Latest news with #TheVow
The National
a day ago
- Politics
- The National
Expert weighs in on Nigel Farage funding for Scotland comments
The Reform UK leader sparked outrage when he suggested axing the Barnett formula during a press conference in Aberdeen earlier this week. Dr Neil McGarvey, a top politics lecturer at Strathclyde University, told The National that Farage's comments suggested the Reform UK leader had not thought 'deeply' about the constitutional question. He said: 'I don't think Farage has thought it through very coherently, if I'm being honest. 'I would actually struggle to label Farage a Unionist; he's not really thought in any way deeply about the Union and the implications of what he's said for the Union.' READ MORE: Douglas Ross accused of 'bullying witnesses' in key Holyrood committee While the Barnett formula is often taken to mean the whole process by which Holyrood is funded, it is only one part, explained McGarvey, with the baseline block grant making up the largest part. The Barnett formula, devised in the 1970s before the first Scottish devolution referendum, is used to calculate how much money Scotland gets as a proportion of UK spending in devolved areas. (Image: PA) McGarvey, who has written about right-wing politics in Scotland and the Union, said that he would describe Farage as holding a 'One Britain philosophy', which he defined as an 'English-stroke-British nationalist approach to governance, that we should all be governed as one'. The academic argued that because of The Vow – a last-ditch attempt to shore up No votes in the 2014 referendum, which included a pledge to keep the Barnett formula while bringing in more powers – both sides in the referendum had cast their ballots for different kinds of constitutional change. He said: 'You could say, from an SNP perspective, if you reopen the whole debate about Barnett, you're reopening the constitutional debate.' READ MORE: Britain was 'extension of Scotland', suggest medieval texts uncovered by historian And McGarvey argued that Farage may find unlikely bedfellows in the SNP over his comments about the Barnett formula, which saw the Reform UK leader saying that Holyrood should be 'able to raise a bit more of its own revenue'. He said this put Farage in similar territory to those in the SNP who would argue for the Scottish Parliament to have 'full fiscal autonomy', which would see it given complete control over tax and public spending short of full independence. Farage's comments were met with outrage not only from pro-independence parties but from the Conservatives, who said his argument amounted to wanting to scrap what they call the 'Union dividend'.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Diddy defense preview? His lawyer defended 'sex cult' leader in eerily similar case
NEW YORK ― A charismatic man coerced women into sex and silence. His inner circle transported victims, reaping financial rewards. Sleep deprivation abounded. Those are all allegations against Sean "Diddy" Combs, whose sex-trafficking trial heads to opening statements on Monday, May 12. But they are also similar to the charges in a 2019 sex-trafficking trial against self-help guru Keith Raniere, the so-called NXIVM "sex cult" leader. And the similarities could offer an early window into Combs' defense. After all, the two men went to trial with the same lawyer: Marc Agnifilo. As a federal prosecutor in the 2000s, Agnifilo helped expand the government's use of a 1970 law designed to take down the mafia, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act or "RICO." Agnifilo helped broaden the use of RICO to also tackle street gangs. However, as a defense lawyer Agnifilo argued that using that law against Raniere was a bridge too far. The law is now being used against Combs to allege he ran a criminal enterprise that involved kidnapping, forced labor, and sex trafficking. Agnifilo, who lost Raniere's case, didn't respond to USA TODAY's request for comment on how he will be approaching Combs' defense and whether his strategy will mirror that defense. But Season 2 of HBO's "The Vow," in which Agnifilo let a documentary team follow him through the trial, offers clues to what the defense could look like. The prominent New York defense lawyer is also representing accused UnitedHealthcare CEO-killer Luigi Mangione along with his wife, Karen Agnifilo, who is leading that defense team. Marc Agnifilo also represented former pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli and ex-International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in high-profile cases. To prove their sex-trafficking charges against Combs, prosecutors will have to show that Combs knew his alleged victims were participating in "freak off" parties that involved sexual activities as a result of force, fraud, and coercion. It's an element of the charges that's not just about whether the parties happened, but also about Combs' intent and whether he believed the women had freely consented. When Raniere faced similar sex-trafficking charges, Agnifilo approached that issue head-on, portraying Raniere as a man who lived an atypical