lawsuit. Mia claimed she was excited to hear from D-Roc. She did not think he was still working with Combs at that point.
On Nov. 30, 2023, D-Roc called Mia. According to Mia, D-Roc started catching her up on his life, but then switched to what was going on.
“Puff and Cass would just fight like a normal couple,” she recalled the security guard telling her on the phone. Mia said her alarm went off because D-Roc didn’t talk like that. The ex-assistant claimed D-Roc had witnessed the violence between Combs and Cassie. Mia said D-Roc sounded nervous and was talking in circles. D-Roc allegedly told her that Diddy missed Mia and that other people also agreed Combs and Cassie fought. Mia said she chose to keep her mouth shut.
Mia said D-Roc told her he was in Miami and she understood him to be at Combs’ home. According to Mia, it sounded like they wanted her to say something publicly. Mia testified that she didn’t want to talk to Diddy “because [she] was terrified.” Mia explained she was terrified on the call and felt like she needed to get a game plan. Mia chose to play dumb because she didn’t want her life to be in danger.
According to Mia, Combs called her shortly after the call with D-Roc. Mia said she threw her phone as hard as she could into the couch and ran outside because “it was so triggering.”
Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ex-assistant explained why she didn’t disclose that the rapper had sexually assaulted her while testifying Friday.
Mia told the jury there was a mediation after she left Combs’ company in 2017. According to Mia, her attorney asked for about $10 million. Mia revealed some of the physical abuse. She said she felt “really wrong and shameful” because she was breaking confidentiality. The former assistant claimed she did not reveal anything about the sexual assaults because she wanted to die with those secrets. Mia settled for about $400K, and personally received about $200K.
Mia said after mediation, she next spoke with Diddy in November of 2018 when Kim Porter died. Porter was the mother of Diddy’s children. Mia reached out to the “Last Night” rapper. She claimed she felt terrible for Diddy and his family and believed the mediation was her fault.
Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former assistant once tried to run away from the rapper during a trip to St. Barts.
Mia testified that she went on a New Year’s Eve trip in 2010 with Diddy, Kim Porter
, the kids and an executive assistant of the rapper’s. Mia said she stayed on a yacht that Combs chartered during the trip. According to Mia, Diddy asked her to count the money in the safe. Mia counted it and Diddy allegedly “got really angry…that I was counting too slow.” Mia claimed she was “in shock” because he got irate and she was trying to count and make sure it was right. Mia said Combs chased her out of the room and cursed at her.
Mia testified that the money was more than $100 and explained security would normally count money for Diddy.
Mia said she ran to hide and begged the crew to get back to the mainland, but it was “like a hurricane” so they couldn’t. Mia testified that she hid from Diddy on the third floor. Kim allegedly came up and consoled Mia.
Mia said she saw Combs come up to the third floor “super angry” so she ran down the stairs and hid in the crew cabin. Mia eventually got to shore and the captain got a call that “I had to come back.” Mia did not want to go back, “I just wanted to run and hide and figure out a way out of St. Barts…away from him.”
However, she could not leave because someone on Combs’ staff had her passport. Mia went back because she felt she had to, “I obeyed Puff’s orders.”
According to Mia, she traveled with Diddy to Vegas from the New Year’s Eve trip.
Mia claimed she got into a car with Diddy, who was on the phone with someone. Combs was allegedly “telling a story that wasn’t true.” Mia said she interrupted, but didn’t get to finish because Diddy screamed at her and told someone else to deal with Mia. The ex-assistant claimed she was told to get on the jet and do what Combs says. Mia testified that she went to Vegas. “I didn’t think I had a choice,” she told prosecutors. Mia said she was “overwhelmed with fear” that she would be in trouble, fired and had no way out.
Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
“Mia,” a former assistant of Sean “Diddy” Combs, told the jury she didn’t leave her job working for the rapper over fears he would ruin her reputation.
Mia testified that she continued working for Combs until 2017. According to the ex-assistant, she did not feel like she could leave because she had tried to “run away before and it didn’t work.”
