Trump settles lawsuit with Paramount, CBS over ’60 Minutes’ Harris edit
FIRST ON FOX – Paramount Global and CBS agreed on Tuesday to pay President Donald Trump a sum that could reach north of $30 million to settle the president’s election interference lawsuit against the network.
Trump will receive $16 million upfront. This will cover legal fees, costs of the case, and contributions to his future presidential library or charitable causes, to be determined at Trump’s discretion.
There is an anticipation that there will be another allocation in the mid-eight figures set aside for advertisements, public service announcements, or other similar transmissions, in support of conservative causes by the network in the future, Fox News Digital has learned. With these considerations, CBS would pay well in excess of the $15 million ABC paid Trump to settle a defamation lawsuit last year. Current Paramount management disputes the additional allocation.
Sources close to the situation told Fox News Digital that CBS has agreed to update its editorial standards to install a mandatory new rule. Going forward, the network will promptly release full, unedited transcripts of future presidential candidates’ interviews. People involved in the settlement talks have referred to this as the “Trump Rule.”
FAIR ELECTION FUND URGES FCC TO HOLD CBS ACCOUNTABLE FOR ‘UNLAWFUL CONDUCT’ RELATED TO ’60 MINUTES’ INTERVIEW
“With this record settlement, President Donald J. Trump delivers another win for the American people as he, once again, holds the Fake News media accountable for their wrongdoing and deceit. CBS and Paramount Global realized the strength of this historic case and had no choice but to settle. President Trump will always ensure that no one gets away with lying to the American People as he continues on his singular mission to Make America Great Again,” a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team told Fox News Digital.
Trump was seeking $20 billion in his lawsuit against CBS over its handling of a “60 Minutes” interview last year with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, accusing the network of election interference leading up to the 2024 contest. CBS is not acknowledging any journalistic wrongdoing with the settlement.
“The settlement will include a release of all claims regarding any CBS reporting through the date of the settlement, including the Texas action and the threatened defamation action,” parent company Paramount said in a statement.
The lawsuit alleged CBS News deceitfully edited an exchange Harris had with “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker, who asked her why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t “listening” to the Biden administration. Harris was widely mocked for the “word salad” answer that aired in a preview clip of the interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
However, when the same question aired during a primetime special on the network, Harris had a different, more concise response. Critics at the time accused CBS News of deceitfully editing Harris’ “word salad” answer to shield the Democratic nominee from further backlash leading up to Election Day.
The raw transcript and footage released earlier this year by the FCC showed that both sets of Harris’ comments came from the same response, but CBS News had aired only the first half of her response in the “Face the Nation” preview clip and aired the second half during the primetime special.
CBS News had long denied any wrongdoing and stood by the broadcast and its reporting.
’60 MINUTES’ KAMALA HARRIS INTERVIEW AT CENTER OF TRUMP LAWSUIT RUNS AFOUL OF CRONKITE-ERA CBS GUIDELINES
Paramount and Trump’s legal team had agreed to mediation designed to help the sides reach a settlement. It was widely believed that Paramount Global controlling shareholder Shari Redstone wanted to settle the suit ahead of a planned multi-billion-dollar merger with Skydance Media in hopes of preventing potential retribution by Trump’s FCC, which has the authority to halt the transaction.
“This lawsuit is completely separate from, and unrelated to, the Skydance transaction and the FCC approval process. We will abide by the legal process to defend our case,” Paramount said in a previous statement on the Skydance transaction.
Skydance Media CEO David Ellison, who would control CBS after the planned merger, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Redstone spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump confidently declared the case against CBS a “winner” in April.
“They cheated and defrauded the American People at levels never seen before in the Political Arena. Kamala Harris, during Early Voting and, immediately before Election Day, was asked a question, and gave an answer, that was so bad and incompetent that it would have cost her many of the Votes that she ended up getting,” Trump posted on Truth Social ahead of mediation, going on to accuse the newsmagazine of perpetrating a fraud on the American people.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and eight Democratic colleagues sent a letter to Redstone in May asking her not to settle the lawsuit against CBS News, which they called an “attack on the First Amendment.” They called the potential settlement a “grave mistake” and “a blatant attempt to intimidate the media and those who speak out against him, President Trump.”
The letter also stated “presidents do not get to punish or censor the media for criticizing them” in the United States.
TRUMP, CBS PARENT COMPANY SET FOR MEDIATION IN $20 BILLION ‘60 MINUTES’ LAWSUIT
Earlier this year, FCC Chair Brendan Carr ordered CBS News to hand over the unedited transcript as part of its probe into whether the network violated the FCC’s “news distortion” policy after a complaint was filed. CBS had refused to release the unedited transcript until the FCC got involved.
TOP ’60 MINUTES’ PRODUCER RESIGNS FROM SHOW, CITES LACK OF INDEPENDENCE
Trump’s attorneys amended their lawsuit to include multiple excerpts from the unedited transcript in hopes of bolstering their case that CBS News withheld unflattering exchanges in order to help the Democratic nominee.
