Former ‘Empire’ star Jussie Smollett (center) Former Empire star Jussie Smollett pleaded not guilty Monday to a fresh round of charges accusing the actor of staging a homophobic and racist attack last year. From CBS Chicago:
A new indictment filed earlier this month charged Smollett with six counts of disorderly conduct, accusing him of filing false police reports that he was attacked on the way home from Subway in the middle of the night in Streeterville in January 2019.
Cook County prosecutors dropped the original case against Smollett, dismissing 16 counts of disorderly conduct against him last March, without requiring he admit any wrongdoing, in a controversial move just weeks after he’d pleaded not guilty.
A special prosecutor later was assigned to look into the entire case, after a judge found “unprecedented irregularities” in how Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx handled the case, specifically by handing it over to her second-in-command after announcing she had recused herself.
This is seriously must-see TV. CNN’s Anderson Cooper spars with former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who calls himself a “political prisoner” days after being pardoned by President Trump. Normally, I try and condense the news here on The Randy Report, so I don’t post 11-minute videos very often. But this is quite something. Blagojevich’s sentence was commuted earlier this week by Trump after the Democrat (and former “Celebrity Apprentice” contestant) had served eight years of a 14-year sentence for pay-for-play crimes. You may recall the former governor was caught on tape admitting he planned to ‘sell’ President-elect Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder. At one point in last night’s interview, Blagojevich states he wants to work on reforming the criminal justice system. Cooper found that to be laughable. “It’s a little ironic, and frankly a little sad and pathetic and hypocritical, you talking about getting a commutation of a sentence, which is within the president’s right, but you ignored a whole hell of a lot of other people who were hoping you might give them clemency when you actually mattered,” said Cooper. At the end of the fiery interview, here’s Cooper’s summation:
“Look, I have no problem with you getting out. The president can commute whoever he wants. I just think you’re besmirching prosecutors who actually are no longer in government.
“But prosecutors are important in our system and you are going after the very basis of our justice system. Part of the thing is you got out – you do have an obligation to at least admit what you did wrong and you refuse to do that and you’re creating a whole new alternate universe of facts.“And that may be big in politics today, but it’s still frankly just bullshit.”
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar (image via Instagram) Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s openly gay prime minister, has offered his resignation after his political party, Fine Gael, failed to win a majority in the parliamentary elections held on February 8. From The Advocate:
Parliament then voted Thursday on the prime minister, with a candidate needing 80 votes to win. Varadkar received just 36, with the support of all members of his party plus one other. Micheál Martin, from the Fianna Fáil party, received 41 votes, and Mary Lou McDonald, of Sinn Fein, won the most, 45.
The other parties refuse to form a coalition government with Sinn Fein, which was once the political affiliate of the Irish Republican Army, so Martin may end up leading a coalition with Fine Gael.
(screen capture via WISH TV) Now, this is a wild and wooly tale. After walking in on two men apparently having sex, a woman in Indianapolis attempted to blackmail them for $5,000. They didn’t pay, and a short time later she was shot and died in a car crash. Jane Waughfield told her story via Facebook Live video on Monday after she had gone to the home of one of the men. In the video, she said that she had ‘business’ with him. She also mentioned that she had hooked up with him a few years ago. Ranting on the men using vulgar homophobic slurs, she admitted she threatened to reveal the men saying she would stay quiet IF they gave her $5,000 via CashApp. “They tried to kill me. They chased me out of the house,” she said during the video. “If I die, let them people know they killed me.”
And then…wait for it…she was involved in a car crash with another vehicle on Tuesday morning. The driver of the other car involved in the crash found her unresponsive in her car AND she had a gunshot wound. Witnesses told the local CBS news affiliate they saw Waughfield’s yellow Camaro traveling at a high rate of speed before the car crash. Police refuse to comment as to whether social media played a role in the incident.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Thursday sentenced Donald Trump’s longtime friend, Roger Stone, to a 40-month prison term for obstructing a congressional investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
In a lengthy speech before imposing the penalty, Jackson seemed to take aim at Trump, saying that Stone “was not prosecuted for standing up for the president; he was prosecuted for covering up for the president.” She also appeared to call out Attorney General William P. Barr, whose intervention to reduce career prosecutors’ sentencing recommendation she called “unprecedented.” But she said the politics surrounding the case had not influenced her final decision.
Jackson made clear she thought Stone’s crimes were serious. She called his testimony “plainly false” and “a flat-out lie” and said his misdirection “shut out important avenues” for Congress to investigate. The judge said Stone knew “it could reflect badly on the president if someone learned” about his efforts to obtain damaging information from the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks about Clinton, who was then running against Trump for president.
