CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

The Department of Justice is charging a North Korean spy for the infamous Sony hacking that sent shock waves around Hollywood.

The DOJ charged Park Jin Hyok as the mastermind behind the 2014 cyber attack that exposed tons of the studio's internal emails. It ultimately led to the ousting of several of Sony's top executives.

The attack also came just before the studio's release of "The Interview" -- the satirical flick depicting Seth Rogen and James Franco's characters' plot to assassinate North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. A group that took credit, at the time, for the hacking made terroristic threats against theaters, and Sony blinked ... yanking the movie from a big screen release.

According to the DOJ ... Hyok conducted the hack on behalf of North Korea's spy agency. The FBI first pointed the finger at N. Korea back in 2014, but the DOJ charges make it official ... allegedly.

For hacking Sony and targeting others, Park was charged with 1 count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse and 1 count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted. Of course, they have to catch him first.

The hack wiped data from thousands of Sony computers while also revealing super sensitive information ... like the fact Seth earned $2 million more than James for the same movie. Another email exposed a famed producer who bad mouthed Angelina Jolie.

Miley Cyrus and Wiz Khalifa did the signing and rapping on their hit song, "23 (J's On My Feet)" ... but another artist recorded it first ... according to her lawsuit.

Ariella Asher says she released "J's On My Feet (feat. Fleetwood)" back in 2012 and, in her lawsuit, Ariella calls it "a hit original musical composition."

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, the rip-off came when Ariella's friend met with mega-producer Mike Will Made-It ... although Ariella seems to think "Mike Will Stole It" would be more accurate. She says during the Jan. 2013 meeting her friend gave Mike a copy of her version of her "J's On My Feet."

Cut to Sept. 2013 ... when Mike, Miley and Wiz drop their '23.' That one is verifiably a huge hit. In the suit, Ariella -- bitterly, we presume -- points out Miley's version hit #11 on the charts, and has 794 million Internet views.

Ariella says the lyric "J's on my feet" -- repeated through both songs -- was jacked from her song. Ariella even thinks Miley's look for the video was a carbon copy of hers. Hmmm ... okay.

Kim Kardashian West seems to have a powerful pull over President Trump's administration, and she's using it for good ... according to an ex-judge very connected to her cause.

We spoke to former Tennessee judge Kevin Sharp Wednesday in D.C. after his White House meeting with Kim, Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump and, eventually, the President -- and he says the haters are way off base if they think Kim's only there as window dressing.

Sharp says they had further discussions about criminal justice reform, and not only was Kim was smart and very involved ... she's the right person to seal the deal.

Judge Sharp says Kim's success with Alice Johnson proves she's incredibly effective in a process that would normally take months, because of the public attention she can bring.

By the way, Kim's latest mission -- to get clemency for Chris Young -- is a special one for Sharp. He's the judge who resigned after Tennessee laws forced him to give Young a life sentence for drug possession.

Asia Argento has just poked the bear, because we've learned Jimmy Bennett -- who was 17 when he had sex with her -- is going to the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. to file a sexual assault claim against her and cooperate with the investigation.

Bennett, who is now 22, has been on the fence as to whether he'd cooperate with authorities, but he's now decided to go full steam ahead.

We're told Bennett's tipping point was the statement Argento's lawyer released Tuesday, attacking his character. Her lawyer, Mark Heller, talked about Bennett's "unfortunate past, stalled acting career ... his desperation to seek money." Heller also referenced that Bennett had been a drug user.

Bennett's lawyer, Gordon Sattro, tells TMZ, "the attack on my client's character has no bearing on the events that took place on May 9, 2013. These are statements that are meant to intimidate, shame and insult my client."

Argento, who has accused Harvey Weinstein of rape, has been vocal in the #MeToo movement about shaming alleged victims of sexual assault ... something her lawyer did in a big way with Bennett.

Argento's lawyer claims Bennett was "a horny kid" who jumped her in the hotel room. She says she did have sex with him but implies it was not consensual because she was "frozen."

This photo was taken after the sexual encounter in the hotel room. Bennett's people say it flies in the face of Argento's claim she was not a willing participant.

And, they point out this photo which Argento, who was 37 when they had sex, posted in the hotel room before Bennett arrived. The caption reads, "Waiting for my long lost son My love @Jimmy Bennett in trepidation."