sexual lifestyle, but who always had good intentions. "I don't have to defend everything to win this case, but one thing I am going to defend is his intentions," Agnifilo said in his opening statement at Raniere's trial. "I'm going to defend his good faith." Agnifilo has already dropped hints that he will pursue a similar strategy in Combs' case. At an April 25 pre-trial hearing, Agnifilo said he plans to tell jurors that there is a certain alternative sexual lifestyle – "call it swingers" – that Combs belonged to. He said being able to describe that lifestyle to jurors will be crucial to showing Combs didn't have the necessary intent to be guilty. More broadly, Agnifilo tried to humanize Raniere throughout his trial. "Keith undoubtedly believes that his work with NXIVM is good, and I think it's helped a lot of people," Agnifilo said at the time. It's a strategy that's in line with Agnifilo's general style, according to Mitchell Epner, a long-time litigator who worked in the New Jersey federal prosecuting office at the same time as Agnifilo. "His style is to make the jury believe that he is investing his personality in the defendant," Epner said. Epner described it in the following way: "I'm likable. You like me. I'm a charismatic guy. I like my client. I'm standing behind him, I'm putting my hands on his shoulders. I am investing whatever halo effect I have on my client. And therefore, you should think good things about my client." In Raniere's trial, Agnifilo appeared to conclude that the defense's Achilles' heel was evidence that practically any juror would see as morally abhorrent. That included sexual images of someone the jury concluded was a minor. Even though that evidence spoke directly only to charges that Raniere sexually exploited a child and possessed child sexual-abuse material, Agnifilo believed it damned the entire defense. "After Keith's sentencing I said, 'You know, Keith, this was a fascinating debate, and maybe even a debate that we win until you have allegations of, you know, underage sex and pornography,'" Agnifilo said in the documentary. "Then you don't get to be a participant in the debate anymore, and no one's going to listen to your viewpoint the same way." Combs is also going to be up against evidence that no juror is likely to countenance: a video that appears to show Combs dragging and kicking his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, in a hotel hallway. Judge Arun Subramanian ruled April 25 that prosecutors will be able to show the video at trial, despite the defense's objections. Agnifilo's experience in Raniere's trial may cause him to think especially hard about how to challenge the evidence Combs faces. In court filings ahead of trial, the defense has suggested the video may have been doctored. CNN, which made the video public in its broadcast, has denied the allegations. Agnifilo's experience with the Raniere case could also give him food for thought when it comes to picking a jury that is going to see morally troubling evidence. Robert Hirschhorn, a lawyer and jury consultant, told USA TODAY ahead of jury selection that, if he were on the defense team, he might argue Combs is guilty of domestic violence, but he was overcharged with sex trafficking. Hirschhorn would test whether potential jurors could set aside the video by asking if they could work through and compartmentalize a significant other cheating. "Everybody that says, 'compartmentalize,' I don't care what else they say – Unless they say, 'I already think Diddy's guilty,' I'm putting them on the jury every day," Hirschhorn said. Another of Agnifilo's tactics to try to combat the case against Raniere was to use the words of his victims against them. "These women who are saying that they're victims, yet see, how do they speak to Keith?" Agnifilo asked rhetorically ahead of witness testimony. "That's when the jury's gonna start seeing what this case is really about, when we actually get to the evidence." It was a strategy he employed over and over as prosecutors put women on the stand who testified that Raniere coerced them. With one witness who testified that, at Raniere's direction, she started sending him nude images and entered into a "master-slave" relationship with him, Agnifilo pointed to her text messages to cast doubt on her claims of coercion. "You were asking to see Keith on a pretty regular basis?" Agnifilo asked. "I was just following the instructions of my master," the woman responded. "Have you told my client that you love him?" Agnifilo asked. "I tried to be the best slave I could be so that things would work out for me," the woman responded. When another woman, a Mexican citizen, testified that Raniere forced her to stay in a room for two years after she kissed another man, Agnifilo again pointed to what she wrote. "What you write here is, 'From my love for you and what is unfinished between us, I gathered the strength to go against my own momentum and be honest with myself,'" he said. "This is a very complex situation," she replied. "I have no money, no papers, and I was threatened with both being sent back to Mexico, and also threatened