Former NBA player Ben McLemore sentenced to 8+ years in prison for rape
The ex-Portland Trail Blazer was sentenced to 100 months in prison by Clackamas County Circuit Court Judge Michael Wetzel, Portland TV station KGW reported. The jury last week found the 32-year-old guilty of rape, unlawful sexual penetration and one count of sexual abuse. He was found not guilty on another count of sexual abuse.
The charges involved a 21-year-old woman and stemmed from a party at a home owned by then-teammate Robert Covington in the Portland suburb of Lake Oswego.
During the trial, Clackamas County prosecutors described the sexual encounter as rape. The defense argued it was consensual sex.
The woman testified that she was incapacitated due to alcohol, and was unable to consent, KGW reported. McLemore said he had also been drinking but testified that it was consensual.
McLemore, who played college at Kansas, was the seventh pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings. He also played for Memphis, Houston and the Los Angeles Lakers before his last NBA season with Portland in 2021-2022.
Since then, he has played professionally overseas in Europe, China and Turkey.
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New York Post
27 minutes ago
- New York Post
Federal judge protects Kilmar Abrego Garcia from deportation by Trump admin
A federal judge in Maryland issued an emergency ruling Wednesday blocking the Trump administration from immediately taking Salvadorian migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia into ICE custody for 72 hours after he is released from criminal custody in Nashville, Tennessee — attempting to slow, if only temporarily, a case at the center of a legal and political maelstrom. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said in her order that the government must refrain from immediately taking Abrego into ICE custody pending release from criminal custody in Tennessee, and ordered he be returned to the ICE Order of Supervision at the Baltimore Field Office— the closest ICE facility near the district of Maryland where Abrego was arrested earlier this year. Advertisement Xinis said at an evidentiary hearing this month that she would take action soon, in anticipation of a looming detention hearing for Abrego Garcia in his criminal case. She said she planned to issue the order with sufficient time to block the Trump administration's stated plans to immediately begin the process of deporting Abrego Garcia again upon release — this time to a third country such as Mexico or South Sudan. 9 This undated photo provided by CASA, an immigrant advocacy organization, in April 2025, shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia. AP Xinis's order said the additional time will ensure Abrego can raise any credible fears of removal to a third country, and via 'the appropriate channels in the immigration process.' She also ordered the government to provide Abrego and his attorneys with 'immediate written notice' of plans to transport him to a third country, again with the 72-hour notice period, 'so that Abrego Garcia may assert claims of credible fear or seek any other relief available to him under the law and the Constitution.' Xinis said in her order Wednesday that the 72-hour notice period is necessary 'to prevent a repeat of Abrego Garcia's unlawful deportation to El Salvador by way of third-country removal.' Advertisement 'Defendants have taken no concrete steps to ensure that any prospective third country would not summarily return Abrego Garcia to El Salvador in an end-run around the very withholding order that offers him uncontroverted protection,' she said. 9 Maryland Federal Judge Paula Xinis. Senate Judiciary Committee The order from Xinis, who presided over Abrego Garcia's civil case, was ultimately handed down on Wednesday just two minutes after a federal judge in Nashville — U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw — issued a separate order, upholding a lower judge's decision that Abrego should be released from criminal custody pending trial in January. Crenshaw said in his order that the government failed to provide 'any evidence that there is something in Abrego's history at warrants detention.' Advertisement The plans, which Xinis ascertained over the course of a multi-day evidentiary hearing earlier this month, capped an exhausting, 19-week legal saga in the case of Abrego Garcia that spanned two continents, multiple federal courts, including the Supreme Court, and inspired countless hours of news coverage. 9 The indictment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia that charges him with transporting people who were in the United States illegally, is photographed, Friday, June 6, 2025, in Washington. AP Still, it ultimately yielded little in the way of new answers, and Xinis likened the process to 'nailing Jell-O to a wall,' and 'beating a frustrated and dead horse,' among other things. 'We operate as government of laws,' she scolded lawyers for the Trump administration in one of many terse exchanges. 'We don't operate as a government of 'take my word for it.'' Advertisement Xinis had repeatedly floated the notion of a temporary restraining order, or TRO, to ensure certain safeguards were in place to keep Abrego Garcia in ICE custody, and appeared to agree with his attorneys that such an order is likely needed to prevent their client from being removed again, without access to counsel or without a chance to appeal his country of removal. 'I'm just trying to understand what you're trying to do,' Xinis said on more than one occasion, growing visibly frustrated. 9 Kilmar Abrego Garcia is seen wearing a Chicago Bulls hat in this handout image obtained by Reuters on April 9, 2025. via REUTERS 'I'm deeply concerned that if there's no restraint on you, Abrego will be on another plane to another country,' she told the Justice Department, noting pointedly that 'that's what you've done in other cases.' Those concerns were echoed repeatedly by Abrego Garcia's attorneys in a court filing earlier this month. They noted the number of times that the Trump administration has appeared to have undercut or misrepresented its position before the court in months past, as Xinis attempted to ascertain the status of Abrego Garcia in El Salvador, and what efforts, if any, the Trump administration was making to comply with a court order to facilitate his return. The Trump administration, who reiterated their belief that the case is no longer in her jurisdiction, will almost certainly move to immediately appeal the restraining order to a higher court. 