Scandal

Bloomberg News reports: Former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz was formally charged with providing false testimony to a parliamentary committee investigating government corruption. White collar investigators at Austria’s Justice Ministry said Friday that Kurz could face as many as three years in jail if found guilty, according to an emailed statement. Authorities had been probing statements made by Kurz in relation …

The Associated Press reports: Tennessee pastor Willie McLaurin, who leads the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, resigned Thursday from his position as interim president and chief executive after it came to light that he presented false information about his educational qualifications on his resume. The Executive Committee’s hiring team was considering McLaurin as a candidate to permanently replace former chief …

The Associated Press reports: The Mississippi Supreme Court says it will not remove former NFL quarterback Brett Favre as a defendant in a civil lawsuit that seeks to recover millions of dollars of misspent welfare money meant to help some of the poorest people in the United States. A panel of three justices issued a brief ruling Wednesday, denying an …

The Arizona Republic reports: A woman says Boris Epshteyn, a special adviser to Donald Trump, repeatedly groped her and her sister inside a Scottsdale nightclub in 2021, according to police body camera footage obtained by The Arizona Republic. Epshteyn, who had worked with Arizona politicians to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss, was accused of sexually assaulting the women at the …

ProPublica reports: During his three decades on the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas has enjoyed steady access to a lifestyle most Americans can only imagine. A cadre of industry titans and ultrawealthy executives have treated him to far-flung vacations aboard their yachts, ushered him into the premium suites at sporting events and sent their private jets to fetch him — including, …

The New York Times reports: His Prevost Marathon cost $267,230, according to title history records obtained by The New York Times. And Justice Thomas, who in the ensuing years would tell friends how he had scrimped and saved to afford the motor coach, did not buy it on his own. In fact, the purchase was underwritten, at least in part, …

The Associated Press reports: Casino mogul Steve Wynn’s long legal fight with Nevada gambling regulators over claims of workplace sexual misconduct is expected to end Thursday with a settlement calling for him to pay a $10 million fine and cut virtually all ties to the industry he helped shape in Las Vegas. The Nevada Gaming Commission was scheduled to meet …

The Texas Tribune reports: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Monday issued a wide-ranging gag order ahead of the impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, saying “out-of-court statements” by both sides could jeopardize the trial in the Texas Senate. The order, which went into immediate effect, cites what Patrick called “particularly egregious” statements that “pose a serious and imminent …

Courthouse News reports: A Ninth Circuit panel on Tuesday wrestled with the government’s decision to try former U.S. Congressman Jeffrey Fortenberry of Nebraska in Southern California on charges of making false statements to investigators in his home state and in Washington. Fortenberry, 62, was convicted last year of concealing a $30,000 illegal campaign contribution from a Parisian billionaire and lying …

The Associated Press reports: Bob Huggins says he never resigned as West Virginia’s basketball coach following a drunken-driving arrest and wants his job back, according to a letter from his attorney to the university. Huggins’ Cleveland-based attorney, David A. Campbell, wrote to the university Friday that Huggins “never signed a resignation letter and never communicated a resignation to anyone at …

The Hill reports: Defense officials on Wednesday announced that, in the wake of junior Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira‘s alleged leaking of classified documents online, the Pentagon is changing how military personnel access classified information and implementing measures aimed at better identifying “insider threats.” A review of Pentagon policies and procedures concluded that the Defense Department “should improve its security …

The Austin Statesman reports: In May, moments after the Texas House voted to impeach state Attorney General Ken Paxton, his office released an “outside” report produced by a private law firm that asserted his innocence against some of the allegations levied against him. What Paxton and his office did not say: The law firm that produced the report, Lewis Brisbois …

The Baltimore Sun reports: The Archdiocese of Baltimore added 42 names Friday to its list of church employees who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse, including that of a longtime theology dean and professor at Xavier University of Louisiana, the nation’s only Catholic historically Black college. Father Phillip J. Linden began teaching theology at Xavier in 1991, after served …

The Washington Examiner reports: Prosecutors in the impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton have expanded their investigation into his real estate dealings. The dealings under scrutiny are $3.5 million worth of properties purchased by Paxton and his family after he came under federal investigation, the Wall Street Journal revealed. Purchased from July 2021 to April 2022, the properties include …

ABC News reports: The bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee, resigned under pressure Tuesday following allegations he mishandled sex abuse allegations and several of his priests complained about his leadership and behavior, sparking a Vatican investigation. Pope Francis accepted Bishop Richard Stika’s resignation, according to a one-line statement from the Vatican. At 65, Stika is still 10 years below the normal retirement …

The Daily Beast reports: The Kentucky Democratic Party has asked the FBI and Justice Department to investigate a series of campaign contributions to Republican attorney general and gubernatorial candidate Daniel Cameron from officials at a company that his office was investigating, citing possible “serious violations” of ethics laws. “Kentucky law prohibits the Attorney General from using or attempting to use …

The Texas Tribune reports: Suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton will answer to 16 of 20 articles of impeachment at a trial to begin Sept. 5, the Texas Senate said Wednesday night after spending about 20 hours drafting the trial rules in private. Paxton’s wife, Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, can attend, but she will not participate in deliberations or closed sessions …

Charlotte’s ABC affiliate reports: A detailed lawsuit filed by a former Apex City Councilman claims that North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland County) started an affair with his wife and engaged in group sex with other people seeking political favor. Scott Riley Lassiter is suing Moore and an unnamed John Doe defendant for several claims, including alienation of affections …

CBS Sports reports: West Virginia coach Bob Huggins has resigned as Mountaineers men’s basketball coach after he was arrested Friday night in Pittsburgh for driving under the influence of alcohol. Huggins, who informed the team of his impending resignation on Saturday night, intends to retire. Huggins, 69, is one of the biggest figures in college basketball, with two Final Fours …

The New York Times reports: Bob Huggins, the men’s basketball coach at West Virginia, was arrested in Pittsburgh on Friday and charged with driving under the influence. According to a post on the police department’s public safety site, officers in Pittsburgh found Huggins blocking traffic in a black S.U.V. just before 8:30 p.m. Huggins’s door was open, and the car …