The saga emerged as a distraction inside CBS News and longtime “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens walked away from the job in April because he wasn’t able to make the “independent decisions” needed for the program to thrive. Owens, who had insisted CBS did nothing wrong with the Harris edit, was vehemently against offering any sort of apology to the president.
The settlement does not include a statement of regret. No amount will be paid directly or indirectly to President Trump personally.
Paramount’s annual stockholders meeting is set for Wednesday, July 2 at 9 am E.T.
CBS News President and CEO Wendy McMahon, who is believed to have been against settling with Trump, announced on May 19 that she was stepping down in another stunning move for the embattled company.
“It’s become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward. It’s time for me to move on and for this organization to move forward with new leadership,” McMahon told staffers in a memo that was obtained by Fox News Digital.
“60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley previously said a settlement would be “very damaging to CBS, to Paramount, to the reputation of those companies.” Other high-profile CBS journalists, such as Lesley Stahl, were vehemently against a settlement.
“The unanimous view at ‘60 Minutes’ is that there should be no settlement, and no money paid, because the lawsuit is complete bulls—,” one veteran “60 Minutes” producer told Fox News Digital last month.
ABC also settled a defamation lawsuit in December with then-President-elect Trump for $15 million, after anchor George Stephanopoulos repeatedly and incorrectly asserted Trump had been found “liable for rape” in a civil trial last year. ABC additionally paid $1 million for President Trump’s legal fees.
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Federal judge blocks Trump admin’s plan to deport 520,000 Haitians back home
A federal judge shot down the Trump administration’s efforts to end temporary protection status (TPS) for over 520,000 Haitian immigrants currently living in the U.S.
The TPS designations for Haitians were expected to expire on Aug. 3 with termination to become effective on Sept. 2.
U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan in Brooklyn rejected those plans on Tuesday, saying Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem did not follow a timeline and instructions mandated by Congress to reconsider TPS designations for Haitians.
In his decision, Cogan wrote, “Secretary Noem does not have statutory or inherent authority to partially vacate a country’s TPS designation.” Doing so, he added, made her actions “unlawful.”
TRUMP ADMIN ENDS TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR HAITIAN MIGRANTS CURRENTLY IN THE US
“Plaintiffs are likely to (and, indeed, do) succeed on the merits,” Cogan added.
He went on to say Haitians’ interests in living and working in the U.S. “far outweigh” potential harm to the U.S. government.
That being said, the government is still able to freely enforce immigration laws and terminate TPS status as established by Congress.
Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for comment on the matter, but did not hear back by the time of publication.
SUPREME COURT HANDS TRUMP WIN ON REVOKING PAROLE FOR 500K FOREIGN NATIONALS
A DHS spokesperson said Friday – before Cogan ruled on the matter – that the decision to end TPS ensures the status is in fact only temporary but also restores the integrity of the U.S. immigration system.
“The environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home,” the spokesperson said. “We encourage these individuals to take advantage of the Department’s resources in returning to Haiti, which can be arranged through the CBP Home app. Haitian nationals may pursue lawful status through other immigration benefit requests, if eligible.”
Noem originally made the decision to revoke TPS status from Haitians after reviewing a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) report showing the island nation no longer met the statutory requirements that grant foreign residents the ability to obtain TPS.
SUPREME COURT ALLOWS TRUMP ADMIN TO MOVE AHEAD WITH ENDING PROTECTED LEGAL STATUS FOR SOME MIGRANTS
Sources at DHS have told Fox News that they are encouraging Haitians living in the U.S. with TPS to use the CBP Home application to secure a safe departure home by offering a complimentary plane ticket and a $1,000 exit bonus.
Congress created TPS as part of the Immigration Act of 1990, with the intention of allowing residents of countries who have faced war, disasters or other unsafe and extraordinary conditions, to find refuge in the U.S. The program has the ability to be extended in increments of 18-month periods.
The Trump administration has been pressing to roll back TPS designations to fulfill a campaign promise to strengthen the border and deport many illegal immigrants who crossed the border under former President Joe Biden’s administration.
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Biden gave Venezuelans TPS status in 2021, then renewed that designation before the end of his term in January 2025.
The newest designation will run from April 3, 2025, to Oct. 2, 2026. It is estimated the protection would have applied to about 300,000 Venezuelan nationals, before the Trump administration rolled back the decision.
Sen Murkowski stares at reporter over ‘offensive’ bailout claim in spending bill
Alaskan Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski had a tense moment with NBC News reporter Ryan Nobles after he pressed her on the backlash she faced for her vote on the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) on Tuesday.
Nobles caught up with Murkowski after she voted in favor of President Donald Trump’s $3.3 trillion spending bill, asking her to respond to criticism from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who claimed that she supported OBBB because it was a “bailout for Alaska at the expense of the rest of the country.”
“Oh my God,” Murkowski mumbled angrily before looking at Nobles.
“That’s what Sen. Paul said,” Nobles responded.
REPUBLICAN SENATOR CALLS CAUCUSING WITH DEMOCRATS AN ‘INTERESTING HYPOTHETICAL’
She then stared at Nobles without making a response for more than ten seconds.