9 Supporters of Kilmar Abrego Garcia rally outside the U.S. District Court for Maryland during a hearing on his case on July 10, 2025 in Greenbelt, Maryland. Getty Images Advertisement The order comes two weeks after an extraordinary, multi-day evidentiary hearing in Greenbelt, Maryland, where Xinis sparred with Trump administration officials as she attempted to make sense of their remarks and ascertain their next steps as they look to deport Abrego Garcia to a third country. She said she planned to issue the order before the date that Abrego could possibly be released from federal custody— a request made by lawyers for Abrego Garcia, who asked the court for more time in criminal custody, citing the many countries he might suffer persecution in — and concerns about what legal status he would have in the third country of removal. Without legal status in Mexico, Xinis said, it would likely be a 'quick road' to being deported by the country's government to El Salvador, in violation of the withholding of removal order. And in South Sudan, another country DHS is apparently considering, lawyers for Abrego noted the State Department currently has a Level 4 advisory in place discouraging U.S. travel due to violence and armed conflict. Advertisement 9 A rally sign is seen during a news conference outside the federal courthouse before a hearing for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee. AP Americans who do travel there should 'draft a will' beforehand and designate insurance beneficiaries, according to official guidance on the site. In court, both in July and in earlier hearings, Xinis struggled to keep her own frustration and her incredulity at bay after months of back-and-forth with Justice Department attorneys. Xinis has presided over Abrego Garcia's civil case since March, when he was deported to El Salvador in violation of an existing court order in what Trump administration officials described as an 'administrative error.' Advertisement She spent hours pressing Justice Department officials, over the course of three separate hearings, for details on the government's plans for removing Abrego Garcia to a third country — a process she likened to 'trying to nail Jell-O to a wall.' 9 Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant who lived in the U.S. legally with a work permit and was erroneously deported to El Salvador, is seen in this handout image obtained by Reuters on April 9, 2025. via REUTERS Xinis chastised the Justice Department this month for presenting a DHS witness to testify under oath about ICE's plans to deport Abrego Garcia, fuming that the official, Thomas Giles, 'knew nothing' about his case, and made no effort to ascertain answers — despite his rank as ICE's third-highest enforcement official. The four hours of testimony he provided was 'fairly stunning,' and 'insulting to her intelligence,' Xinis said. Advertisement Ultimately, the court would not allow the 'unfettered release' of Abrego Garcia pending release from federal custody in Tennessee without 'full-throated assurances' from the Trump administration that it will keep Abrego Garcia in ICE custody for a set period of time and locally, Xinis said, to ensure immigration officials do not 'spirit him away to Nome, Alaska.' During the July hearing, Judge Xinis notably declined to weigh in on the request for sanctions filed by lawyers for Abrego Garcia, but alluded to it in her ruling Wednesday. 'Defendants' defiance and foot-dragging are, to be sure, the subject of a separate sanctions motion,' she said in the ruling — indicating further steps could be taken as she attempts to square months of differing statements from Trump officials. 9 A sign is placed outside the federal courthouse where a hearing for Kilmar Abrego Garcia is taking place, during which a judge will determine the conditions of his release, in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., July 16, 2025. REUTERS 'The Court will not recount this troubling history in detail, other than to note Defendants' persistent lack of transparency with the tribunal adds to why further injunctive relief is warranted,' she said. The Justice Department, after a short recess, declined to agree, prompting Xinis to proceed with her plans for the TRO. Xinis told the court that ultimately, 'much delta' remains between where they ended things in court, and what she is comfortable with, given the government's actions in the past. This was apparent on multiple occasions Friday, when Xinis told lawyers for the Trump administration that she 'isn't buying' their arguments or doesn't 'have faith' in the statements they made — reflecting an erosion of trust that could prove damaging in the longer-term. 9 Supporters rally for Kilmar Abrego Garcia's return from El Salvador prior to a status hearing outside the federal court house in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA 16 May 2025. SHAWN THEW/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock The hearings this week capped months of back-and-forth between Xinis and the Trump administration, as she tried, over the course of 19 weeks, to track the status of a single migrant deported erroneously by the Trump administration to El Salvador—and to trace what attempts, if any, they had made facilitate his return to the U.S. Xinis previously took aim at what she deemed to be the lack of information submitted to the court as part of an expedited discovery process she ordered this year, describing the government's submissions as 'vague, evasive and incomplete'— and which she said demonstrated 'willful and bad faith refusal to comply with discovery obligations.' On Friday, she echoed this view. 'You have taken the presumption of regularity and you've destroyed it, in my view,' Xinis said.
