(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department will seek to move or dismiss a lawsuit filed by former prosecutor Maurene Comey over her “unlawful and unconstitutional” firing from the office where she prosecuted Sean Combs, Ghislaine Maxwell and other high-profile defendants, according to a new court filing.
The daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, Maurene Comey was considered a star trial lawyer in the Manhattan prosecutor’s office but was abruptly fired in July. Her lawsuit, filed in September, said that “Defendants did not identify any cause or provide Ms. Comey any due process for her removal.”
The DOJ’s filing said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York recused itself from the case, which will now be handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, which is led by a loyalist of President Donald Trump with no prior experience as a prosecutor.
The government was supposed to respond to Comey’s lawsuit by Nov. 21 but the new office assigned to the case asked for an extension “to familiarize ourselves with this matter.”
The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of New York sought a response deadline of Dec. 15, by which time it would either answer the complaint or seek to dismiss it, the filing said. The filing also indicated that the office would try to move Comey’s suit out of Manhattan.
The Northern District office is led by John Sarcone, whose legitimacy to serve as acting U.S. attorney is being challenged by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Sarcone is investigating James for allegedly violating President Trump’s civil rights after she successfully sued Trump over a decade’s worth of business fraud.
Comey alleged she was fired with “no legitimate explanation” and “solely or substantially because her father is James Comey,” who himself is being prosecuted by a U.S. attorney’s office in Virginia on charges of lying to Congress. The elder Comey has denied all charges.
“In addition to her fundamental constitutional rights, Ms. Comey had statutory protections under the Civil Service Reform Act that governed how and why she could be terminated, including specific prohibitions against termination for discriminatory reasons such as political affiliation. Her termination violated every one of those protections,” Maurene Comey’s lawsuit said.
Benjamin Hager/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(LAS VEGAS) — The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that the criminal case against six so-called “fake electors” who were charged for their alleged role in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election can proceed in Las Vegas.
The decision, released on Thursday, reversed a lower court’s dismissal of the case after a judge ruled last year that the case was filed in the wrong venue.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford brought the charges two years ago against some of the top officials from the Nevada Republican Party, who were accused of falsely portraying themselves as Nevada’s presidential electors.
The charges included offering a false instrument for filing, offering a forged instrument, and offering a false instrument titled “Certificate of the Votes of the 2020 Electors from Nevada” to the president of the Senate and other officials.
The case was filed in Clark County, which is home to Las Vegas.
In response to Thursday’s decision, Ford said that the defendants “cannot evade accountability in Nevada for their unlawful actions.”
“As attorney general, it is my duty to hold those who sought to undermine the results of our state’s free and fair election responsible,” Ford said in a statement.
Last week, President Donald Trump issued a sweeping pardon to dozens of key figures who were allegedly involved in the plan to arrange an alternate slate of 2020 electors, including the defendants charged in Nevada.
The pardons are largely symbolic as no one on the list was facing federal charges, and Trump does not have the ability to pardon state charges.
Tom Brady is seen at the opening of the CardVault by Tom Brady store in SoHo on October 07, 2025 in New York City. Michael Simon/Getty Images for CardVault by Tom Brady
(NEW YORK) — Looks like Team Rocket has struck again.
Almost $10,000 worth of Pokémon and baseball cards were stolen from Tom Brady’s card store in New York City last month, the NYPD said Friday.
The crime occurred at CardVault at around 11:40 a.m. on Oct. 20 when the male suspect bypassed the store’s payment machine, leaving the SoHo store with a collectable card stash worth approximately $9,710, according to police.
“Once the transaction was declined, the unidentified individual began to enter manual prompts into the contact payment terminal without the employee’s knowledge to bypass the transaction being declined,” the NYPD said in a statement to ABC News.
The NYPD told ABC News that the suspect is being investigated for grand larceny.
“At time in place of occurrence, unknown defendant utilized a tap to pay account and then manipulated the point of sale system in order to obtain property without the permission and authority to do so, resulting in the loss of 9,710 U.S. currency in merchandise. It’s being investigated by the Financial Crimes Task Force of the NYPD,” a police department spokesperson said, citing the crime report.
The suspect was last seen walking south on Lafayette Street wearing black clothes with a black Yankees cap and a multicolored bag, according to video of the crime shared by police.
The store had just opened on Oct. 8, less than two weeks before the robbery. Brady had acquired 50% of the company in February, according to a press release.
CardVault describes itself online as a store where customers can engage in “buying, selling, trading, and grading sports cards and collectibles.”