with being completely cut off from everyone I knew," she said. Agnifilo has experience with just how impactful an alleged victims' own statements can be. New York prosecutors dropped a sexual assault case against his client, former French politician Strauss-Kahn, based on statements they believed called her story into question. Just as with that woman in Raniere's case, prosecutors in Combs' case say he leaned on other members of his alleged enterprise to help him monitor women and keep them from leaving. They plan to introduce testimony from a psychologist on why victims might stay in abusive or violent relationships. In Raniere's case, Agnifilo also wanted to bring in witnesses who could testify to participating in an organization within NXIVM, "DOS," that prosecutors alleged was used to traffic women. "The only way to rectify it is to hear from these DOS women firsthand and set the record straight and say, 'Listen, I joined DOS for my own reasons,'" Agnifilo said as he was preparing for trial. "Even the power and might of the great federal government hasn't shaken these women from that belief." In practice, that strategy didn't work out for him. When it came time for the defense to present witnesses, nobody wanted to do it. "We went to several different countries and interviewed hundreds of people to be witnesses in this case, and we got what I think was good information," he said after the trial. "But when it came time to actually, you know, travel to Brooklyn, enter that courtroom, sit in the witness chair, not a lot of people wanted to do that." Agnifilo will likely be hoping witnesses for Combs will stay the course even as prosecutors present testimony and evidence over several weeks that could likewise paint Combs in a highly-negative light. In court filings ahead of the trial, the defense team and prosecutors have been arguing over whether Combs should be able to present that kind of testimony. Ultimately, Agnifilo's defense didn't work out for Raniere, who was found guilty on every charge he faced. Still, a recent development – Combs' decision to reject a plea offer – may indicate Agnifilo is optimistic for a better outcome this time. (The details of the offer – or what Agnifilo advised – weren't publicly revealed.) When Raniere was headed to trial, Agnifilo said, "If your client's guilty and the government can prove it, cut a deal and call it a day." Raniere was sentenced to 120 years in prison. His appeal is ongoing. Aysha Bagchi covers the Department of Justice for USA TODAY. She is an attorney, Harvard Law graduate, and Rhodes Scholar. You can follow her on X and Bluesky at @AyshaBagchi. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: A look at Diddy lawyer's strategy in eerily similar 'sex cult' trial
Time of India
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
ROMCON: Who the F**k is Jason Porter? OTT Release Date - When and where to watch chilling true crime documentary
ROMCON: Who the F**k is Jason Porter? OTT Release Date - It starts like every modern love story: a meet-cute on a dating app, charming texts, weekend getaways, and whispered dreams about forever. But what Heather Rovet didn't know was that she wasn't dating a man. She was dating a mirage - a con, a criminal, a chameleon. ROMCON: Who the F**k is Jason Porter? is the two-part docuseries that dares to ask the question every ghosted, gaslit, and gutted dater has wondered at least once: Who the f**k was I really talking to? This is a true crime documentary starting to stream from June 13 on Prime Video. This isn't catfish. This is war. Heather Rovet is not your typical victim. She's a successful real estate broker in Toronto. Smart, self-made, fiercely independent. So when she fell for a guy named 'Jace,' a laid-back handyman who seemed oddly perfect, she thought she'd finally hit the dating jackpot. For three whole years, she believed the fantasy: texts, cuddles, birthday cakes, the works. But the fairy tale cracks wide open when she discovers 'Jace' isn't Jace. He's Jason Porter, a man with a rap sheet long enough to wrap around the CN Tower. He's been in and out of jail, and the name he gave her? Completely fake. If this were a movie, you'd scream at the screen. But this is real. And Heather isn't staying silent. Real love, real lies and real consequences What makes ROMCON hit different is that it's not just about Heather finding out the truth. It's about what she does next. The woman grabs a metaphorical detective's badge and goes on a hunt, not just for Jason, but for the other women he's duped. Spoiler: there are a lot. Across two unflinching episodes, we watch her build a case. She pieces together his lies, talks to other victims, and lays bare a trail of emotional devastation that spans provinces. And the worst part? Jason Porter isn't some shadowy monster. He's a smiling, beer-drinking, boy-next-door. That's what makes this terrifying. Directed by Henry Roosevelt (The Vow, Take Care of Maya) and produced by Blink49 Studios, the series is backed by Amazon MGM Studios. Watch ROMCON: Who the F**k is Jason Porter? then maybe… delete that dating app for a while.