Prosecutors said the longtime GOP operative lied during testimony to the House Intelligence Committee in September 2017 to conceal his central role in the Trump campaign’s efforts to learn about computer files hacked by Russia and made public by WikiLeaks. Stone also threatened a witness who was an associate of his in an attempt to prevent the man from cooperating with lawmakers.
In addition to the prison time, Judge Jackson ordered Stone to pay a $20,000 fine, do community service and submit to substance abuse testing.
Stone was convicted on all seven counts of lying to Congress and tampering with a witness by a jury last November. He is the sixth Trump associate convicted of crimes discovered by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation.
I continue to believe Trump will pardon Stone sometime in the near future.
“They say Roger Stone lied to Congress.” @CNN OH, I see, but so did Comey (and he also leaked classified information, for which almost everyone, other than Crooked Hillary Clinton, goes to jail for a long time), and so did Andy McCabe, who also lied to the FBI! FAIRNESS?
Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky (screen capture) Governor Andy Beshear became the first Kentucky governor to attend the annual LGBTQ Fairness Rally on Wednesday. The Democrat defeated virulently anti-LGBTQ Republican incumbent Matt Bevin in November. Amid rainbow flags and loud cheers from the crowd, Beshear told attendees, “Diversity and inclusion, they aren’t buzz words – they are values.” “And they are keys to making Kentucky stronger,” continued Beshear. “Kentucky cannot reach its full potential if all of our people don’t feel supported to be themselves.” Speaking in the Rotunda at the State Capitol in Frankfort, the governor also spoke in support of two legislative proposals vital to LGBTQ Kentuckians, reports the Lexington Herald-Leader. One, a ‘statewide fairness’ measure that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations. “Discrimination against our LGBTQ brothers and sisters is absolutely unacceptable in this commonwealth,” said Beshear.
While 18 communities in Kentucky have ‘fairness ordinances,’ there are no statewide protections for LGBTQ people in the Bluegrass state. He also endorsed a legislative ban on so-called ‘conversion therapy,’ the harmful practice of attempting to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Also known as ‘ex-gay therapy,’ the pseudo-science has been denounced by nearly all major medical organizations including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Chris Hartman, executive director of the Fairness Campaign, called Beshear’s appearance politically courageous, reports the local ABC News affiliate 6News. “To have support in the highest office in the commonwealth of Kentucky is so meaningful for so many LGBTQ people who have never felt seen by lawmakers who can make a difference,” said Hartman. When asked about his historic appearance at the event, Beshear dismissed the question saying, “I think it took too long. Under this administration, every single Kentuckian counts.” (Source: Lexington Herald-Leader)
Former GOP congressman Dana Rohrabacher In a new interview with Yahoo News, former California Republican congressman Dana Rohrabacher confirmed that he did speak to Wikileaks’ founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2017 about turning over information that could prove the widely-debunked conspiracy theory that Russians did not hack the Democratic National Committee emails. In exchange, Rohrabacher promised to approach Donald Trump about a pardon for Assange.
In a phone interview with Yahoo News, Rohrabacher said his goal during the meeting was to find proof for a widely debunked conspiracy theory: that WikiLeaks’ real source for the DNC emails was not Russian intelligence agents, as U.S. officials have since concluded, but former DNC staffer Seth Rich, who was murdered on the streets of Washington in July 2016 in what police believe was a botched robbery.
A lawyer for Assange in London on Wednesday cited the pardon offer from Rohrabacher during a court hearing on the U.S. government’s request to extradite the WikiLeaks founder.
Rohrabacher said that not only did talk of a Trump pardon take place during his meeting, but he also followed up by calling then-White House chief of staff John Kelly to discuss the proposal. He did not, however, ever speak to Trump about it, he said.
Rohrabacher, who lost reelection to his House seat in 2018, has been a longtime defender of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Law enforcement officials had long said they’ve found no evidence that Rich’s death was related to his work at the DNC or that he played any role in the leaking of party emails.
(image via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: For Wise Wednesday, hunky Dan Tai reminds: “Don’t forget you are the lighthouse in someone’s storm.” Follow him on Instagram here. • USA Today: Bernie Sanders said Tuesday night that he is not planning to release any additional medical records. Sanders, 78, suffered a heart attack in October during a campaign event. He had a blockage in one artery and two stents were inserted, his campaign said at the time. • NY Times: Donald Trump is expected to name Richard Grenell, the American ambassador to Germany, to be the acting director of national intelligence. A vocal Trump loyalist, he would be the first openly gay cabinet member. • Washington Blade: Actor Haaz Sleimann, who is openly gay, was speaking to LGBTQ media outlet NewNowNext for a profile story when he revealed that he will be portraying the husband of a gay superhero in the upcoming Marvel film, The Eternals, slated for a November 2020 release. Sleimann, 43, has recently garnered attention for his role as a gay Syrian refugee in Apple+ TV’s anthology series “Little America.” • NBC News: Don’t forget the Democratic debate tonight from Las Vegas where former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg will take to the debate stage for the first time in the 2020 primary cycle. The debate will start at 6 p.m. PT (9 p.m. ET). You can watch the debate on NBC, MSNBC, and Universo. You can also stream it on NBCNews.com and MSNBC.com, as well as their Facebook pages – or the video window below.