Mia claimed she did not think she could get another job because “[Diddy] would have made sure of it.” She told prosecutors she believed Combs “would have destroyed my reputation…I was scared of him.”
Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former assistant was allegedly suspended without pay after telling security the rapper was “psycho.”
Mia, testifying anonymously, sent an email to Diddy’s security guard, D-Roc, on March 25, 2011.
In the email, shown to the jury, Mia wrote that Combs was “psycho” and “went crazy” because he didn’t see all his workout clothes options. She asked D-Roc for a warning before Diddy came back home because she was afraid she would face the same thing and be in trouble. After this incident, HR told Mia that Combs wanted her suspended without pay.
Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ex-assistant, Mia, testified that when she would get suspended from her job, HR or a chief of staff would typically tell her. Before suspensions, there would be “some sort of violent situation.” According to Mia, she was either chased or reacting to a violent situation by Diddy. She was also once allegedly suspended for oversleeping after being awake for days.
The jury was shown notice from the head of HR to Mia on March 31, 2011. The judge pointed out the exhibit needed further redactions.
Mia explained before she got the document, she was suspended without pay. She said she had been at Diddy’s home in Los Angeles. He was allegedly coming in from a hotel and had asked for a lot of options for certain workout clothes, which was typically the stylist’s job. According to Mia, Combs wasn’t in the best of moods and didn’t notice the then-assistant had laid the options out for him. He allegedly “began cursing me out and getting angrier and angrier and going on a rant about the lack of options and how he hated certain things.”
Mia claimed she tried to point out the other options and that “made him even more angry and it was really…he was just screaming and cursing at me.” Mia said she doesn’t remember, but “something violent happened.”
Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former assistant, testifying under the name “Mia,” claimed she would be physically or emotionally abused if she disobeyed the rapper.
During testimony Friday, the jury was shown an email from Mia to Diddy regarding traveling home from South Africa that had been forwarded to the “Last Night” rapper’s chief of staff, Kristina “KK” Khorram.
Mia had written to Combs that she was embarrassed because the ex-assistant had booked her flight with her own money and if she changed the flight she would incur a charge she couldn’t afford. Mia explained she had to change her flight before at Diddy’s direction and it was expensive to keep changing.
In the next email, Mia wrote to clarify when Diddy wanted her back in the U.S. because Cassie was upset and “really heartbroken.” She told Diddy she would do whatever he wanted because she worked for him.
“From past experience, it didn’t matter what I wanted or anyone else wanted. He was in charge,” she told prosecutors.
Mia said if she didn’t do as Combs wished, she would have been in big trouble. According to Mia, she would have been suspended, fired, emotionally or physically abused.
Mia said these emails were sent after the alleged sexual abuse had begun. She wanted to stay with Cassie, but didn’t want to make Diddy mad. She signed them “love you” but did not love Combs romantically.
Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
Sean “Diddy” Combs threatened to “go to war” with his then-assistant if she didn’t call him back.
“Mia,” testifying anonymously, told the jury that Diddy’s girlfriend Cassie Ventura was refusing to speak to him after finding out the rapper was seeing another woman.
The jury was shown a message where Diddy was allegedly threatening Mia if she didn’t call him back. Mia had taken a screenshot of a WhatsApp message that was sent to her by the rapper in October of 2015. Combs wrote, “If you don’t call me now, f— it all…f— her…call my hs now…f— ABC and all lawyers. Let’s go to war…” Mia said Diddy was threatening to tell Cassie about the sexual assaults “framed differently” to make them appear Mia had played a part in them. Mia said that made her feel “so scared.”
Mia explained that while in South Africa, she started writing and working on a comedy show based on her life and it was being sold to ABC. According to Mia, Combs was threatening the show. Mia responded that she would pull Cassie out of the fitting when she could, “Please extend my time to nine minutes. Please. I’m begging you.”
In a later message, Mia told Diddy Cassie needed time to change and she begged the rapper to be nice. There were then multiple “call me now” messages from Diddy. Mia responded that she woke up with all these messages on her phone.
Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former assistant claimed the rapper once threatened to kill her.
While testifying under a pseudonym Friday, “Mia” recalled traveling to South Africa with Cassie Ventura to shoot a movie in 2015.
Diddy allegedly wanted Mia there to help out. Mia said while in South Africa, Cassie caught Combs cheating
on her. Cassie allegedly saw a video online with Gina in it. Mia testified that Cassie was “devastated.” She added that Cassie and Diddy talked on the phone, but the singer-songwriter later refused to answer his calls. According to Mia, Combs had his chief of staff, Kristina “KK” Khorram, and others try to get Cassie on the phone. Mia testified she was put in the middle between Diddy and Cassie.
The jury was then shown messages between Mia and KK from October of 2015. They read the messages out loud in court. KK wrote, “PD wants to talk to you.” Mia responded, “She [Cassie] just tried to call him.” There were also “audio calls not completed” because Mia didn’t pick up the phone.
Mia explained she didn’t pick up some calls because of the time difference. Mia said she did eventually speak to Diddy. According to Mia, Diddy wasn’t in his right mind. She described the rapper as “irate,” slurring his words and said he threatened Mia’s job. “He threatened to kill me,” she told prosecutors.
In other calls, Diddy told Mia to get on a plane and come back and continued to allegedly threaten her job and her life.
They continued to read messages between Mia and KK in court. One of the messages read that if Mia didn’t call Diddy she would be fired. Mia testified these threats would make her feel terrified.
Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former assistant testified that she still told the rapper she loved him after he allegedly sexually assaulted her.
Using the anonymous pseudonym “Mia,” Diddy’s ex-employee claimed she continued to tell him she loved him because that’s just how they talked.
During her testimony Thursday, the ex-assistant told the jury that the “Last Night” rapper sexually assaulted her at his Los Angeles home. Mia said she was sleeping in an unlocked room that had bunk beds. She allegedly woke up with Diddy on top of her, with instructions to be quiet. Mia testified that Diddy used one hand to get his pants off.
She claimed through tears, “He put himself inside of me.”
“I just froze,” Mia said on the stand. “I didn’t react.” She said she felt “terrified and confused and ashamed … and scared.”
Mia testified that she did not want to have sex with Diddy. The assault was allegedly very quick, “but felt like forever.” She didn’t remember how it ended, but she claimed he didn’t leave the job unfinished.
Fox News’ Maria Paronich and Fox News Digital’s Tracy Wright contributed to this report.
Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested in September 2024 on federal charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, after his homes in Miami and Los Angeles were raided. However, this isn’t the first time he has had a brush with the law.
Diddy faced seven years in prison in 1997 after he was charged with assault for attacking Steve Stoute, an executive at Interscope Records. The rapper posted $15,000 bail, and ended up being sentenced to a one-day anger management class, according to People magazine.
Later in 1998, Diddy and his then girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, were arrested following a shooting at a nearby club. Diddy was charged with illegal possession of a weapon, but was later acquitted of the crime. The charges against Lopez were dropped.
In 2015, Diddy was arrested on three counts of assault with a deadly weapon when a UCLA football coach accused him of swinging a kettlebell at him. The charges were later dropped.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal trial for sex crimes has entered its third week, with the entirety of the trial expected to last eight weeks.
The disgraced rapper has been denied bail multiple times and continues to be held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, where he has been since his arrest in September 2024.
While in the detention center, the rapper’s meal choices are limited, especially for breakfast, which occurs every morning at 6AM. The daily breakfast menu includes fruit, cereal, breakfast cake, sugar substitute packages and skim milk.
Diddy has spent many holidays, including Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as his birthday, in the detention center.
On Christmas Day, Diddy’s menu featured baked Cornish hen, macaroni and cheese, cranberry sauce, dinner rolls and a “holiday dessert,” however no special accommodations were made for his birthday meals.
He is expected to stay in the detention center throughout the entirety of the federal trial for alleged racketeering and sex trafficking.
Sean “Diddy” Combs appeared in the court room Friday ahead of continued testimony from the rapper’s ex-assistant. “Mia,” who has been testifying under a pseudonym will take the stand again today.