Scottish Sun
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Pregnant Marnie Simpson looks incredible in floral dress at surprise baby shower as she prepares to welcome third child
This comes after Marnie revealed gender of her unborn baby in sweet video Shower Surprise Pregnant Marnie Simpson looks incredible in floral dress at surprise baby shower as she prepares to welcome third child Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) PREGNANT Marnie Simpson looked blooming lovely in a floral dress as she celebrated her surprise baby shower - with baby number three on the way. The Geordie Shore star was glowing as she marked the special occasion surrounded by friends, family and plenty of pink decorations. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 6 Pregnant Geordie Shore legend Marnie Simpson was surprised with a baby shower Credit: Instagram @sophiekasaei_ 6 The star posed with her friends and family Credit: Instagram Marnie, 33, was showered with love at the bash, which was kept under wraps by pals and cousin Sophie Kasaei before they pulled off the surprise. The reality favourite – already mum to Rox and Oax with husband Casey Johnson – cradled her growing bump as she posed for pics. Sharing snaps on Instagram, Sophie wrote: "3 generations in the making. Surprise baby shower for our girl @marns". She posted sweet family pics with their mums and Marnie's son in front of a pink, white and gold balloon arch. Marnie was glowing in a white fitted dress with a purple floral print and keyhole detailing. Meanwhile, Sophie opted for a shiny pink one shoulder top and high rise blue jeans. Geordie Shore pal Nathan Henry also made an appearance wearing a stylish white polo shirt and beige trousers. The snaps also featured a pink donut wall and adorable pink party favours. Back in February, Marnie has revealed the gender of her unborn baby in a sweet video. The reality star has shared a gender update with fans, by cutting through a beautiful cake. Pregnant Geordie Shore legend Marnie Simpson reveals gender of her unborn baby in sweet video Marnie revealed the icing inside to be pink, and revealed to fans that they'd be welcoming a baby girl. She penned: "GENDER REVEAL … " and fans flooded the comments with messages of congratulations. The star shared a photo of her baby scans next to the white cake, and white roses could be seen in the background. RuthAnne's The Vow song played over the top, as the Geordie Shore star cut into the cake. Marnie had a very difficult first birth and while pregnant with her second child she insisted she would not have any more. She said at the time: 'I would not go to three,' she said. 'I think you've got to find the balance for yourselves. "We want to enjoy our lives as well. We've not waited too long to have kids and I feel like having two, we can give them the best life possible.' Marnie previously described her first labour, which lasted 28 hours, as traumatic and insisted on having a c-section the second time round. Marnie was diagnosed with a chronic UTI in 2016 and after giving birth to baby Rox in 2019, her symptoms began to get a lot worse. Marnie got engaged to X Factor singer Casey back in 2020, and they wed in May 2023. The pair met on the show Single AF in 2017. They confirmed their relationship just a few months after the show ended - a move that is against show rules but it didn't seem to worry the smitten love-birds. 6 Geordie Shore pal Nathan Henry attended the surprise baby shower Credit: Instagram 6 Sophie made the cutest pink party favours for the surprise bash Credit: Instagram 6 Marnie is a mum to two boys Credit: Instagram
The Irish Sun
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Pregnant Marnie Simpson looks incredible in floral dress at surprise baby shower as she prepares to welcome third child
PREGNANT Marnie Simpson looked blooming lovely in a floral dress as she celebrated her surprise baby shower - with baby number three on the way. The Geordie Shore star was glowing as she marked the special occasion surrounded by friends, family and plenty of pink decorations. Advertisement 6 Pregnant Geordie Shore legend Marnie Simpson was surprised with a baby shower Credit: Instagram @sophiekasaei_ 6 The star posed with her friends and family Credit: Instagram Marnie, 33, was showered with love at the bash, which was kept under wraps by pals and cousin Sophie Kasaei before they pulled off the surprise. The reality favourite – already mum to Rox and Oax with husband Sharing snaps on Instagram, Sophie wrote: "3 generations in the making. Surprise baby shower for our girl @marns". She posted sweet family pics with their mums and Marnie's son in front of a pink, white and gold balloon arch. Advertisement read more on marnie simpson Marnie was glowing in a white fitted dress with a purple floral print and keyhole detailing. Meanwhile, Sophie opted for a shiny pink one shoulder top and high rise blue jeans. Geordie Shore pal The snaps also featured a pink donut wall and adorable pink party favours. Advertisement Most read in Reality Back in February, Marnie has The reality star has shared a gender update with fans, by cutting through a beautiful cake. Pregnant Geordie Shore legend Marnie Simpson reveals gender of her unborn baby in sweet video Marnie revealed the icing inside to be pink, and revealed to fans that they'd be welcoming a baby girl. She penned: "GENDER REVEAL … " and fans flooded the comments with messages of congratulations. Advertisement The star shared a photo of her baby scans next to the white cake, and white roses could be seen in the background. RuthAnne's The Vow song played over the top, as the Geordie Shore star cut into the cake. Marnie had a very difficult first birth and while pregnant with her second child she insisted she would not have any more. She said at the time: 'I would not go to three,' she said. 'I think you've got to find the balance for yourselves. Advertisement "We want to enjoy our lives as well. We've not waited too long to have kids and I feel like having two, we can give them the best life possible.' Marnie previously described her first labour, which lasted 28 hours, as traumatic and insisted on having a c-section the second time round. Marnie was diagnosed with a chronic Marnie Advertisement The pair met on the show Single AF in 2017. They confirmed their relationship just a few months after the show ended - a move that is against show rules but it didn't seem to worry the smitten love-birds. 6 Geordie Shore pal Nathan Henry attended the surprise baby shower Credit: Instagram 6 Sophie made the cutest pink party favours for the surprise bash Credit: Instagram Advertisement 6 Marnie is a mum to two boys Credit: Instagram 6 Marnie got engaged to X Factor singer Casey back in 2020, and they wed in May 2023 Credit: Instagram
