Capitol Hill staffer speaks out for first time since 2023 DC stabbing
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- Yahoo
Woman thought volunteer officer could ‘kill' her during alleged sexual assault
A young woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by a volunteer Metropolitan Police officer told a court she thought he could 'kill' her. Amersham Law Courts heard that James Bubb, who now identifies as a woman named Gwyn Samuels, assaulted the alleged victim multiple times while she was between the ages of 12 and 18. The trial heard they met on video chat site Omegle in 2018, when the complainant was 12 years old and the defendant was about 21, before meeting in person for the first time at a Christian festival a few months later. On Thursday, the complainant said she was 18 when Bubb assaulted her at the defendant's studio flat in Chesham. The defendant is charged with assault by penetration in relation to the complainant, relating to the alleged assault in 2024. Of this alleged assault, prosecutor Richard Milne asked: 'You said the word that he had 'raped' you, can you explain what aspects of the sexual activity between you were in your mind rape and why?' The complainant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, replied: 'The fact that I didn't consent, I couldn't consent with the gag in my mouth, I didn't feel there was any way to consent that.' She went on to say that she froze during the alleged attack which she thought could 'ruin my chance of fertility for life, and potentially kill me'. The complainant said she had told the defendant she was five years older when they first started speaking online, had sent them photos of herself wearing her school uniform but was 'scared' they would reject her if she revealed her true age. The alleged victim's mother told the court that she could often hear a 'male voice' coming from her child's bedroom at night when the complainant was about 11 to 12. She clarified that she thought this voice belonged to 'a man'. The trial previously heard that Bubb allegedly sexually assaulted the complainant on Shepherd's Bush Green while she was visiting London with her parents to celebrate her forthcoming 13th birthday. Of this trip, her mother told jurors that her child had 'disappeared' for a period while the family were in a shopping centre buying her birthday presents, and that the complainant's father said he thought she had 'gone to meet a friend'. 'She didn't come back, we were meant to board the train to go home and I'd waited, we'd waited for half an hour, maybe an hour, and I began to get really panicked,' she said. After the child returned, her mother said she seemed 'very subdued' on their journey home and did not tell her about the alleged assault until 'much later on'. The defendant, wearing a white shirt and black cardigan, dabbed their eyes and appeared to be crying at points during the hearing. The 27-year-old has denied one count of rape in relation to one complainant, and two counts of rape, two counts of sexual activity with a child, one count of assault of a child under 13 by penetration, one count of rape of a child under 13 and one count of assault by penetration in relation to the other complainant. A not guilty verdict on one of the rape charges in relation to the second complainant was returned on Wednesday after the prosecution offered no evidence. All charges are alleged to have taken place between January 1 2018 and April 2 2024. The defendant, of High Street, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, denies all charges. The trial continues.
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Melania Trump threatens to sue Hunter Biden over ‘salacious' Epstein comments
US first lady Melania Trump has demanded that Hunter Biden retract comments linking her to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and threatened to sue if he does not. Ms Trump takes issue with two comments Mr Biden, son of former president Joe Biden, made in an interview this month with American journalist Andrew Callaghan. He alleged that Epstein introduced the first lady to now-President Donald Trump. The statements are false, defamatory and 'extremely salacious' Melania Trump's lawyer, Alejandro Brito, wrote in a letter to Mr Biden. Mr Biden's remarks were widely disseminated on social media and reported by media outlets around the world, causing the first lady 'to suffer overwhelming financial and reputational harm', he wrote. Mr Biden made the Epstein comments during a sprawling interview in which he lashed out at 'elites' and others in the Democratic Party he says undermined his father before he dropped out of last year's presidential campaign. 'Epstein introduced Melania to Trump. The connections are, like, so wide and deep,' Mr Biden said in one of the comments Ms Trump disputes. Mr Biden attributed the claim to author Michael Wolff, whom Mr Trump disparaged in June as a 'Third Rate Reporter'. He has accused Mr Wolff of making up stories to sell books. The first lady's threats echo a favoured strategy of her husband, who has aggressively used litigation to go after critics. Public figures like the Trumps face a high bar to succeed in a defamation case. The president and first lady have long said they were introduced by Paolo Zampolli, a modelling agent, at a New York Fashion Week party in 1998. The letter is dated August 6 and was first reported on Wednesday by Fox News Digital. Abbe Lowell, a lawyer who has represented Mr Biden in his criminal cases and to whom Brito's letter is addressed, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ken Calvert has served California for decades. Newsom's plan could end his dominance
Last year Republican Rep. Ken Calvert, the longest-serving Republican of California's delegation, narrowly held his seat against a former federal prosecutor, Democrat Will Rollins. This year he faces eight challengers, and the possibility that his area, California District 41, could be redrawn to give Democratic candidates the advantage. Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing what lawmakers are calling an emergency redistricting plan for California, aimed at turning at least five red congressional seats blue. Calvert's Inland Empire district is one of those targets. Newsom floated his plan after Texas began redrawing its political lines to eliminate five Democratic seats. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is pushing the proposal with the backing of President Donald Trump, who wants to bolster the GOP's House majority in next year's midterm election by skewing voting districts in Republicans' favor. 'Donald Trump called up Governor Abbott for one simple reason: to rig the 2026 elections,' Newsom said in a statement, vowing to 'fight fire with fire.' But he faces some hurdles. Unlike Texas, where the legislature sets political boundaries, California relies on an independent citizens' commission to draw voting lines. California voters approved the redistricting commission for state offices in 2008, empowering the bipartisan body to set boundaries based on geographic areas and 'communities of interest,' which can include cultural and economic characteristics. In 2010, voters added congressional districts to the process. To circumvent that, Newsom would ask California voters to approve new boundaries that would remain in place through 2030. He plans to release proposed voting maps next week. Then the state legislature has to authorize a ballot measure by Aug. 22 to place the redistricting plan on the November ballot. Newsom wants to redraw California map: Here's an overview of where we stand Last week Newsom hosted Texas lawmakers who fled the state to delay a vote on its redistricting effort. And on Monday he sent Trump a letter outlining California's counteroffensive. 'You are playing with fire, threatening to destabilize democracy, while knowing that California can neutralize any gains you hope to make,' Newsom wrote. Although the governor has been leading the charge for redistricting, his office said the legislature is handling the maps. 'That is not something our office is actively involved in,' Brandon Richards, a spokesperson for the governor's office, told CalMatters in an email. Calvert didn't comment on how the redistricting proposal would affect his district, but said the plan undermines California's citizen-led redistricting process. 'I strongly oppose the scheme being orchestrated behind closed doors by Sacramento politicians to take constitutionally afforded power away from the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission and replace it with a process that would allow legislators to draw district maps that are gerrymandered to benefit themselves and their political allies,' Calvert said in a statement to CalMatters. 'A partisan political gerrymander is not what the voters of California want as they clearly stated when they passed the VOTERS FIRST Act and participated in the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission process.' If voters approve the new maps it could put Calvert's seat at risk. Previous redistricting in 2021 added the liberal Coachella Valley to conservative parts of western Riverside County, making it a more competitive race. Rollins brought a tightly run campaign and $8 million war chest to the fight and lost by just 3% in November. With even more Democrat-friendly boundaries and a wide field of candidates that include business executives, an educator and a pop star, the swing race would likely attract renewed national attention and campaign donations. This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: California redistricting Ken Calvert seat