Diddy sat at the defense table wearing a light-colored sweater while his team discussed issues with the prosecution and Judge Arun Subramanian.
The federal judge asked the defense what their current access to Diddy is. Diddy’s lawyer, Marc Angifilo, claimed they see him starting at 8:00am, on breaks and here in the courthouse until 5:00pm every day.
According to Agnifilo, Diddy doesn’t have “minutes” left to make calls at MDC Brooklyn. Judge Subramanian noted Combs has only used 47 of his 300 minutes for May. The judge also said they can increase the minutes. He asked the defense to figure out the discrepancy.
The federal judge claimed Diddy’s case is pushing the boundaries, but said he can get Combs to court by 7:00am to confer with counsel and allow him to stay at court until 6:00pm every day.
Agnifilo said part of the problem is that the facility they are in at the courthouse does not allow for Diddy to view documents like he can at MDC.
Judge Subramanian said the other option would be to bring the rapper back to the MDC earlier. He told Diddy’s defense team to see if what he presented would work to fix the time issue and noted he will work on the documents issue. Subramanian also pointed out the access Agnifilo has to Combs is much greater than in any other case.
Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
During the third week of testimony in the federal trial for sex crimes against Sean “Diddy” Combs, the jury heard from the disgraced rapper’s former assistant.
His former assistant, who testified anonymously using the moniker “Mia,” got emotional while on the stand, as she testified to feeling powerless as Diddy allegedly sexually assaulted her once at his Los Angeles home and another time in New York during his 40th birthday celebrations.
Former federal prosecutor, Neama Rahmani, told Fox News Digital that Mia’s testimony as the fourth former Diddy assistant to take the stand “was the best because she corroborated the prior testimony and was a victim of her own.”
“Diddy was violent with her. He threw an ice bucket, bowl of spaghetti, turkey meat, computer and phone at her, threw her against doors and walls, and threw her into a pool,” Rahmani said of the allegations made in court on Thursday. “She was paid $50K to start and worked days straight with little to no sleep. She had to take Adderall to stay awake. This is forced labor for racketeering.”
Mia also testified
to Cassie Ventura’s alleged abuse, describing “the time Combs slammed Cassie Ventura’s head on the corner of the bed and ‘cracked her head open,’” Rahmani added.
“I couldn’t tell him, no … I couldn’t tell him no about anything,” Mia said during her testimony. “I knew his power … control over me. I didn’t want to lose anything I worked so hard for.”
Fox News Digital’s Tracy Wright contributed to this report.
Judge Arun Subramanian has allowed Sean “Diddy” Combs to wear “non-prison” clothes for his trial.
The rapper was permitted five button down shirts, up to five pairs of pants, up to five sweaters, up to five pairs of socks, and up to two pairs of shoes without laces.
On the first day of testimony in the case, Diddy wore a khaki sweater over a white shirt with khaki pants.
“That change may seem minor, but it actually matters quite a bit,” criminal defense attorney Duncan Levin explained to Fox News Digital. “The optics of a defendant’s appearance can have a subtle but powerful effect on jurors. If he were forced to wear jail-issued clothing, it could create an unconscious presumption of guilt — even though jurors are instructed not to let that factor in. Allowing him to appear in normal clothing helps level the playing field and reinforces the presumption of innocence.”
“Especially in a case like this, where celebrity, image, and public perception are already playing such an outsized role, letting him look like a free man rather than a prisoner helps ensure the jury is focused on the evidence, not the wardrobe,” the lawyer, who worked on Harvey Weinstein’s defense, said.
Entertainment attorney Tre Lovell added: “Perception is very important. Based on the egregious allegations against Diddy, he needs to be presented in the exact opposite. The way he dresses, the way he conducts himself and the way he acts towards court, the participants and the jury is all extremely important. The prosecution is going to paint a very ugly picture of a violent rapist, and the jury needs to see a vision of someone that is kind and professional.”
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ trial began with jury selection on May 5 and could last up to two months.