“I didn’t say it, ma’am,” Nobles reiterated. “I’m just asking for your response.”
“My response is I have an obligation to the people of the state of Alaska, and I live up to that every single day,” Murkowski answered.
She added that it was “offensive” to claim that federal dollars being sent to a state is considered a “bailout.”
“Do I like this bill? No. Because I tried to take care of Alaska’s interests, but I know that in many parts of the country there are Americans that are not going to be advantaged by this bill. I don’t like that. I don’t like the fact that we moved through an artificial deadline, an artificial timeline, to produce something—to meet a deadline rather than to actually try to produce the best bill for the country,” Murkowski answered. “But when I saw the direction that this is going—you know, you can either say, ‘I don’t like it,’ and not try to help my state, or you can roll up your sleeves.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Paul’s office for a comment.
MAGA COUNTRY VOTERS SOUND ALARM OVER ‘RIDICULOUS’ NATIONAL DEBT AMID DEBATE OVER TRUMP-BACKED BILL
Senate Republicans successfully passed the bill on a 51-50 vote with Vice President JD Vance casting the tiebreaking vote. Paul, along with Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, were the only Republicans who voted against the bill. All Democrats voted no.
Ahead of the Senate vote, several last-minute deals were made, including the doubling of the rural hospital fund to $50 billion, which was pushed by Collins, and a rollback of the start date of supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) work requirements for states with higher payment error rates, like Alaska.
The bill now heads to the House, where Republican leaders are determined to have a final bill ready to be signed by Trump by Friday.
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Trump announces where he will kick off celebrating 250 years of US independence
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will kick off his Independence Day weekend by traveling to Iowa on Thursday for “a very special event, honoring our Great Country.”
“I am thrilled to announce that I will be traveling to one of my favorite places in the World, beautiful Iowa, on Thursday, July 3rd, to kick off the very beginning of our exciting Celebration of America’s 250th Anniversary!” Trump posted to Truth Social Tuesday afternoon.
“Iowa voted for me THREE TIMES, because they love my Policies for our Wonderful Farmers and Small Businesses, and they LOVE AMERICA! This will be a very special event, honoring our Great Country, and our Brave Heroes who fought to keep us FREE,” he continued, and included a link for people to RSVP. “I’ll also tell you some of the GREAT things I’ve already done on Trade, especially as it relates to Farmers. You are going to be very happy with what I say — Should be a BIG Crowd!”
The event is slated to be held at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines and is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. Central Time, according to the event’s website.
TRUMP WHITE HOUSE RELEASES VIDEO SERIES LEADING UP TO AMERICA’S 250TH BIRTHDAY: ‘ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE’
“This special event serves as the magnificent start of a dynamic, year-long commemoration across our beautiful country, unveiling a vision for a renewed commitment to America’s future,” Monica Crowley, the principal media representative for America250, said in a press release previewing the event.
TRUMP TO HOST MILITARY PARADE TO CELEBRATE ARMY’S 250TH BIRTHDAY, HONOR ACTIVE-DUTY SERVICE MEMBERS, VETERANS
The 250th anniversary of American independence will be held on July 4, 2026, with Trump repeatedly touting his administration will plan a year of patriotic events celebrating the anniversary.
The president’s upcoming trip to Iowa follows the Senate passing Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” Tuesday afternoon, which is a massive piece of legislation that works to advance Trump’s agenda on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt.
Trump was alerted to the news during a roundtable while visiting the Florida Everglades to tour a new illegal immigrant detention center, celebrating the news in separate Truth Social posts shortly after.
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“Our Country is going to explode with Massive Growth, even more than it already has since I was Re-Elected. Between the Growth, this Bill, our Tariffs, and more, “THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL” sets the United States down a fiscal path by greatly reducing our Federal Deficit, and setting us on course for enormous Prosperity in the new and wonderful Golden Age of America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday afternoon. “To my GOP friends in the House: Stay UNITED, have fun, and Vote “YAY.” GOD BLESS YOU ALL!”
FBI blocked probe into alleged Chinese election meddling to protect Wray, documents show
EXCLUSIVE: The FBI blocked an investigation into allegations that the Chinese Communist Party manufactured fake driver’s licenses and shipped them to the U.S. in a scheme to influence the 2020 presidential election in favor of Joe Biden because it would “contradict” then-FBI Director Christopher Wray’s congressional testimony, newly declassified FBI documents obtained by Fox News Digital reveal.
The records, which include communications between FBI officials ahead of the 2020 election, were recently declassified by FBI Director Kash Patel and transmitted to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.
ALLEGED CHINESE SCHEME TO INFLUENCE 2020 ELECTION FOR BIDEN BEING PROBED BY FBI, SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Fox News Digital reported in June that Patel located and declassified the original reporting document alleging the Chinese Communist Party sought to deliver fake driver’s licenses to Chinese sympathizers in the U.S. who would cast a vote for Biden in the 2020 election. The document did not say whether any ballots were cast as part of the scheme.
