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Chris Cuomo hit with sexual misconduct accusations after CNN ouster
6 Dec, 2021 00:42
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo was accused of sexual misconduct this week just hours after he was fired by the network, which claimed to have uncovered additional information while investigating his role in his brother’s own allegations.
In a statement released on Sunday after CNN announced Cuomo had been fired, attorney Debra Katz said she was disturbed by the anchor’s “hypocrisy” for claiming on television that he had “always cared very deeply” about women’s issues, while simultaneously aiding his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, with his sexual misconduct defense.
Katz then revealed that in the wake of the scandal, her client had decided to come out with her own allegation of sexual misconduct against the CNN anchor.
“Disgusted by his efforts to try to discredit these women, my client retained counsel to report his serious sexual misconduct against her to CNN,” Katz said, claiming that the allegation was presented to CNN on December 1 – just a few days before Cuomo’s dismissal.
“My client came forward at this time because she felt in sharing her story and related documentation, she could help protect other women,” the statement continued, adding that the accuser would “continue to cooperate with CNN’s investigation into her allegations.”
Katz concluded that the woman would like to remain anonymous “given the nature of her allegations,” and asked the media and public to “respect this decision.”
Cuomo was temporarily suspended from CNN last week pending investigation into his connection to his brother’s misconduct defense. Cuomo was ultimately fired on Saturday after the network said “additional information” had “come to light” in its investigation.
In his own statement on Saturday, Cuomo said the scandal was not how he wanted his “time at CNN to end” before defending the aid he provided to his brother and praising the achievements of his show. Following news of the sexual misconduct accusation on Sunday, a representative to Cuomo reportedly told TMZ that the “apparently anonymous allegations are not true.”
However, it is not the first time that Cuomo has been accused of sexual misconduct.
In September, Cuomo’s former boss at ABC News, Shelley Ross, accused the anchor of grabbing her buttocks in front of her husband at a party in 2005. Cuomo allegedly acknowledged his wrongdoing in an email to Ross, claiming to be “ashamed” of his actions and noting that actor Christian Slater had been arrested over a “similar act.”
Josh Duggar, found GUILTY of two counts of downloading
and possessing 'worst of the worst' child porn
Disgraced reality TV star Josh Duggar faces decades in prison after he was found guilty today of downloading a vile trove of 'the worst of the worst' child porn.
Jurors deliberated for six hours before returning guilty verdicts on charges of possessing child pornography and receipt of child pornography, both punishable by 20 years in jail and a $250,000 fine.
Duggar, 33, glanced anxiously toward his wife Anna and dad Jim Bob but showed little emotion as each juror was asked individually to reaffirm their decision.
The once clean-cut Christian star of 19 Kids and Counting finally broke down in tears, however, as marshals placed him in handcuffs but allowed him to linger for a few moments beside his family in the public gallery.
'I love you', he mouthed towards Anna, also 33, who remained composed throughout the brief hearing before burying her head in a supporter's arms and weeping as it ended.
A week-long federal trial in Fayetteville, Arkansas heard how Duggar used his considerable tech skills to scour the dark web for videos of little girls being tortured, humiliated and abused.
Duggar had previously made headlines in 2015 when police reports stating that he had molested his four of his young sisters when he was 12 became public. His parents said he had confessed to the fondling and apologized.
Jurors on Monday heard testimony from a family friend who said Duggar had told her about the abuse.
Josh Duggar, 33, (pictured with wife Anna on Thursday) was found guilty on two counts of downloading and possessing child pornography
The couple, pictured with six of their seven young children, subscribed to a service in 2013 called Covenant Eyes that monitors adult internet use and would report 'objectionable material' to wife Anna, the court heard
His younger brother Justin cried quietly as he watched his sibling being led away to jail. His father Jim Bob, 56, put his hands in his pockets, bowed his head and then hugged Anna.
Judge Timothy Brooks remanded Duggar in custody under a mandatory rule based on the seriousness of his crimes and said he will have to wait around four months to be sentenced.
Derrick Dillard, the husband of Josh's sister Jill, told DailyMail.com: 'We don't want to say anything yet, Jill is going through a hard time right now.'
Duggar, who wore a black suit, white shirt, striped tie and black face mask, will be transported later today to the Washington County Detention Center where sources said he will be housed in a secure sex offenders unit.
Speaking outside court, defense attorney Justin Gelfand announced immediate plans to appeal.
'We respect the jurors' verdicts and we look forward to continuing this fight,' he said. 'We plan to appeal at the appropriate time.'