During a hearing prior to the trial, the prosecution claimed they expect their case to take six weeks to argue, while Combs’ legal team estimated they would need two weeks to complete their defense. However, on Tuesday, the government told the judge they believe their case will take closer to five weeks instead of six.
Combs is accused of running a criminal enterprise through his various businesses. He used “firearms, threats of violence, coercion and verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse” to fulfill his sexual desires, according to the unsealed indictment obtained by Fox News Digital.
According to court documents, Combs would force his victims to participate in what he called “freak offs.”
“Freak Offs were elaborate and produced sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded,” authorities stated. The indictment alleges the rapper was known to provide IV fluids to his victims following “freak offs” to recover from physical exertion and drug use.
Diddy has denied the allegations against him.
Fox News Digital’s Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report.
Defense seeks to admit explosive texts allegedly from Michael Proctor: ‘Pin it on the girl’
Following Judge Beverly Cannone sending the jury in Karen Read’s trial home for the weekend, the defense called Jonathan Diamandis to the stand for a voir dire hearing.
Diamandis is a long-time friend of former investigator Michael Proctor and was questioned by defense attorney David Yannetti about a text message group involving Proctor.
Yannetti argued to admit the text messages to show the mindset of Proctor following the death of former Boston police officer John O’Keefe.
“[Proctor] treated some people with kid gloves and other people with brass knuckles,” Yannetti said. “He’s stating it in these text messages. ‘She’s going to go down for this. We’re going to pin it on the girl. We’re going to make sure that there are some serious charges.’”
Special prosecutor Hank Brennan argued the defense should instead call Proctor, who is named on the witness list, instead of Diamandis.
“The person that could best authenticate these text messages is Michael Proctor,” Brennan said. “This witness does nothing as far as identifying the individual text messages and whether they’re reliable. Whether there’s been any additions [or] deletions.”
Crash reconstruction expert Matt DiSogra testified on cross-examination with special prosecutor Hank Brennan that based on his review of Aperture’s data surrounding Karen Read’s vehicle, he is not suggesting that Read’s vehicle was not in a collision the morning of Jan. 29, 2022.
“Do you have an opinion to a reasonable degree of forensic data certainty about whether the Techstream data provides data reflecting whether a collision actually occurred?” Brennan asked.
“No,” DiSogra said.
“You are not testifying or offering an opinion that there was no collision with this car that night,” Brennan said. “Are you?”
“No,” DiSogra replied.
Brennan then concluded questioning of DiSogra, with defense attorney Alan Jackson returning for direct examination.
“[DiSogra] was excellent,” retired Massachusetts Superior Court Judge and Boston College law professor Jack Lu told Fox News Digital. “The fault is preparation by the lawyer and definition of the scope of the assignment by the lawyer.”
Lu pointed to DiSogra’s demeanor on the stand as Jackson returned for more questioning, noting DiSogra started strong but appeared “unnerved” by the prosecution.
“He is less confident now than during direct examination,” Lu said. “Even though they are on redirect.”
Karen Read’s trial returned after a lunch recess Friday afternoon with crash reconstructionist Matt DiSogra returning to the witness stand for cross-examination.
Special prosecutor Hank Brennan pointed to the difference in timestamps between Read’s vehicle turning on the car’s infotainment system, noting a three-second delay between both events.
DiSogra then confirmed his conclusions are based on reports by Aperture analysts Shanon Burgess and Dr. Judson Welcher, with Brennan asserting that DiSogra was relying on Aperture’s reporting regarding the synchronization of cell phone clocks upon being connected to a vehicle’s infotainment system.
“My conclusions are based on all of the data that Mr. Burgess laid out,” DiSogra said. “So he laid these out and went so far as to calculate the offsets himself. So there is something implied in his table, by virtue of him calculating these, that maybe he would decide to align them. And so to provide clarity on all the possible alignments, I included them.”
Karen Read stopped to greet supporters outside Norfolk Superior Court as her trial was on a lunch recess Friday afternoon.
