Scandal

Wife Of GOP House Rep. Duncan Hunter Pleads Guilty To Campaign Fraud, Will Cooperate With Prosecutors

San Diego’s Fox affiliate reports: Rep. Duncan Hunter’s wife, who pleaded not guilty last summer along with her husband to charges of using more than $250,000 in campaign funds for their personal use, changed her plea to guilty in a hearing Thursday morning. Attorneys for Margaret read a brief statement outside the courthouse after the hearing. She said in part: …

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ISRAEL: Netanyahu’s Wife Pleads Guilty In Fraud Case

The New York Times reports: Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, accepted a plea bargain on Wednesday morning and will pay about $15,000 in fines and restitution to settle accusations that she misused about $100,000 in public funds in managing the couple’s official residence. Prosecutors said that Ms. Netanyahu, whom they charged with fraud, had …

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NEW JERSEY: Presbyterian Minister Accused Of Using Oral Sex To Suck Out Men’s Evil During Ritual Exorcisms

The Bridgewater Courier News reports: A Presbyterian minister, who said he was following the Bible, used Native American exorcism rituals, gemstones and even oral sex to extract “evil spirits” from men undergoing crises in their lives, the church and men claim. The so-called healing acts, which date to 1999, were allegedly performed by the Rev. Dr. William Weaver, a prominent …

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Catholic Bishop Ousted For Sexual Abuse Spent Millions On Luxury Travel, Lavished Cash Gifts On Young Priests

The Washington Post reports: In the years before he was ousted for alleged sexual harassment and financial abuses, the leader of the Catholic Church in West Virginia gave cash gifts totaling $350,000 to fellow clergymen, including young priests he is accused of mistreating and more than a dozen cardinals in the United States and at the Vatican, according to church …

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Top US Cardinal Accused Of Shielding Abusive Priest And Threatening Female Victim With Financial Harm

The Associated Press reports: When Cardinal Daniel DiNardo first met Laura Pontikes in his wood-paneled conference room in December 2016, the leader of the U.S. Catholic Church’s response to its sex abuse scandal said all the right things. He praised her for coming forward to report that his deputy in the Galveston-Houston archdiocese had manipulated her into a sexual relationship …

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Report: Harvey Weinstein To Settle Sex Suits For $44M

USA Today reports: A tentative deal is close to settling lawsuits brought against the television and film company co-founded by Harvey Weinstein, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by scores of women. The amount of the deal wasn’t revealed in court, but a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press it was worth $44 million. The person …

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Avenatti Charged With Stealing $300K From Stormy

NBC News reports: Federal prosecutors filed additional charges against high-profile attorney Michael Avenatti on Wednesday, claiming the frequent White House critic pocketed nearly $300,000 from former client Stormy Daniels. Daniels was owed money from a book deal and Avenatti allegedly used a “fraudulent document purporting to bear his client’s name and signature to convince his client’s literary agent to divert …

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Michigan GOP State Rep Charged With Soliciting Bribes Via Text Messages Says He Should Have Just Called

Michigan Live reports: State Rep. Larry Inman said he probably should have picked up the phone and called labor union representatives instead of sending texts that would later be part of a federal indictment alleging he solicited bribes. Inman, R-Traverse City, was indicted May 15 by federal prosecutors for attempted extortion, bribery and lying to an FBI agent. The indictment …

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Rep. Jim Jordan Claims Vindication After Revelation That University Knew About Sexually Abusive Doctor

The Associated Press reports: A now-dead Ohio State team doctor sexually abused at least 177 male students over nearly two decades, and university officials knew what he was doing and did little to stop him, according to an investigative report released by the school Friday. Dr. Richard Strauss committed the abuse from 1979 to 1997 — nearly his entire time …

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MICHIGAN: Republican State Rep Indicted On Charge He Solicited Union Bribe On Vote For Wage Repeal Bill

The Detroit Free Press reports: A state representative has been indicted by a federal grand jury, accused of trying to sell his vote on a measure to repeal Michigan’s prevailing wage law. Rep. Larry Inman, R-Traverse City, was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Grand Rapids, court records show. House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, called on Inman on …