“Founded in 2020 by an all-star team and backed by Brady’s personal passion for the hobby, CardVault’s commitment to community, authenticity, entertainment, and exceptional customer experience sets it apart in the collectibles market,” the store’s website reads.
Additional details on the arrest were not immediately released.
Beam, featured in Netflix’s “Last Chance U,” is a football legend in the Bay Area and had coached the sport for over 40 years before becoming solely the school’s athletic director last year. He remains in the hospital and his condition is not clear.
Beam was at the Laney Fieldhouse when he was shot shortly before noon on Thursday, authorities said. The alleged shooter fled the scene.
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said in a statement on Thursday, “Coach Beam is a giant in Oakland — a mentor, an educator, and a lifeline for thousands of young people.”
“We are praying for him,” Lee said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
US President Donald Trump during an executive order signing in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A new prosecutor has been selected to take over the Fulton County, Georgia, election interference case against President Donald Trump and others after District Attorney Fani Willis’ disqualification.
In a statement on Friday, the director of the agency tasked with finding the replacement said he had chosen someone new: himself.
Pete Skandalakis, the executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, said he chose himself to take over the case after he was “unable” to find someone else to accept the job.
“Several prosecutors were contacted and, while all were respectful and professional, each declined the appointment,” he said in a statement. “The decision to assume responsibility for this matter was reached only after careful and deliberate consideration.”
Trump and 18 others pleaded not guilty in August 2023 to all charges in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia.
The charges, which were brought following Trump’s Jan. 2, 2021, phone call in which he asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” the votes needed to win the state, allege that the defendants solicited state leaders throughout the country, harassed and misled a Georgia election worker, and pushed phony claims that the election was stolen, all in an effort for Trump to remain in power despite his election loss.
The selection of a new prosecutor fell to the attorneys’ council after the Georgia Supreme Court in September declined to take up Willis’ appeal of her removal from the case over her relationship with one of the prosecutors on the case.
Skandalakis was facing a Nov. 14 deadline to appoint someone new or the case would face dismissal, according to an order from Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee. Skandalakis said he did not believe McAfee dismissing the case because of the missed deadline would be “the right course of action.”
Skandalakis wrote in his statement that he had “not had sufficient time” to complete a review the case file, saying he received 101 boxes of documents from the DA’s office in late October, and an 8-terabyte hard drive of the case file just last week. He said that by appointing himself to the case he can “complete a comprehensive review and make an informed decision regarding how best to proceed” with the case, whose future is still up the air.
“My only objective is to ensure that this case is handled properly, fairly, and with full transparency discharging my duties without fear, favor, or affection,” Skandalakis said.
Trump this week issued a sweeping pardon to all defendants in the Georgia election case and all other cases involving alleged 2020 “fake elector” plots, although the act was largely symbolic as Trump does not have the ability to pardon state charges.
Mega Millions lottery tickets sit inside a convenience store in Lower Manhattan, (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The Mega Millions jackpot is now the eighth largest in history ahead of Friday night’s drawing where one lucky person could win an estimated $965 million.
The jackpot grew from $900 million to where it currently stands after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn Tuesday night.
The jackpot was last won on June 27.
The prize has a cash value of $445.3 million which can be offered as a one-time lump sum payment or an immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments.
After four jackpot wins in the first half of this year, Friday’s drawing will be the 40th drawing in this run, a game record, since it was last won in Virginia on June 27.
Even though nobody won the jackpot on Tuesday night, there were 809,030 winning tickets across all prize tiers for total nationwide winnings of more than $27.9 million, according to Mega Millions.
The odds of winning the jackpot at 1 in 290,472,336, according to Mega Millions.Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets are $5 for one play.
The largest Mega Millions jackpot prize ever won was $1.6 billion prize won on Aug. 8, 2023.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell attend de Grisogono Sponsors The 2005 Wall Street Concert Series Benefitting Wall Street Rising, with a Performance by Rod Stewart at Cipriani Wall Street on March 15, 2005 in New York City. (Patrick Mcmullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Already a convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein was still actively shopping his political and financial acumen with major power players on the international stage in 2018, according to messages in the trove of records released by the House Oversight Committee this week.
Epstein appeared to welcome that role of influence-wielder, including by pitching himself as a guru on how world leaders should handle then newly-elected President Donald Trump. Epstein even boasted that he had already counseled a top Russian diplomat on Trump’s psyche.
Months later, Epstein would be arrested on sex trafficking charges.
