LGBTQ news and entertainment
The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal fraud case in New York has delayed a sentencing (again) regarding the Donald’s 34 felony convictions in light of his recent election victory. Continue reading “Judge Delays Sentencing In Trump Business Fraud Case”
(screen capture via NBC News)
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| Jussie Smollett (mug shot via Chicago Police Dept) |
In a stunning turn of events, Empire star Jussie Smollett has been indicted on 16 felony counts by a grand jury in Chicago.
Smollett was charged last month with felony disorderly conduct for filing a false police report on January 29.
Smollett had claimed he was attacked during a late-night food run by two masked men. The 36-year-old actor alleged the men beat him, put a noose around his neck, and poured an unidentified liquid on his head – all while yelling homophobic and racist slurs.
Police later tracked down the two men using surveillance footage, who say Smollett paid them to stage the attack.
Chicago’s local ABC News affiliate says the grand jury returned two separate sets of charges.
One related to Smollett’s initial statement to the police about the alleged hate crime. The second set of charges are in regard to his followup interview with the police later that same day.
ABC7 reports, “The new set of charges each carry a possible sentence of probation to four years.”
During a press conference last month, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said that the actor initially faked a homophobic, racist letter to himself.
But when the actor didn’t get the response he desired, Johnson said Smollett paid the two brothers $3,500 to stage the attack because he was “dissatisfied with his salary.”
Stay tuned – developing story…
Michael Grimm, GOP congressman from Staten Island, pled guilty to felony tax evasion this week.
So far, he refuses to resign his seat in Congress although it’s unclear what Speaker of the House John Boehner plans to do. Boehner can’t refuse to seat Grimm in the new Congress but he can pressure Grimm to resign.
Clearly the optics of seating a convicted felon makes for a problem for the GOP-led Congress.
Grimm famously threatened to “break” a reporter “in half” last year when asked about his legal woes. For that incident Grimm faced Congressional ethics violations.
Having been indicted on two felony charges for abuse of power, Texas Gov. Rick Perry reported to the Travis County Court in Austin today to have his mug shot taken.
Following the photo shoot, Perry held a short press conference where he addressed the indictment by a grand jury:
“The actions that I took were lawful, they were legal and they were proper. This indictment is fundamentally a political act that seeks to achieve at the courthouse what could not be achieved at the ballot box.”
And then he got an ice cream cone.
TMZ reports that former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen has been arrested in connection to a fight outside a Miami restaurant:
Pippen allegedly brutalized an autograph seeker outside Nobu restaurant Sunday night. The man was knocked out after Pippen allegedly punched him in the face and kicked him repeatedly.
Pippen left the scene. As for the victim … he was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, including broken teeth, a swollen mouth. He also suffered injuries to his head and back.
Pippen helped lead the Bulls to six NBA championships in the 1990s.
(via TMZ)