Adolfo Martinez (screen capture) File this under “Making a bad thing worse.” Adolfo Martinez is currently serving a lengthy prison sentence after ripping down and burning a Pride flag flying at the Ames United Church of Christ in Ames, Iowa, last summer. But Martinez isn’t content to simply serve his time. The Ames Tribune reports an internal investigation reviewing jail footage found “multiple incidents where he made ‘inappropriate’ comments and performed sex acts in front of various female detention officers from Nov. 23, 2019, to Dec. 19. 2019.” Martinez allegedly told a female guard “you smell freaking good” on November 30. Video footage from later that day showed the 30-year-old standing in the middle of his cell “performing a sex act with his pants off.” That same night, Martinez allegedly repeated the ‘sex act’ before guards conducted a security check. During the security act, a female officer reports he sat on his bed and performed another ‘sex act’ while smiling at the guard. According to a criminal complaint filed against Martinez the guard communicated with him over the jail’s intercom system informing him “If the behavior continued, he could be charged, to which he responded, ‘Oh, I know.’” Adolfo Martinez (mugshot via Story County) The Tribune notes that indecent exposure is a serious misdemeanor in Iowa. If found guilty, a judge could choose to add another year to his already considerable sentence. Martinez admitted he committed the June flag burning crime during a television interview with local news station KCCI. “I’m guilty, I’m guilty as charged,” he proudly announced. “I’ll say it on camera as well. Live! Let it be known. I’m guilty as charged plain and simple. Knowingly, willingly, and intentionally did I do that. Yep. It’s my honor.” “It is a judgment and it is written to execute vengeance on the heathen and punishments upon the people… and it is my honor to do so,” he continued. “It’s a blessing from the Lord to be able to stand for his word firmly against all odds, plain and simple.” The TV interview was played at his trial as evidence. Martinez was found guilty of a hate crime, third-degree harassment, and reckless use of fire (arson) as a habitual offender. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison due to previous offenses. For intoning his religious beliefs in the KCCI interview, Martinez became something of a cause celebre for Christian activists. A Christian website, LifeSiteNews, launched a petition calling the sentence ‘excessive’ and urged the Iowa Court of Appeals to “step in and reduce this disproportionate sentence!” We’re curious if the good Christians at LifeSiteNews will continue their unbridled support after Martinez’s latest antics. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Martinez to appear in court on February 24. (source: Ames Tribune)
Follow woofy Wes Dupee on Instagram here Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Gymbear Wes Dupee gets his food prep on (above). Readers – how many of you have a weekly food prep schedule? Do you get tired of the same food, or is it the convenience you like? • IOM Today: A gay man was beaten in a late-night encounter when an older man mistakenly thought he was flirting with him. The victim says he feels lucky he didn’t lose any teeth. • Netflix: The streaming giant’s latest queer comedy series, Feel Good, stars Mae Martin as herself, a Canadian comedian living in London, navigating a relationship with her new girlfriend, George and dealing with sobriety. Did I mention the awesome Lisa Kudrow plays Martin’s mother? #squeee! The six-episode first season of the dark comedy drops March 19 on Netflix.
• Media Matters: Rush Limbaugh told his listeners on Monday that Donald Trump personally told him to ‘never apologize’ for Rushbo’s anti-gay remarks about White House hopeful Pete Buttigieg. Last week, Limbaugh suggested Trump could have “fun” with Buttigieg kissing his husband on stage. He also wondered aloud how to explain Buttigieg kissing his husband to their children. • OUT: ‘Over-aggressive anti-spam settings’ temporarily prevented some users from logging into their accounts on the bear-centric dating app Growlr causing users to believe they had been suspended. #DontPokeTheBears • NBC News: Sen. Bernie Sanders has jumped out to a 12-point lead in the Democratic presidential contest after his victory in New Hampshire’s primary and his second-place finish in Iowa while former Vice President Joe Biden has seen his support drop by 11 points since his disappointing finishes in both contests, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Tuesday. The survey also shows former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg gaining ground in the Democratic race in the past month. (graphic via NBC News)