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Gabbard uses surprise White House appearance to attack Trump's enemies on the Russia investigation
WASHINGTON (AP) — As the national intelligence director, Tulsi Gabbard is responsible for guarding America's secrets and discovering threats from overseas. But when she made a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room Wednesday, her targets were President Donald Trump's political enemies. Escalating her attempts to undermine the long-settled conclusion that Russia tried to help Trump beat Hillary Clinton for the presidency nearly a decade ago, she unspooled what she called unshakeable proof that then-President Barack Obama and his advisers plotted nothing short of a coup . 'They conspired to subvert the will of the American people,' she said, claiming they fabricated evidence to taint Trump's victory. Little of what she said was new, and much of it was baseless. Gabbard said her investigation into the former Democratic administration was designed to stop the weaponization of national security institutions, but it spurred more questions about her own independence atop a spying system intended to provide unvarnished intelligence. Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii who ran for president herself before joining Trump's idiosyncratic political ecosystem, seemed prepared to use her presentation to burnish her own standing. She was trailed by her cinematographer husband, who held a video camera to capture the moment. And Trump, who had previously expressed public doubts about Gabbard's analysis of Iran's nuclear program, appeared satisfied. He posted a video of her remarks, pinning them at the top of his social media feed. It was a display that cemented Gabbard's role as one of Trump's chief agents of retribution , delivering official recognition of Trump's grievances about the Russia investigation that shadowed his first term. The focus on a years-old scandal also served Trump's attempts to shift attention from the Jeffrey Epstein case and questions about the president's own association with an abuser of underage girls. Gabbard touts her latest release During her White House remarks, Gabbard said she has referred the documents to the Justice Department to consider for a possible criminal investigation. Obama's post-presidential office declined to comment Wednesday but issued a rare response a day earlier. 'These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,' said Patrick Rodenbush, an Obama spokesman. The White House rejected questions about the timing of Gabbard's revelations and whether they were designed to curry favor with Trump or distract attention from the administration's handling of files relating to Epstein. Still, Trump was quick to reward Gabbard's loyalty this week, calling her 'the hottest person in the room.' On Wednesday, she released a report by Republican staff of the House Intelligence Committee during the first Trump administration. It does not dispute that Russia interfered in the 2016 election but cites what it says were tradecraft failings in the assessment reached by the intelligence community that Russian President Vladimir Putin influenced the election because he intended for Trump to win. Gabbard went beyond some of the conclusions of the report in describing its findings from the White House podium. She, along with the report, also seized on the fact that a dossier including uncorroborated tips and salacious gossip about Trump's ties to Russia was referenced in an annex of an intelligence community assessment made public in 2017 that detailed Russia's interference. It was not the basis for the FBI's decision to open an investigation in July 2016 into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia, but Trump supporters have seized on the unverified innuendo in the document to try to undercut the broader probe. Timing of the reports prompt questions Gabbard said she didn't know why the reports weren't released during Trump's first administration. Her office did not respond to questions about the timing of the release. Responding to a question from a reporter about Gabbard's motivations, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt accused journalists of looking for a story where there wasn't one. 'The only people who are suggesting that she would release evidence to boost her standing are the people in this room,' Leavitt said. Trump, however, has said he wants the media, and the public, to focus on Gabbard's report and not his ties to Epstein. 'We caught Hillary Clinton. We caught Barack Hussein Obama ... you ought take a look at that and stop talking about nonsense,' Trump said Tuesday. CIA Director John Ratcliffe served briefly as director of national intelligence during Trump's first term but did not release any of the information declassified by Gabbard. The CIA declined to comment on Gabbard's remarks Wednesday. Trump and Gabbard's evolving relationship Gabbard told Congress in April that Iran wasn't actively seeking a nuclear weapon, and Trump dismissed her assessment just before U.S. strikes on Iran. 