“I know most of them personally at this point,” Read said. “Over the last three and a half years, and they’re here every day and I can’t tell you what this does to my spirits every day.”
Upon being asked by reporters how she is feeling about being a defendant for a second trial, Read said she “feels battle-tested this time.”
The support comes as Read’s defense team is halfway through the first day of presenting their case for her innocence, asserting that there was never a collision between Read and John O’Keefe on the morning of his death.
Massachusetts trial attorney Grace Edwards says Karen Read’s legal team was smart to call their own accident reconstruction expert to kick off the opening of their defense Friday.
“I think the defense getting right on the dispute over timing was good because it matters a lot in this case,” she told Fox News Digital. “There was a lot of prosecution testimony that John O’Keefe’s injury would likely have made him unable to lock his phone. So if the lock event happened after the end of the 10 second recording, how was John O’Keefe able to manipulate his phone?”
Defense witness Matthew DiSogra called the prosecution’s timeline of events into question as the first witness on Read’s behalf.
He said that out of nearly 30 possible calculations based on data shared by experts for the prosecution, only three showed the lock button on O’Keefe’s iPhone being pressed before computers in Read’s Lexus SUV registered that it accelerated in reverse.
Twenty-five happened afterward, bolstering the defense claim that she left the scene without hitting him.
Read is accused of backing into her then-boyfriend, a Boston police officer, and leaving him to die on the ground during a blizzard.
Her lawyers deny that she hit him and say he sustained his fatal injuries some other way.
“So was he struck by Karen Read’s vehicle or not?” Edwards asked. “The prosecution is going to try and rebut this by arguing even if the recording even ended before John O’Keefe’s lock event, the car was traveling in reverse — because the triggering event was not a collision but the car going in reverse.”
The timing is key to both sides, she said.
Judge Beverly Cannone just cleared jurors to head out for a one-hour lunch break.
William Read, Karen Read’s father, posed for selfies with her supporters outside the courthouse during a morning recess Friday.
“I’m always the oldest one in these shots,” he said, prompting laughter. “I guess it’s better than the alternative, huh?”
His daughter is accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, by hitting him with her Lexus SUV and leaving him to die on the ground in a blizzard on Jan. 29, 2022.
Inside the courthouse, her defense team began their case this morning after 23 days of testimony from witnesses for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
She has pleaded not guilty and her lawyers deny that her vehicle ever collided with O’Keefe.
Back from break, special prosecutor Hank Brennan picks up the questioning.
Off the bat, he asked crash reconstruction expert Matt DiSogra about whether a crash could’ve happened.
“Sir, are you trying to offer an opinion suggesting that Miss Read’s Lexus never hit John O’Keefe on January 29th, 2022?” Brennan asked. “Is that your opinion?”
Defense attorney Alan Jackson objected, but Judge Beverly Cannone said she would allow the questioning.
“No sir,” DiSogra said.
He also testified that he has no subspeciality expertise in mobile phone forensics and did no actualy testing on Read’s case – he was critiquing the reports from prosecution experts.
The first witness for Karen Read’s defense is a crash reconstruction expert who aimed to take down the prosecution’s timeline regarding the last recorded interaction between victim John O’Keefe and his iPhone compared to “black box” data from her 2021 Lexus SUV.
Matthew DiSogra was tasked with interpreting the Aperture reports by Shanon Burgess and Dr. Judson Welcher for the defense.
Based on January reports received from Aperture
, he said, there were no instances where he found O’Keefe locked his iPhone before Read’s car recorded her going in reverse. In Aperture’s amended reports, issued in May, three calculations showed the phone lock beforehand, one at the same time, and 25 times afterward.
With a three-second adjustment pointed out in Burgess’ initial report but not applied, DiSogra said, calculations based on the amended report again do not show any instances of O’Keefe locking his phone before to the data event.
According to prior testimony, O’Keefe’s last recorded human contact with his phone came when he hit the lock button around 12:30 a.m. at 34 Fairview Road in Canton, Massachusetts, about 20 miles south of Boston.