“I think you might suggest to putin, that lavrov, can get insight on talking to me,” Epstein said in a typo-strewn email to then-Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thørbjorn Jagland, on June 24, 2018. “Vitaly churkin used to but he died. ? !” he added, referring to Russia’s former Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
“I’ll meet Lavrovs assistant on Monday and will suggest,” Jagland replied. “Thank you fo [sic] a lovely evening. I’ll com to un high level week.”
“Churkin was great,” Epstein told Jagland. “He understood trump after our conversations. it is not complex. he must be seen to get something. its that simple.”
In January of 2013, then-President of the Maldives Mohamed Waheed Hassan already in correspondence with Epstein, asked for his financial guidance.
“Jeffrey, need your advice,” Hassan said. “My finance minister is telling me that he has an anonymous funds manager who is willing to deposit 4 billion dollars in Maldives and that they are willing to lend a percentage of that in exchange for government promissory notes,” he said — going on to describe what he worried was a sketchy deal.
“What do you think I should do. I am very uncomfortable. In addition to the finance minister, a leading politician and leader of the coalition parliamentary group is behind it. He could be my leading contender for presidency. Does this all sound ridiculous to you. I have a strange feeling about this whole thing,” Hassan continued. The note signs off with “Sent from President’s iPad.”
“It is a scam,” Epstein replied and then detailed the reasons Hassan should walk away from the proposal.
In a January 2017 exchange — seven days after Trump was inaugurated — Epstein communicates with someone who is set to rub elbows with influential politicos and businesspeople in Washington, D.C., the next day — and wants his advice.
“I’m seeing BG tmr. He will be in DC for the Alfalfa dinner but he’s got mtgs most of the day including w Jared Kushner. Should I ask him to discuss surgeon general or mention it or wait? Not sure kushner cares about that stuff,” the person, whose identity is redacted, asked.
“Kushner does not care,” Epstein responded. The person replied, “K will wait.”
“Ask him if he will see tom barrack, thats the most important,” Epstein said. “He is free to call me for inside baseball.”
Tom Barrack, a billionaire real estate investor, was Trump’s longtime ally and a visible part of the campaign, chairing the inaugural committee that raised more than $100 million.
In 2021, Barrack was charged with acting as a foreign agent for allegedly seeking to use his influence with the new president on behalf of the United Arab Emirates. He was ultimately found not guilty.
Later on in their conversation, Epstein said that “Bill met my friend Kathy ruemmler, Obama counsel for 5 yrs. She would love to sit with Melinda and give her the other side of jeffrey.”
“Can try, couldn’t hurt,” the person responded.
“Hillary loves Kathy as does Obama. She is an arch feminist who is my great defender,” Epstein said.
“Not sure individuals can influence once impressions are made. But I will try,” the person said. “I do not know for sure but I do think he would be unwilling to Bring it up with her.”
Epstein was also in fairly regular contact with Steve Bannon, Trump’s longtime adviser and former White House chief strategist, and referred to him in emails as a friend.
In one December 2018 conversation, Epstein weighed in on President Trump’s cabinet choices.
“Mnuchin is ok,” Epstein said, referring to then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. “Its simple, 15 yrs ago. the geriatrics understood that the internet was like telephones. connections only, then my nerds taught them thaat [sic] cyber is a weapon., same with the fed.. its a weapon to be used with sophistication.”
“Can u get rid of Powell or really get rid of mnuchin,” Bannon said, referring to Jerome Powell, whom Trump had tapped to serve as chairman of the Federal Reserve.
“Getting rid of powell much more important than syria /mattis,” Epstein replied, referring to then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. “I guess pompeo, only one left,” he said, referring to then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “Unless ambassador heather has a brilliant idea. – a first.. jared and ivanka, need to go. !!!” Epstein added, referring to Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump.
In a March 2018 exchange, Bannon forwarded to Epstein a headline reading, “German Media Confess to Underestimating Steve Bannon; He is ‘As Dangerous as Ever.'”
Bannon sent it with the message, “Germans get it.”
“Luv it,” Epstein replied, to which Bannon said, “Pretty powerful.”
“Unfortunately I just spoke to one of the country leaders that we discussed, , I will fly there tomorw [sic] night now and then to new york wednesday night. sorry. will be in new york thurs and friday,” Epstein told Bannon. “we should lay down a strategy plan. . how much fun… travel safe.”
ABC News Correspondent Jim Avila. Randy Sager/ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Jim Avila, a former longtime ABC News senior correspondent, whose investigative journalism earned him several of the most prestigious awards in broadcast news, has died. He was 70.
His death after a long illness was announced internally by ABC News President Almin Karamehmedovic.