The FBI recalled that reporting, though, Sept. 25, 2020 – just a day after Wray testified before Congress that the FBI had not seen any coordinated voter fraud ahead of the 2020 election.
The FBI, at the time, had recalled that report “in order to re-interview the source.” It also directed “recipients” of the original report to “destroy all copies of the original report and remove the original report from all computer holdings.”
But Patel, this week, declassified additional documents, including records relating to the re-interview of the source, and communications between FBI officials at the time discussing the decision-making behind the recall and its decision not to republish the intelligence reporting.
The records were sent to Grassley and Fox News Digital has reviewed the records.
“Although the source was reengaged and provided additional context to support the initial IIR, FBI Headquarters maintained its position not to republish the report,” Assistant FBI Director Marshall Yates wrote in a letter to Grassley, obtained by Fox News Digital. “One reason cited for not releasing the IIR was because ‘the reporting will contradict Director Wray’s testimony.’”
During a Senate hearing on Sept. 24, 2020, Wray said he had not seen any widespread fraud by mail, and if he had, it would be something that we would investigate seriously… and aggressively.”
“We have not seen historically any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election, whether it is by mail or otherwise,” Wray testified. But “people should make no mistake. We are vigilant as to the threat and watching it carefully, because we are in uncharted new territory.”
But Wray also testified that the Chinese had been “expanding their influence efforts,” saying they had been “looking for different ways to take a page out of the malign foreign influence playbook that they have seen elsewhere.”
FLASHBACK: INTEL COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT DELAYED AMID DISPUTE OVER WHETHER CHINA SOUGHT TO INFLUENCE 2020 ELECTION
Yates, in his letter to Grassley, explained that the recall of the original reporting document was “abnormal.”
“The rationale provided to Albany staff for the recall was that Headquarters deemed the report not ‘authoritative,’ but this characterization was met with disagreement by those in the Albany office,” Yates explained.
Grassley told Fox News Digital: “These records smack of political decision-making and prove the Wray-led FBI to be a deeply broken institution. Ahead of a high-stakes election happening amid an unprecedented global pandemic, the FBI turned its back on its national security mission.”
“One way or the other, intelligence must be fully investigated to determine whether it’s true or if it’s just smoke and mirrors,” Grassley said.
Fox News Digital was unable to reach Wray for comment.
The report was recalled at the direction of Deputy Assistant Director for Counterintelligence Nikki Floris.
Fox News Digital first reported that Floris was the FBI official to deliver a “defensive briefing” to Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., in August 2020, claiming that their Hunter Biden investigation advanced Russian disinformation.
FLASHBACK: JORDAN OPENS PROBE INTO INTEL COMMUNITY’S ALLEGED OBSTRUCTION OF 2020 SENATE INVESTIGATION OF HUNTER BIDEN
The FBI declassified internal emails among Albany, New York, staff, obtained by Fox News Digital, reflecting concerns that suppressing the document would be “dangerous if we cite potential political implications as reasons for not putting out our information.”
Yates explained that it “was not the role of analysts to align intelligence with public testimony.”
“Albany staff further warned against FBI assuming the role of sole gatekeeper for the Intelligence Community (IC), emphasizing that suppressing field-generated reporting could deprive other IC elements of the opportunity to corroborate or discredit intelligence,” Yates said.
In an email on Sept. 30, 2020, reviewed by Fox News Digital, agents questioned why the report could not be released, to which another replied: “Again, the reporting will contradict Director Wray’s testimony.”
On Oct. 1, 2020, an agent in the Albany, New York, field office replied:
“I’m not trying to be a pain on this, but after taking some time thinking this over I just want to voice my opinion and concerns on this issue and make it clear I do not agree with the reasoning for not putting this out,” the FBI agent wrote.
“I’m not satisfied with the reasoning of needing a new 1023 and HQ review as these things are everyday operational and administrative requirements,” the agent continued. “Most concerning to me, is stating the reporting would contradict with Director Wray’s testimony. I found this troubling because it implied to me that one of the reasons we aren’t putting this out is for a political reason, which goes directly against our organizations mission to remain apolitical and simply state what we know.”
FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL VOWS TO RESTORE TRUST IN BUREAU, HUNT DOWN BAD ACTORS ‘IN EVERY CORNER OF THIS PLANET’
The agent added: “Likewise, at the field operational level, I do not feel it is our job to assess whether or not our intelligence aligns with the Director, rather we provide intelligence for people way above our pay grade (like the director) to make the call of what the FBI is seeing as a whole.”
The agent agreed that the FBI had “an obligation to not put out reckless information where we know something to be false or will cause undue harm.”
“However, we are also not in a sole position to determine a reporting’s validity, as we only make up one USIC agency, and an incredibly small fraction of all USIC, and other FBI Sources that could report on this matter,” the agent wrote. “My concern is that I think it gets dangerous if we cite potential political implications as reasons for not putting out information.”
The agent also stressed that with the decision to keep the report recalled, the FBI is “starting to drift too far into being the sole decider for the USIC regarding when information we gather is, or is not valid, or of interest to the intelligence community because it takes away the crucial opportunity from the rest of the USIC to potentially corroborate or discredit our intelligence.”