Data from Read’s Lexus showed that it went in reverse at roughly the same time. Burgess and DiSogra disagreed over whether the data event indicates the exact time when she stopped going in reverse in the real world.
Read and two friends found him at the same address hours later, with his phone under his body, on the ground in a blizzard.
After about an hour and a half of questioning from defense attorney Alan Jackson, Judge Beverly Cannone called a morning break.
Morning recess called as defense attorney Alan Jackson winds down questioning of crash expert Matt DiSogra, from a firm called Delta V.
Special prosecutor Hank Brennan asked the court to block Karen Read’s defense team from calling a group of newly announced witnesses to discuss a group text with Michael Proctor, the former Massachusetts state trooper who lost his job in March following an internal investigation that grew out of his testimony during her first trial.
The witnesses and their texts are an effort to introduce “inadmissible hearsay,” Brennan wrote to the judge.
“Furthermore, the text messages contain hearsay upon hearsay, and each statement and text message must conform with an exception to the hearsay rule,” he wrote, asserting that none of them have applicable exceptions and that Proctor, who is on the defense witness list, is available to testify.
The defense on Tuesday announced four supplemental witnesses.
In Brennan’s filing, he wrote that the defense plans to call four people with phone numbers “associated with a federally protected and confidential series of text messages from Michael Proctor’s personal cellphone.
“The text chain involved more than 38,000 text messages between nine people from October 2021 to August 2022, according to Brennan, and only three people on it were saved in Proctor’s phone, under “partial contact names.”
In a separate motion, the prosecution also asked for copies of all written communications between Read’s legal team and defense witness Kelly Denver.
Karen Read’s defense team asked Judge Beverly Cannone to find her not guilty Friday, arguing that the prosecution failed to prove its case against her.
Alan Jackson argued for his motion for a required finding of not guilty the morning after special prosecutor Hank Brennan rested his case.
He said that prosecutors could not prove there was a collision and that prosecution experts, relying on circumstantial evidence, merely showed that Read’s SUV went in reverse.
Brennan countered that a “reasonable fact finder” would agree that Read was intoxicated and said the evidence of a collision was “abundant” — including shattered taillight fragments in O’Keefe’s clothes. He said in Read’s own words, she expected to find O’Keefe where she found him, and that data showed she’d backed up in the same place hours earlier.
Grace Edwards, a Massachusetts defense attorney who is following the case, said it’s a standard defense move made once the prosecution rests.
“It allows Jackson to argue that the commonwealth has not met their burden,” she told Fox News Digital. “In this type of a case, it will likely be denied.”
It was. Cannone immediately rejected the motion after the lawyers spoke to the court, and she called jurors to come in.
“On a murder [charge], she would never take the case from the jury,” Edwards said.
Karen Read’s defense team is ready to begin tearing down the prosecution’s murder case against her after the commonwealth rested its case this week.
Read is accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, outside an acquaintance’s house party just after midnight on Jan. 29, 2022.
The prosecution alleges that Read struck him with her 2021 Lexus SUV in a drunken rage, before leaving him to freeze to death in the front yard of 34 Fairview Road in Canton, Massachusetts, 20 miles south of Boston.
Read’s defense team is set to begin presenting their case on Friday as attorneys Alan Jackson, David Yannetti and Robert Alessi look to sow reasonable doubt around the state’s allegations,
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Todd Chrisley opens up about prison struggles and what freedom feels like now
Todd Chrisley is out of prison and not shying away from the spotlight.
On Friday, the “Chrisley Knows Best” star spoke out during a press conference in his home city of Nashville, Tennessee, and gave a glimpse of what his time behind prison bars looked like.
“I call it the BOP glow,” Chrisley joked about his appearance to Fox News Digital, as he referred to the Bureau of Prisons. “I’ll actually have more access to better products now that I’m out.”
CHRISLEY CHILDREN CELEBRATE TRUMP’S PLAN TO PARDON REALITY TV PARENTS IN FRAUD, TAX EVASION CASE
“I had nothing to do other than to read and to work out,” he remarked. “I worked out every morning at 10:45 until 12:00 with my buddies there… I read and my walk with Christ became deeper.”