“Jim was a gifted journalist and a generous colleague,” Karamehmedovic said in an email to staff.
Avila had also a been 20/20 correspondent based in Los Angeles before departing from the network in 2021. He specialized in politics, justice, law and consumer investigations.
“As the Senior Law and Justice Correspondent, he has covered every major trial from Jerry Sandusky and Penn State to Michael Jackson, OJ Simpson and countless others,” according to his ABC News official biography. “He led reports on immigration, making several trips to the southern border to document stories of immigrants, and also covered the death of Freddie Gray and civil unrest in Baltimore.”
He covered the White House from 2012 to 2016, during President Barack Obama’s second term.
“He won the prestigious Merriman Award from the White House Correspondents Association for breaking the news that the United States and Cuba had reopened diplomatic relations,” the biography said.
He earned numerous awards, including two National Emmy Awards and five Edward R. Murrow Awards, the biography said. His work also won him the prestigious Cine Golden Eagle Award, the Mongerson Prize for Investigative Reporting and five Chicago-area Emmy Awards in the category of Spot News.
“In 1999, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists honored him with reporter of the year,” the biography said. “In addition, he garnered three Peter Lisagor Awards from the Headline Club of Chicago, winning for his coverage of the Peru drug wars and the death of Mayor Harold Washington, and was named Best Reporter of 1989.”
He was a named a 2019 honoree by National Association of Hispanic Journalists’ Hall of Fame.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect Avila’s correct age.
Avila was most recently a senior investigative reporter at KGTV, the ABC affiliate in San Diego, where he continued “covering a wide range of stories with depth and fairness,” Karamehmedovic said.
Even after his health challenges began, Avila “continued to contribute to journalism through opinion writing and local reporting, sharing his experience and deep curiosity to tell the stories that mattered most to his community and viewers,” the email said.
“We send our heartfelt condolences to his family, including his three children, Jamie, Jenny, and Evan, and we thank him for his many contributions and unwavering commitment to seeking out the truth,” Karamehmedovic said.
Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — An individual attempted to “confront” Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“Last night, an individual attempted to confront one of our U.S. Attorneys — my dear friend @USAttyHabba -destroyed property in her office, and then fled the scene,” Bondi posted on X Thursday. “Thankfully, Alina is ok.”
“Any violence or threats of violence against any federal officer will not be tolerated. Period,” Bondi’s post continued. “This is unfortunately becoming a trend as radicals continue to attack law enforcement agents around the country.”
Details regarding the alleged incident were not immediately provided.
“Our federal prosecutors, agents, and law-enforcement partners put their lives on the line every day to protect the American people, and this Department will use every legal tool available to ensure their safety and hold violent offenders fully accountable,” Bondi said in her post.
Habba is a close ally of President Trump and served as one of his lawyers and a White House counselor before being appointed acting U.S. attorney.
(LOS ANGELES) — Evacuation warnings are in place for parts of Southern California as an incoming storm could bring potential mudslides and debris flows to burn scar areas, according to county officials.
“Anyone in these areas should be ready to leave at a moment’s notice,” Los Angeles County officials said in a statement.
The evacuation warnings are in effect for the following burn scar areas: Canyon, Bethany, Eaton, Palisades, Hurst, Kenneth, Sunset, Lidia, Franklin and Bridge, according to officials.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Thursday that emergency resources will be pre-deployed ahead of the storm to protect communities in the Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties from mudslides and debris flow.
This storm — which is a moderate atmospheric river building along a cold front — will begin to hit areas of Northern and Central California, Washington and Oregon on Thursday before slamming parts of Southern California.
Heavy rain will push through the Bay Area and Sacramento on Thursday morning, bringing up to 4 inches of rain in some areas, before traveling south to Los Angeles late Thursday into Friday morning.
Rain, heavy at times, will continue across Southern California on Friday and Saturday, with 1 to 3 inches of rain expected across much of Western California — although some localized areas at higher elevation could receive more.
Over just two days, Friday and Saturday, higher elevations around Santa Barbara could see 4 to 6 inches of rain, bringing the threat of rockslides, landslides and debris flow through the weekend and into next week as more rain continues over these saturated soils.
This system will also force below-average temperatures over Southern California, with scattered showers remaining a possibility on Sunday through at least Tuesday.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department said anyone living in burned or flood-prone areas should “stay away from flood channels, catch basins, canyons and waterways which are vulnerable to floods” and if people have to evacuate, to “return to your home only after local authorities have said it is safe to do so.”
The evacuation warnings in Southern California will be in effect through Sunday, officials said.