'I don't care what she said,' Trump said in June on Air Force One when asked about Gabbard's testimony. Gabbard recently shared her findings in an Oval Office meeting with Trump, according to two administration officials who requested anonymity to discuss a private conversation. Afterward, one of the officials said, Trump expressed satisfaction that Gabbard's findings aligned with his own beliefs about the Russia investigation. Other recent releases on the Russia investigation On Friday, Gabbard's office released a report that downplayed the extent of Russian interference in the 2016 election by highlighting Obama administration emails showing officials had concluded before and after the presidential race that Moscow had not hacked state election systems to manipulate votes in Trump's favor. But Obama's Democratic administration never suggested otherwise, even as it exposed other means by which Russia interfered in the election, including through a massive hack-and-leak operation of Democratic emails by intelligence operatives working with WikiLeaks, as well as a covert influence campaign aimed at swaying public opinion and sowing discord through fake social media posts. Earlier this month Ratcliffe released a report earlier this month criticizing the 2017 investigation into the election, but it did not address multiple investigations since then, including a report from the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee in 2020 that reached the same conclusion about Russia's influence and motives. Democrats call for Gabbard's resignation Lawmakers from both parties have long stressed the need for an independent intelligence service. Democrats said Gabbard's reports show she has placed partisanship and loyalty to Trump over her duty and some have called for her resignation. 'It seems as though the Trump administration is willing to declassify anything and everything except the Epstein files,' Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement Wednesday. Warner predicted Gabbard's actions could prompt U.S. allies to share less information for fear it would be politicized or recklessly declassified. But Gabbard enjoys strong support among Republicans. Rep. Rick Crawford, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said she and Ratcliffe were working to put the intelligence community 'on the path to regaining the trust of the American people.' Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence panel, said Gabbard hasn't offered any reason to ignore the many earlier investigations into Russia's efforts. 'The Director is free to disagree with the Intelligence Community Assessment's conclusion that Putin favored Donald Trump, but her view stands in stark contrast to the verdict rendered by multiple credible investigations,' Himes said in a statement. 'Including the bipartisan report released by the Senate Intelligence Committee.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Fox Sports
an hour ago
- Fox Sports
Vikings' Jordan Addison waits for potential NFL suspension after drunken driving plea deal
Associated Press EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Jordan Addison's off-the-field trouble, the Minnesota Vikings believe, is fully behind him. There is one more pressing matter to resolve, leaving the team and the third-year wide receiver to wait on potential punishment from the NFL as training camp unfolds. After Addison avoided a trial on a drunken driving case in California by pleading no contest to a lesser charge last week, the adjudication paved the way for the league to issue discipline. NFL policy on substances of abuse calls for a three-game suspension for a first offense of an alcohol-related violation of the law. Though Addison resolved the citation from 2024 with a 'wet reckless' misdemeanor that comes with fewer penalties and does not count as a DUI conviction on his driving record, a no-contest plea bargain doesn't exclude players from league suspensions. 'Everything is out of my control right now, so whatever the league has got for me, I'll be prepared with whatever decision they make,' Addison said Wednesday, before the team's first full practice of training camp. Addison had to pay a fine and complete two online courses, with the expectation his probation will be shortened from 12 to six months. 'Just to get it all behind me and just get on with the season,' he said, when asked why he opted for the plea bargain. As for his takeaway from the legal process, which began before his rookie year with a citation in Minnesota for excessive speeding? 'Just be smart,' Addison said. 'Make smart decisions. That's pretty much all.' Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said the team has been in contact with the NFL about the case but had no indication about when to expect a decision. 'They're obviously going through their process, and we'll know as soon as they know,' Adofo-Mensah said. 'Obviously, when that originally happened, we knew that it was a possibility, but really you're talking about team building in general. You might not have players on the field for various reasons, and you've always got to be ready with depth, players you're excited about taking the field and taking those opportunities, and this is no different.' Those players include Jalen Nailor, Tai Felton and Rondale Moore. Nailor had a breakout season in 2024, with 28 catches for 414 yards and six touchdowns after his first two years in the league were hampered by injuries. Felton was the team's third-round draft pick out of Maryland. Moore signed as a bargain free agent after missing last season with Atlanta with a torn ACL. He played his first three years in the league for Arizona. Addison's skills likely won't be replaced by any of those role players, however, should he be absent for the beginning of the season. With 133 catches for 1,786 yards and 19 touchdowns in two years, the 2023 first-round draft pick has flourished on the field as the sidekick in a dangerous duo with two-time All-Pro Justin Jefferson, who invited Addison earlier in the offseason to work out with him. 'Just talking to him and letting him know that, 'Hey, you need to be more vocal,'' Jefferson said during spring practice. 'He has that motivation and he's a great player as well, so people are going to listen to him as he speaks. Just trying to get him out of that shyness phase, or just being closed off and to himself, but I think he is getting better with that.' ___ AP NFL: recommended Item 1 of 3