David Clay Fowlkes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, told reporters: 'This case represents a significant milestone for the Western District of Arkansas in our continued efforts to combat child abuse.
'Those who would say that children who were photographed and videoed in a manner similar to the evidence in this case are not abused and are not victims, are clearly wrong.
'Children who are photographed and videoed in manner such as this are the victims and every time their videos and photos are traded online, uploaded and downloaded from the internet, they are victimized all over again, every single time that that happens.'
A week-long federal trial in Fayetteville, Arkansas heard how 33-year-old Duggar – once the wholesome Christian star of TLC's 19 Kids and Counting - used his considerable tech skills to scour the dark web for videos depicting the sexual abuse of children
Graphic titles such as 'pedo mom,' 'play tot sweetie', 'Daisy's destruction' and 'ultra hard pedo pedofilia', left little to the imagination.
One video ended with a girl being caged in a dog kennel. Another series of images depicted a minor being raped by a male adult.
The warped cache was so disturbing that a seasoned FBI child exploitation investigator said it was 'in the top five of the worst of the worst that I've ever had to examine.'
Defense lawyers contended that a former employee or hacker could have exploited Duggar's lax internet security to hijack his computer and remotely download the material without anyone knowing.
Prosecutors branded it a 'fantasy' and used texts and images to place the accused at the keyboard; jurors unanimously agreed with them.
The court also heard from a close family friend this week who shed new light on the molestation scandal that engulfed the Duggars in 2015, tarnishing their wholesome image and leading to the cancellation of their hit TLC show.
Bobye Holt choked back tears as she revealed how Duggar had confessed at age 15 to groping and penetrating his younger sisters during 'bible time' and while they slept.
The defense fought to exclude her testimony but the judge ultimately agreed that it provided important clues about his sinister appetite for minors.
There is much more to this story on Daily Mail.
Jussie Smollett trial: Jury reaches a verdict
By Gabrielle Fonrouge
December 9, 2021 5:20pm
CHICAGO — A verdict was reached in the Jussie Smollett criminal trial Thursday, nearly three years after he told police two Trump-loving bigots beat him up, tied a noose around his neck and doused him in bleach on a blistering night in January 2019.
Jurors deliberated for over nine hours before reaching the verdict.
The defense vehemently maintained Smollett was the victim of a real hate crime and called the brothers “sophisticated liars and criminals,” who later offered to recant their story and “tell the truth” in exchange for $2 million.
“He’s dumb enough to go into Obama’s city and pretend there’s Trump supporters running around with MAGA hats? Give me a break,” defense attorney Nenye Uche told jurors in his closing arguments.
“The brothers were like wolves disguised as sheep in the hen house.”
Prosecutors, however, said Smollett exploited tense race relations for his own gain and paid the Osundairos $3,500 to stage the attack so he could get attention.
“It’s clearly a violation of the law to go to the police and report to police a fake crime and tell police it’s a real crime,” special prosecutor Dan Webb told the jury.
“To outright denigrate something as serious, as heinous, as a real hate crime, to denigrate it and then make sure it involved words and symbols that have such horrible historical significance in our country was just plain wrong to do it and he did.”
That's liberal ideology! The ends justify the means!
The two brothers, who’d known the former “Empire” actor for about a year and a half prior to the alleged hoax, both delivered hours-long testimonies as the prosecution’s star witnesses. Abimbola, 28, told jurors that he and Smollett met at a club in the fall of 2017 and soon became so close, he considered the actor to be a “brother.”
Abimbola ‘Abel’ and Olabinjo ‘Ola’ Osundairo testified that the attack was Smollett’s idea.
So when Smollett texted him on January 25, 2019 asking him for some “help on the low,” he agreed to meet up with the actor, who brought up a piece of hate mail he received that showed a stick figure hanging and the words “You will die black f-g.”
“He talked about how the studio was not taking the mail seriously, the hate mail he’d received earlier,” Abimbola testified.
“I was confused, I looked puzzled and then he explained that he wanted me to fake beat him up.”
Abimbola, who is now an amateur boxer, claimed Smollett told him specific lines he wanted the brothers to deliver — “‘Empire’, f—-t, n—-r, MAGA” — and then gave blow-by-blow instructions.
“He wanted me to punch him but he wanted me to pull the punch so I didn’t hurt him and then he wanted me to tussle him and throw him to the ground and give him a bruise,” Abimbola testified.