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Georgia Christian Coalition Leader Surrenders To FBI On Charges Of Stealing $2 Million From Ex-Employer

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: Georgia Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck was accused today by a federal grand jury of stealing more than $2 million from his former employer. The 38-count indictment charges Beck, an ex-insurance lobbyist and long-time leader of the Georgia Christian Coalition, with fraud and money laundering in an elaborate scheme to defraud the Georgia Underwriting Association. With the …

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REPORT: NRA Probed For Misusing Charity Funds

The New York Times reports: A review of tax records by The New York Times shows that, to steady its finances, the powerful lobbying group has increasingly relied on cash infusions and other transactions involving its affiliated foundation — at least $206 million worth since 2010. The role of the foundation is among the issues being examined in a new …

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Felicity Huffman Pleads Guilty In College Scheme

NBC News reports: Actress Felicity Huffman tearfully pleaded guilty to federal charges Monday, admitting that she paid a fixer thousands of dollars to boost her daughter’s college admission hopes. Prosecutors said Huffman, 56, shelled out $15,000 to have wrong answers corrected on daughter Sofia Grace Macy’s SAT exam, leading to a remarkably improved score from the teen’s PSAT performance, prosecutors …

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TELL NO ONE: Polish Documentary About Pedophile Catholic Priests Goes Wildly Viral On YouTube [VIDEO]

The Washington Post reports: A new documentary revealing cases of sexual abuse by priests has deeply shaken Poland, one of Europe’s most Roman Catholic societies, eliciting an apology from the church hierarchy and prompting one cleric to leave priestly life. “Tell No One,” a film financed through a crowdfunding campaign, was released on YouTube on Saturday. By Monday, the documentary …

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Jerry Falwell’s Pool Boy: Stop Calling Me “Pool Boy”

Yesterday Reuters reported that Michael Cohen recorded a phone call with Jerry Falwell Jr. in which the evangelical leader pleaded for help in destroying “racy” personal photos that should be “kept between a husband and wife.” Cohen reportedly then flew to Florida where he met with a lawyer who supposedly handed over the photos for destruction, one of which Cohen …

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Falwell: There Are No Compromising Photos Of Me

Yesterday Reuters reported that Michael Cohen recorded a phone call with Jerry Falwell Jr. in which the evangelical leader pleaded for help in destroying “racy” personal photos that should be “kept between a husband and wife.” Falwell has run to Todd Starnes to deny the story: “This report is not accurate,” Falwell said. “There are no compromising or embarrassing photos …

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Tennessee GOP House Speaker Won’t Resign After Chief Of Staff Quits In Racism, Sexism, And Cocaine Scandal

The Tennessean reports: House Speaker Glen Casada said Tuesday he will not resign from his leadership position, despite participating in sexually charged text messages with his now former chief of staff. Speaking to WTN’s Brian Wilson, the Franklin Republican said he had no intentions to step down, adding, “I’m sorry that I did it and I’m embarrassed that I did …

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Dem Baltimore Mayor Resigns Amid Financial Scandal

The Baltimore Sun reports: Baltimore Mayor Catherine E. Pugh resigned Thursday, a month after taking a medical leave amid a growing scandal over her sales of a self-published children’s book series, sources tell The Baltimore Sun. Pugh submitted a letter of resignation dated Thursday. Her resignation is effective immediately, attorney Steven Silverman said at a news conference. She did not …

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New York Archdiocese Names 120 “Credibly Accused” Priests (Most Are Dead Or Are Already Defrocked)

NBC News reports: The Archdiocese of New York on Friday named 120 Catholic clergy that it said had been “credibly accused” of sexual abuse or being in possession of pornography. About half of the men on the list were born in the first half of the 20th century and are now dead. The rest have either been removed from ministry …

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Feds Raid Home Of Baltimore Mayor In Book Scandal

Baltimore’s CBS News affiliate reports: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is at Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh’s house and City Hall Thursday morning. The FBI confirmed that agents from the FBI Baltimore Office and the IRS Criminal Division are executing court authorized search warrants. Agents also arrived at Maryland Center for Adult Training, one of Mayor Pugh’s businesses and the …

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