Elected officials are charged with representing their constituents, but often find themselves accused of committing crimes while executing their duties.
The judge presiding over the libel lawsuit brought by former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin against The New York Times said Wednesday that jurors knew before delivering their verdict that he'd already decided to rule against Palin but they said it didn't affect the outcome. More
February 16, 2022
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin lost her libel lawsuit against The New York Times on Tuesday when a jury rejected her claim that the newspaper maliciously damaged her reputation by erroneously linking her campaign rhetoric to a mass shooting. More
February 15, 2022
A federal judge on Monday agreed to delay once again the sentencing of a former Florida tax collector, whose arrest led to a probe of U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, so that he can continue cooperating with federal prosecutors. More
February 14, 2022
A New Jersey man has admitted stealing two microphones from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's lectern during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Robert Lee Petrosh, of Mays Landing in southern New Jersey, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property of less than $1,000. More
February 14, 2022
A man charged in an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has agreed to plead guilty, according to documents filed Monday, giving prosecutors another insider who could be a key witness at a March trial. More
February 7, 2022
Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby appeared in court on Friday to be arraigned on federal perjury charges .She pleaded not guilty to all four counts and will face a jury trial. More
February 4, 2022
Michael Avenatti was convicted Friday of charges he cheated the porn actor Stormy Daniels out of nearly $300,000 she was supposed to get for writing a book about an alleged tryst with former president Donald Trump. More
February 4, 2022
The note began: “We have one juror who is refusing to look at evidence and is acting on a feeling.” More
February 4, 2022
The jury deliberating the fate of Michael Avenatti on criminal charges that he ripped off his star client, Stormy Daniels, told a judge on Thursday that it is deadlocked on the first of two counts. More
February 3, 2022
A prosecutor told jurors Wednesday in a trial's closing arguments that California lawyer Michael Avenatti told repeated lies to porn actor Stormy Daniels in 2018 to hide his theft of her book proceeds. More
February 2, 2022
Testimony drew to a close Tuesday in the dueling defamation lawsuits brought by former U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore and the woman who accused him of sexual misconduct when she was a teen. More
February 1, 2022
Michael Avenatti said Tuesday that he will not testify at his trial on charges that he cheated porn actor Stormy Daniels out of nearly $300,000 in book proceeds. More
February 1, 2022
Former U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore, testifying in a defamation case brought by a woman who said he sexually touched her decades ago when she was 14, maintained Monday that he never met his accuser. More
January 31, 2022
A Maryland man and a Kansas man have been charged with making separate threats to kill President Joe Biden, authorities said Monday.Ryan Matthew Conlon, 37, of Halethorpe, Maryland; and Scott Ryan Merryman, 37, of Independence, Kansas; were both arrested last week. More
January 31, 2022
Michael Avenatti wavered Monday when asked whether he plans to take the witness stand in his own defense at a fraud trial in which he's accused of stealing $300,000 in book proceeds from porn actor Stormy Daniels. More
January 31, 2022
Michael Avenatti sought Friday at his fraud trial to portray his former client Stormy Daniels as someone who might be delusional as he questioned the porn actor about her belief that her house was once haunted by ghosts. More
January 28, 2022
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement gives President Joe Biden a chance to make his first nomination to the high court. It's also a chance for Biden to fulfill a campaign promise to nominate the first Black woman to be a justice. More
January 27, 2022
Stormy Daniels took her star turn on the witness stand Thursday at California lawyer Michael Avenatti's trial, telling a jury Avenatti "stole from me and lied to me." More
January 27, 2022
Michael Avenatti jumped at the chance to represent porn star Stormy Daniels in 2018, saying he'd do it for a dollar, another California attorney testified Wednesday at Avenatti's criminal trial. More
January 26, 2022
In opening statements Monday, Avenatti attorney Andrew Dalack said Avenatti had an agreement with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, to share proceeds of any book deal. More
January 25, 2022
Avenatti has insisted he is innocent of wire fraud and aggravated identify theft charges and his lawyers say he is likely to testify during the trial in Manhattan federal court. More
January 24, 2022
Michael Avenatti, the once high-profile California attorney who regularly taunted then-President Donald Trump during frequent television appearances, was introduced Thursday to prospective jurors who will decide whether he cheated porn star Stormy Daniels out of book-deal proceeds. More
January 20, 2022
The court filing said state authorities haven’t yet decided whether to bring a civil lawsuit in connection with the allegations,. More
January 19, 2022
The judge presiding over Michael Avenatti's trial on charges he cheated porn star Stormy Daniels of book deal proceeds twice warned prospective jurors Thursday that perjury charges could result if they don't honestly fill out a written questionnaire, after a recent trial verdict was jeopardized by a juror's comments about his questionnaire. More
January 13, 2022
An attorney for a man who came within days of being executed in Virginia for a murder he didn't commit has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against a state agency that's withholding records the attorney believes will show authorities could have gotten the right suspect. Attorney Robert Hall, who has represented Earl Washington Jr. since 1985, filed the lawsuit Tuesday against the Virginia Department of Forensic Science, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. More
January 5, 2022
Gov. John Bel Edwards scheduled the pardon ceremony for a spot near where Plessy was arrested in 1892 for breaking a Louisiana law requiring Black people to ride in cars that the law described as “equal but separate” from those for white customers. More
January 5, 2022
New York Attorney General Letitia James recently subpoenaed former President Donald Trump and his two eldest children, demanding their testimony in connection with an ongoing civil investigation into the family's business practices, according to a court filing made public Monday. More
January 3, 2022
Defense attorneys want to dismiss the indictment against five men accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. More
December 27, 2021
The most serious charge against Kim Potter — first-degree manslaughter — carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. More
December 27, 2021
A Harvard University professor charged with hiding his ties to a Chinese-run recruitment program was found guilty on all counts Tuesday. Charles Lieber, 62, the former chair of Harvard's department of chemistry and chemical biology, had pleaded not guilty to two counts of filing false tax returns, two counts of making false statements, and two counts of failing to file reports for a foreign bank account in China. More
December 21, 2021