“Chris Wray’s FBI wasn’t looking out for the American people – it was looking to save its own image,” Grassley told Fox News Digital. “Now’s the time to rebuild the FBI’s trust.”
He added: “Director Patel’s willingness to work with me to establish renewed transparency and accountability is a critical part of that process, and I applaud him for his efforts.”
Meanwhile, Yates explained that even though an intelligence analyst “requested further research and re-engagement with the source, Headquarters ultimately decided not to issue a new IIR, citing a lack of additional substantiating information, even after the source was reinterviewed.”
Yates said the FBI believed that source “appeared to be reliable,” and the FBI “did not close the source for cause or lack of credible information.”
According to the declassified documents, the source was a China-based individual who was not a member of the Chinese Communist Party. In the re-interview, according to the documents, an Albany officer “was able to partially corroborate some of the information s/he provided.”
“The case agent believes the source is competent and is authentic in his/her reporting,” a declassified FBI record states.
When asked how “confident” the source was in the information, an agent wrote: “very, very confident.”
“Additional emails show that the Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF) did not approve reissuance of the IIR, citing concerns about authoritativeness and potential for disinformation by foreign actors,” Yates explained. “However, other than a request for information to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, we have found no information to indicate that FITF-China aggressively investigated the reported information, despite corroborating intergovernmental reporting and logical investigative leads.”
The original FBI reporting document came just a month after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the International Mail Facility at Chicago O’Hare International Airport seized nearly 20,000 fraudulent driver’s licenses.
From January 2020 through June 30, 2020, CBP officers at that location reported seizing 1,513 shipments of fraudulent documents that included a total of 19,888 counterfeit US driver’s licenses.
“The majority of these shipments were arriving from China and Hong Kong,” CBP posted in a July press release.
It was not immediately clear if the seizure had any relation to the document’s allegations.
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“Finally, because of this episode, FBI Headquarters set a new requirement on the field for the 2020 election; ‘all raw reporting concerning the election will now require HQ coordination, which was not required’ before,” Yates explained to Grassley.
The FBI said the records reflect “the broader sentiment within the Albany Field Office that the recall decision and resulting suppression of the IIR raised serious questions about the integrity of the intelligence reporting process and its susceptibility to perceived political pressures.”
The FBI is continuing to investigate the matter and noted that records have been preserved within the bureau’s systems.
Bryan Kohberger’s former professor breaks silence ahead of expected guilty plea
Idaho student murders suspect Bryan Kohberger has accepted a plea deal to spare his life in the murders of four University of Idaho students, two sources close to the case told Fox News Digital Monday.
Kohberger’s family released a statement Tuesday, asking for privacy following the bombshell plea deal.
“In light of recent developments, the Kohbergers are asking members of the media for privacy, respect, and responsible judgment during this time,” the family said in a statement to NewsNation’s Brian Entin. “We will continue to allow the legal process to unfold with respect to all parties and will not release any comments or take any questions. We ask that you respect our wishes during a difficult time for all those affected.”
Kohberger, 30, is accused of killing Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, in a 4 a.m. home invasion attack on Nov. 13, 2022. As part of his plea, he will apparently not have to explain himself or answer why he committed the crimes as part of the deal, according to a source close to the case.
BRYAN KOHBERGER RETURNS TO COURT FOR HEARING ON PILE OF EVIDENCE HE WANTS THROWN OUT BEFORE TRIAL
“Those families have been victimized by the very prosecutors who should have had their backs,” said Ted Williams, a Fox News contributor and a former Washington, D.C. homicide detective who has been following the case since the beginning.
The Goncalves expressed their disappointment with what they described as a “secretive deal” on Monday and issued another statement Tuesday saying they want Kohberger to confess in court.
“We stand strong that it is not over until a plea is accepted. We will not stop fighting for the life that was stolen unjustly,” the Tuesday statement said. “If you feel called or moved to try to make a difference, please contact the Ada County Courthouse to express your thoughts or feelings. While we are cognizant that some may have wanted the plea, the prosecution relayed to us it was NOT a majority vote that was the deciding factor in offering this plea.”
The family is further asking the court to “require a full confession, full accountability, location of the murder weapon, confirmation the defendant acted alone, [and] the true facts of what happened that night.”
“We deserve to know when the beginning of the end was,” the statement reads, adding that a confession “should be the minimum price to pay for his own life.”
The family called on supporters to contact Ada County Judge Steven Hippler.
On Monday, the family described the death penalty as “a bargaining tool for the State, and when rarely applied, it’s never enforced due to a highly inefficient appellate process.”
” The notion that someone can plead guilty to a crime and still face years of appellate delays reveals a systemic failure,” the statement said. “The Latah County Prosecutor’s Office’s treatment of our family during this process is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.”
The family added that they “questioned decisions early in the investigation” and were “branded as aversaries” as a result.
“So, it was no shock how the Latah County Prosecutor’s Office mishandled the plea deal,” the statement read. “They vaguely mentioned a possible plea on Friday, without seeking our input, and presented the plea on Sunday. Latah County should be ashamed of its Prosecutor’s Office. Four wonderful young people lost their lives, yet the victims’ families were treated as opponents from the outset.”