Faith, family and fitness were the pillars that carried Chrisley through incarceration, he pointed out. He credited speaking with his children—Savannah, Chase and Grayson—as a saving grace. He also kept in touch with his wife of 30 years, Julie, through daily emails.
“I talked to my daughter every day. To Chase, to Grayson. And I was able to email with Julie every day,” Chrisley shared. “So I think that for me, I haven’t had the same effects that so many people leaving the prison system have had. So I’m grateful for that.”
Chrisley remained in good spirits after his prison release and joked, “Or maybe it’s just all the residual Botox that never wore off.”
He also spoke about reuniting with his family, explaining to Fox News Digital, “I don’t even know that I felt like it was real at that moment. And I woke up the first morning, and I was looking around, and I’m like, ‘This is really real, I’m home.’ So I was grateful for our family to be all back in the same room, to be together, to share a meal together, to pray together, and to know that we’re still in the fight together.”
This marked the first time Chrisley has spoken to the media since his conviction for tax evasion and bank fraud in 2022.
Todd and Julie were convicted of conspiring to defraud community banks out of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans as well as tax evasion and sentenced to 12 and seven years, respectively. Their sentences were later reduced.
The Chrisley patriarch also said during Friday’s news conference that his wife remained resilient through her time in prison, and she is ecstatic to be reunited with her family, especially her children.
“Julie, who is a wonderful, decent, God-fearing woman – and that I am blessed to have been married to and been with for over 30 years now – an excellent mother,” he said. “She’s at home with [daughter] Chloe right now, and Chloe will not let her go.”
Chrisley added that their focus remains on faith, healing and truth as he referred to their upcoming reality docuseries. “We’re blessed to be coming back to television, because we do have a much bigger story to tell now than we ever have,” he shared.
TODD AND JULIE CHRISLEY RETURN TO REALITY TV AFTER TRUMP PARDON FREES THEM FROM PRISON
The Lifetime network previously greenlit a docuseries — “The Untitled Chrisleys Project” — on the family prior to Todd and Julie’s release from prison.
The project, which is set to premiere later this year, showcases how the Chrisleys have navigated the family hardship, as Todd and Julie were behind bars for bank fraud and tax evasion.
On Wednesday, Todd first walked out of a federal prison in Pensacola, Florida, after serving two and a half years in prison, according to lawyer Alex Little’s office. The release came shortly after President Donald Trump signed pardons for both Todd and Julie.
“Todd has been released from prison and is on his way home to Nashville,” Little’s office told Fox News Digital.
Little’s office confirmed to Fox News Digital that Julie was released from the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, on Wednesday night, shortly after Todd was released. “Julie has also been released from prison and is now on her way home to Nashville as well,” Little’s office told Fox News Digital.
CHRISLEY CHILDREN CELEBRATE TRUMP’S PLAN TO PARDON REALITY TV PARENTS IN FRAUD, TAX EVASION CASE
Savannah got emotional outside the federal prison in Pensacola awaiting her father’s release earlier in the day.
When speaking to reporters, Savannah said, “Honestly, this process has been absolutely insane, and I am so grateful that I’m going to leave here with my dad.”
Savannah claimed that prosecutors had her father’s head “on a dart board” before his prison sentence. She read Trump’s pardon to the reporters, which stated an immediate release, and she said she hopes “the prison is going to do that shortly.”
Savannah said Trump’s pardon for her parents “literally came out of nowhere.”
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“I was in such shock and awe that the president himself took the time to tell me my family is coming back together,” she said. During her interview, Savannah got emotional while explaining her constant fight to get her parents released from prison wasn’t just for them.
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“I’m literally fighting for every man that has been left behind here,” she said, referring to the prisoners in the federal prison in Pensacola.
On Thursday, Savannah posted a photo of her parents reunited.
While the photo did not show their faces, both were sitting close to one another, with Todd wearing his wedding band.
“Reunited and it feels so good,” Savannah wrote over the photo.
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