“Then he wanted it to look like he was fighting back, so I was supposed to give him a chance to fight back and then eventually throw him to the ground and my brother would tie the noose around his neck and pour bleach on him.”
Director and Empire creator, Lee Daniels, shares a screen grab showing Jussie Smollett's injuries obtained during an alleged biased hate crime attack on the 300 block of East North Lower Water Street, Chicago, on January 28, 2019.
During a “dry run” two days later, Abimbola testified Smollett showed the brothers a location for the alleged attack that was in direct view of surveillance cameras because he “wanted to use the camera footage for media.”
The brothers admitted they found the request bizarre, but agreed to partake because Smollett was famous, and could help them with their own budding acting careers down the line.
“I mentioned to Ola that I did feel indebted to Jussie and that he’s helped me out and he could actually further our acting career and Ola agreed,” Abimbola said.
From the onset, the defense’s case largely centered on attacking the Osundairos’ credibility and establishing reasonable doubt by presenting a series of witnesses that chipped away at the brothers’ story.
Smollett’s former publicist Pamela Sharp testified the actor loathed media attention and Anthony Moore, a security guard patrolling near the scene of the alleged attack, told jurors he’s adamant he saw a white man running away from the area and prosecutors pressured him to change his story.
Chicago Crime Scene Investigators examines a Chile Habanero hot sauce bottle with a form of liquid in it. The hot sauce bottle could have been over looked by police when they first was at N.New Street and E.North Water Street in the Streeterville neighborhood investigating the 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett
But following a three-day break from the trial, and bombshell testimony from both Osundairos, Smollett unexpectedly took the stand Monday morning and testified that everything the brothers said was a “bold faced lie.”
“There was no hoax,” Smollett told jurors.
“What happened to me, happened.”
He explained that on the night he met Abimbola, the two did cocaine together and later made out and touched each other inside a private room at Steamworks, a gay bathhouse in Chicago’s Boystown neighborhood.
The actor testified the two later masturbated together at the same bathhouse and Abimbola frequently purchased cocaine and marijuana for him, and spoke about being his security guard.
“Security was mentioned a lot… it just came in passing like ‘yo man you should let me be your security,’” Smollett told jurors.
“It became a running joke, he would act like we were secret service when we were together.”
The defense pointed out that security guards for Smollett could reap in as much as $5,000 per month but the only thing the actor wanted to hire Abimbola for was fitness related.
Chicago Crime Scene Investigators examines a Chile Habanero hot sauce bottle with a form of liquid in it. The hot sauce bottle could have been over looked by police when they first was at N.New Street and E.North Water Street in the Streeterville neighborhood investigating the 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett
He testified the $3,500 he paid Abimbola was for personal training services and a meal plan when he needed to lose weight ahead of a music video shoot and when he texted him asking for his “help on the low”, it was about herbal steroids that are illegal in the US — nothing more.
Over and over again, the former “Mighty Ducks” actor denied instructing the brothers to stage a hate crime and while under cross-examination Tuesday, grew testy and combative when special prosecutor Dan Webb grilled him about inconsistencies in his story.
When Smollett originally spoke to cops, he said one of the attackers was white — an assumption he made primarily based on the vitriolic statements that were said — but later told cops the assailant was “pale skinned” because it was the “responsible” thing to do.
Prosecutors said the alleged hoax was originally scheduled for the evening of January 28, 2019 but was pushed back to 2 a.m. on January 29 when a flight Smollett was taking from New York back to Chicago was delayed for several hours.
In the lead up to the alleged ruse, Smollett acquiesced that he’d sent four messages to Abimbola giving him status updates on his delayed flight but claimed it was because he and the trainer had plans to work out that night, while prosecutors said the texts were proof that they were coordinating with each other.
The hate crime Smollett claimed he suffered sparked international outrage, and then disgust, when police said he made the whole thing up.
The actor was originally charged with staging a hate crime in February 2019 but in a stunning reversal, Chicago prosecutors dropped all charges against him after he agreed to forfeit a $10,000 bond and showed proof that he’d completed two days of community service.
Chicago! Good grief!
In the backdrop of Smollett’s failed performance as a hate crime victim, scandal soon engulfed Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, who was widely criticized for the move and was later found to have made a series of unethical blunders in her handling of the case.
A former state appellate judge, Sheila O’Brien, managed to convince a judge that a special prosecutor was needed to investigate the office’s handling of the case and in a scathing ruling that summer, Judge Michael Toomin agreed, and declared Foxx’s case was void from start to finish.
Yeah, but did she get paid well?
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