The family said prosecutors never called them directly about a plea on Monday and gave “families just one day to coordinate and appear at the courthouse for a plea on July 2.”
“Who do they think they are?” the statement continued. “After more than two years, this is how it concludes with a secretive deal and a hurried effort to close the case without any input from the victims’ families on the plea’s details. Our family is frustrated right now and that will subside and we will come together as always and deal with the reality that we face moving forward.”
Goncalves’ parents live more than seven hours away, in Rathdrum. The hearing will be held Wednesday in Boise after Kohberger successfully argued for a change of venue.
The family questioned early choices in the investigation, the restrictive gag order, pressure from school officials as frustrating factors in the way they were treated.
Members of Kernodle’s family also condemned the plea deal. Her aunt, Kim Kernodle, told TMZ that relatives were vehemently opposed to the idea when Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson’s office first raised it over the weekend.
However, Chapin’s family indicated in a statement that they are “in support of the plea bargain” and will be present in Boise on Wednesday.
All four had been stabbed multiple times with a large knife. Police recovered a Ka-Bar sheath that they allege had Kohberger’s DNA on it near Mogen’s body.
Kohberger was studying for a Ph.D. in criminology at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. That’s 10 miles up the road from Moscow, Idaho, where all four victims were undergrads at the University of Idaho.
“By taking a plea deal, Bryan Kohberger has insulated himself from a sentence that would require his execution,” said Edwina Elcox, a Boise defense attorney who said the deal came as a surprise. “Only a jury can sentence him to death. Regardless, he will likely spend the rest of his life in prison, without the possibility of ever being in society again.”
She said she hopes the process brings peace to the families after the horrifying crime – and also that the move would spare Kohberger from facing Idaho’s newly revived firing squad as the means of execution if he were convicted and sentenced to death.
“They will not have to go through the stress of a trial and the virtually guaranteed appeal process, in the event Kohberger was convicted at trial,” Elcox told Fox News Digital. “The judge will take his guilty plea and then set a hearing for Kohberger to be sentenced. He can absolutely expect to spend the rest of his life behind bars.”
The plea deal came as a surprise – prosecutors had not telegraphed the move and fought hard to keep the death penalty on the table in pretrial proceedings.
Kohberger’s defense failed repeatedly to have it removed, revealing his autism diagnosis and crying foul over discovery deadlines it claimed that prosecutors missed.
“If they don’t get the why, this is the most incomprehensible deal of all time,” Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD inspector who is following the case, said before the latest update that indicates Kohberger will apparently not have to explain his crimes.
If Kohberger agreed to truthfully explain what happened, that could be a reason for the deal to have materialized so unexpectedly, he said. Especially with opposition from at least one family, he said.
Williams agreed.
“These four kids did not deserve to die this way, and as a part of any plea, he should be required to tell when, how and why he committed these offenses,” he told Fox News Digital before more details of the plea deal emerged. “I think that should be a part of any plea – he owes those families, and the public.”
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The latest development comes hours after a hearing in Pennsylvania to determine whether witnesses there can be compelled to travel to Idaho to testify in a trial that would have started on Aug. 18.
Dr. Katherine Ramsland, a leading criminologist and one of Kohberger’s former professors at DeSales University, acknowledged the chilling undertones of a criminal justice student using his knowledge to plot a crime but said the benefits of such an education are important.
“The risk of this must be weighed against the good that comes out of these programs,” she told Fox News Digital. ” We all know of killers who took crim courses. I teach about them. “Among those is Dennis Rader, the serial killer known as BTK, whom Kohberger studied.People need to be trained to stop people like him, she said.”And we study them to do early intervention when possible,” she added.
Joseph Giacalone is a former NYPD cold case investigator and a criminal justice professor at Penn State-Lehigh Valley. “I was never concerned about teaching someone how to be a better criminal,” he told Fox News Digital. “Nothing beats experienced investigators. You can learn whatever you want from a book, but that doesn’t make you an expert.”He also said the plea deal could bring some comfort to the victims families — even if they don’t agree with it now.”He will have a very difficult time in prison, and if the families have any solace, it’s in that he will spend the rest of his life in fear and basically solitary confinement just to stay alive,” he said.
American tourist vanishes in tropical paradise after walking from vacation rental
A man from Monroe, New York, who was vacationing in Turks and Caicos late last month is missing after leaving his rental home on June 25.
Brian Tarrence, 51, was last seen leaving his condo around 3:30 a.m. at the Paradise Inn in Grace Bay, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, according to a missing persons flyer from the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force.
“They seemed to be having a normal couple days, and he ended up walking out of his condo, which is in a very safe place and in the middle of Grace Bay Road,” the Tarrence family’s private investigator, Carl DeFazio, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “And we have him on camera, and he walks into town, and then he basically disappears, and we haven’t heard from him since.”
Tarrence, who recently moved from Monroe to Manhattan, arrived in Turks and Caicos with his wife of one year on June 22, and they planned to leave on June 29.
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DeFazio said the Turks and Caicos police force is using every resource it has, including drone technology and CCTV to try and locate the 51-year-old man. He also described Grace Bay Road as a “very safe” area.
“So far, we haven’t been successful in anything, but we’re not giving up hope. … What I tell the family … in cases like this: Stay positive until you have a reason not to be,” DeFazio, a former NYPD officer and Marine who has been a PI since the 1990s, said. “He’s a smart guy. … We don’t know what’s in his mind or if he did this on his own or if somebody took him in.”
“It’s the No. 1 case right now. Everyone’s looking for him.”
He left his rental with his phone and wallet. He was wearing a T-shirt, shorts and sneakers, DeFazio said.
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The private investigator has been working to get records of Tarrence’s phone activity on the islands, but it’s taking time, he said.
The day before his disappearance, he and his wife had gone on a boat trip. That evening, his wife went to bed, and when she woke up, he was gone. She hadn’t noticed he left, DeFazio said.
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The PI added that he is “very proud of the response from the local businesses and people on vacation” who have been offering their assistance after he posted Tarrance’s missing persons flyer “everywhere in Turks and Caicos.”
He added that he has no reason to suspect any kind of criminality in Tarrence’s disappearance at this point, but anything is possible with so few answers six days after he vanished.
DeFazio said that in missing persons cases like this one, he typically tries to establish a behavior pattern, trying to hone in on activities the missing person likes and does not like to do. He also tries to determine how familiar the missing person is with the area he or she vanished from and what he or she frequented in that area.
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Then, he canvases the area where the person disappeared and tries to track down phone and smartwatch records to track the person’s last known movements.
Turks and Caicos police are asking anyone with information about Tarrence’s disappearance to contact 911 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477.
Jury deadlocks on racketeering charge in Diddy’s federal trial after deliberations
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal trial jurors were deadlocked Tuesday after reaching a verdict on four of the five counts against the rapper.
Two months after the trial kicked off, and nearly 14 hours into deliberations, jurors told Judge Arun Subramanian that they were unable to reach a unanimous decision on a racketeering charge.
The prosecution called more than 30 witnesses to the stand throughout seven weeks of testimony, while Diddy’s defense team rested without calling any witnesses on their behalf — a move considered “high stakes poker” by former federal prosecutor and Fox News contributor Trey Gowdy.
DIDDY JURY REACHES PARTIAL VERDICT IN SEX TRAFFICKING, RACKETEERING TRIAL
“Usually, when defense does not call witnesses, that defendant is called an inmate,” Gowdy explained. “I’ve said that my entire career. That’s a fancy way of calling someone an inmate. You gotta give the jury a reason for reasonable doubt and to simply say the prosecution hasn’t met its burden … most jurors don’t really understand what that burden is.”
He added, “Gotta give the jury a reason for doubt and if you don’t put up a very significant defense, all you do is cross-examine government witnesses, then you’re going to be an inmate.”
DIDDY DEFENSE CLAIMS HE WAS UNFAIRLY TARGETED, WHILE PROSECUTION SAYS RAPPER THOUGHT HE WAS ‘UNTOUCHABLE’
Diddy told the court last week that it was his decision not to testify in his sex crimes case. The judge asked if Diddy understood he had the right to testify or not testify, and if he had discussed his rights with his attorney. Diddy responded, “Yes, thoroughly,” before admitting it was “solely my decision” to not testify in his sex crimes trial.
Jurors began deliberating on Monday, June 30, and of the five counts, could not agree on a verdict for the racketeering charge, one of the most serious counts against the disgraced music mogul. A federal RICO violation can result in a 20-year sentence. The transportation to engage in prostitution charge could carry a sentence of up to 10 years, while sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion may carry a 20-year sentence.
“It’s very complicated — most lawyers cannot explain RICO, so to expect 12 people, average citizen jurors to understand a criminal enterprise, predicate acts … it’s just a lot to ask,” Gowdy said. “There’s a reason to charge it even if you don’t win. It opens evidentiary doors that might be closed, so lots of times prosecutors will charge something because it enables you to get extra evidence before a jury even though you don’t really expect to get a guilty verdict on that count.”
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Criminal defense attorney John W. Day, owner of the Santa Fe, New Mexico-based law practice John Day Law, told Fox News Digital that jurors may have had a difficult time comprehending the RICO charge.
“Was Diddy’s high-flying and maybe disturbing lifestyle just that, or can you really pick out a criminal enterprise that is the equivalent of an organized crime family?” Day said. “But tomorrow morning the judge will be hoping that after a night of thinking about it, the jurors will have second thoughts about a split verdict on RICO — one way or the other — and come back with a unanimous verdict on that most serious charge.”
Criminal defense attorney Nicole Blank Becker, who represented R. Kelly, explained that the predicate acts against Diddy were the “building blocks” to establish a RICO charge. Whether a jury can agree on a verdict or not remains to be seen.
“So what happens is now they’re forced to go back in there, and there’s probably going to be a lot of frustration back there, more fighting back and forth,” Becker said. “My understanding is that the jurors’ verbiage was something to the effect of that they’re at a point where there’s unpersuadable opinions on both sides. So clearly some of the jurors thinking, ‘Well, obviously he’s guilty.'”
The judge instructed the jury to continue deliberating for now. A second option would be to give supplemental jury instructions. Lastly, the jury could return a partial verdict. However, Judge Subramanian said he is not considering the third option at this point, and chose to have a portion of the jury charge re-read.
Criminal defense attorney Eric Faddis, founding partner of Colorado-based Varner Faddis, agreed that the RICO charge was the most complicated of all the charges.
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“The jury could be hung up on the different requirements of the charge, including the criminal enterprise element,” Faddis said. “I suspect that may be a sticking point because the government didn’t charge any co-conspirators and never called any other alleged members of this criminal enterprise.”
WATCH: PROSECUTORS ACCUSED DIDDY OF RUNNING A ‘CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE’
He added, “At this point, it’s unclear whether the partial verdict could give rise to any grounds for appeal.”
The government emphasized in their argument that Diddy ran an alleged criminal enterprise with full control. The prosecution pointed out that the jury heard testimony, saw texts, viewed bank records and heard audio allegedly showing the “Last Night” rapper committing crime after crime for decades.
According to the prosecution, the government showed Diddy didn’t take no for an answer. “Up until today, Diddy was able to get away with crime because of money and power,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Slavik said. “That stops now.”
The verdict for the four counts reached came “fairly quickly,” according to Austin-based criminal defense attorney Sam Bassett.
“It seems the jury has struggled and spent most of their time debating the more serious and complex racketeering count,” Bassett noted. “If I was the defense, I’d be concerned, but you never know what a jury will do. For this lengthy of a trial, a 13-hour deliberation is on the short side of expectations.”
When the jury was brought back into the courtroom, the judge asked them to keep deliberating, saying it is their duty to discuss among themselves and form opinions.
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Judge Subramanian said the jurors must reach a unanimous verdict, but must not give up their convictions merely to return a verdict or satisfy the rest of the jurors. The jury was then dismissed back to the jury room. Court concluded after 5 p.m., and the jury was asked to return on Wednesday before 9 a.m.
“Both sides stated that they do not want to accept a partial verdict,” attorney David S. Seltzer told Fox News Digital. “This forces the jury to render a complete verdict, which ultimately could lead to a hung jury on the count at issue if they cannot render a verdict on all counts, and thus lead to a possible retrial on the hung count.
“As for appellate issues, there will be many, and depending on how the case resolves, this may be another issue for appeal.”
Keith Urban seemingly leaves mid-interview after Nicole Kidman question arises
Country music icon Keith Urban appeared to abruptly hang up on radio hosts during an interview after being asked a question about wife Nicole Kidman.
During an appearance on an Australian radio show, the hosts introduced a segment called “Wall of Truth.” One of the hosts explained to Urban that “I get really uncomfortable, to be honest, asking our beautiful guests something they might be uncomfortable [answering].”
The first question referred to Kidman’s 2024 film “A Family Affair”: “What does Keith Urban think when he sees his beautiful wife with beautiful younger men like Zac Efron having these beautiful love scenes on TV?”
NICOLE KIDMAN’S ‘BABYGIRL’ DIRECTOR DEFENDS 29-YEAR AGE GAP BETWEEN ACTRESS AND CO-STAR IN EROTIC THRILLER
However, the hosts were met with silence as Urban was disconnected from the virtual interview.
“He’s just disconnected from Zoom,” another person chimed in. “I think his team hung up on us because they didn’t want us to ask that question.”
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One host speculated, “That’s 100% what’s just happened… Oh my God!”
“I knew that would happen,” she added. Another host argued that Urban had been “smiling” just before the disconnection, and she replied, “I know, but he doesn’t like the personal stuff… We’ve upset him!”
“He doesn’t like talking about his wife,” she suggested.
NICOLE KIDMAN SAYS IT’S EMPOWERING TO BE SEEN AS ‘SEXUAL BEING’ IN EROTIC THRILLER
The other host mentioned that he thought they were “vibing” with the country singer.
“Does Keith Urban hate us? Do we have beef with Keith Urban?” he questioned.
The Australian radio team mentioned they were reaching out to Urban’s publicist but didn’t receive an answer.
A representative for Urban declined to comment on the situation to Fox News Digital.
The abrupt interview exit comes after Kidman, 58, starred alongside Efron, 37, in the 2024 romantic comedy, “A Family Affair.”
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“A surprising romance kicks off comic consequences for a young woman, her mother and her movie-star boss as they face the complications of love, sex and identity,” the movie synopsis read.
“A Family Affair” raised eyebrows for its age-gap romance and intimate love scenes between Kidman and Efron.
This wasn’t the first film that Kidman played a character that was romantically involved with a younger man.
In December 2024, Kidman starred in an erotic thriller titled “Babygirl” playing a powerful CEO who had an affair with a younger intern, Harris Dickinson, 29.
Kidman and Urban have been married since 2006 and share two daughters – Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret.
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