The maximum penalty for statutory rape in California in a case involving a 17-year-old is 3 years in prison.

"Martin" star Tisha Campbell-Martin is adamant her estranged hubby has the money to pay her spousal support ... and she says the proof is in his closet.

Tisha filed new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, and puts Duane Martin on blast for his wardrobe. In particular, she say he has more than 500 shirts that cost $1,500 a piece ... totaling a whopping $750k! Tisha says she knows this because Duane made a video bragging about it.

In docs, Tisha says she has $1.5 million in assets but right now doesn't have a steady source of income, and that's why she's asking for spousal support. She says her monthly expenses total at least $33k per month, and estimates Duane makes around $62k per month.

Roy Moore followed through on his threat -- he's suing Sacha Baron Cohen for portraying him as a pedophile on national TV ... and he's gunning for tens of millions of dollars.

Moore and his wife, Kayla, filed suit against Sacha, Showtime and CBS for duping him into appearing on Cohen's "Who Is America?" In the episode Sacha, disguised as an ex-Israeli intelligence officer, waved a wand that could supposedly detect enzymes secreted by pedophiles.

Of course, the device went off like crazy when he used it on Moore. Viewers might have laughed, but Roy isn't.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, the entire interview was set up under false pretenses. The Moores say they never would've agreed to meet with Sacha or sign his release form had they known it was all a sham.

More importantly, they say Sacha's gag -- which aired last month -- made Roy look like a sex offender, and seriously tarnished his reputation, caused emotional distress and financial damage. They insist Roy is not a sex offender, and Sacha's prank amounts to defamation. They're suing for at least $95 million.

The former U.S. Senate hopeful faced multiple allegations that he'd preyed on minors decades ago ... accusations that surfaced while he was running for Senate in Alabama last year. He vehemently denied the claims, and has never been charged with a crime.

TMZ Sports has obtained police video showing a drunk Richard Panik getting arrested at an Arizona bar back in April ... and name dropping his NHL team to try to get out of trouble.

The Arizona Coyotes winger was busted for trespassing outside of Bevvy on April 8. Bar staffers told cops the 27-year-old was so intoxicated when he arrived around 8:50 PM, they wouldn't even let him inside.

Panik allegedly tried to shove his way past security -- so bar staffers called the cops. That's when the video starts.

Once the Scottsdale P.D. arrived, the video shows Panik being standoffish and refusing to leave. He also appears to be pretty hammered.

Panik tries to sass the officers saying, "I know my law" -- to which the cop responds, "You might know your law, but I'm a law enforcement officer so I think I know what I'm talking about."

The officer finally decides he's had enough and orders Panik into custody warning, "Don't fight with me me or you'll go on the ground real hard."

Panik mentions playing for the Coyotes multiple times -- but the cops don't really give a crap.

He was eventually arrested for trespassing and hauled to a nearby jail.

Panik appeared in court on Wednesday and pled guilty to criminal trespass. He's been ordered to complete a diversion program (most likely an alcohol education course).

It's a good deal for Panik considering he was facing up to 30 days in jail. He's due back in court on Sept. 5.

Kim Kardashian's star power isn't just window dressing, it's exactly what the prison reform movement needs ... according to activist Jason Flom, who's been doing the work for decades.

Jason praised Kim for her Wednesday meeting with President Trump, saying her push to free prisoners serving draconian sentences has been "transformative."

Jason, a successful recording exec, has put in 25 years working on prison reform, and believes the movement is nearing a tipping point ... thanks, largely, to Kim and other celebs drawing so much more attention to it.

Kim is turning her focus to the case of 30-year-old Chris Young, who is serving a life sentence in Tennessee for cocaine and weed possession.

Matt Barnes has just obtained a temporary restraining order against his baby mama, Gloria Govan, in the wake of her arrest at their kids' school, TMZ Sports has learned.

As part of the court order, Govan must stay at least 100 yards away from the kids. She can see the kids once per week for 4 hours but a professional monitor has to be present -- and Gloria must foot the bill for the monitor.

Gloria is allowed to be near Matt to get the kids, but she must be peaceful.

Gloria is also not allowed to take the kids outside of L.A. County during her visitation unless she gets written permission from Matt.

Matt's attorney, Samantha Spector, tells TMZ Sports, "Today wasn't about Matt or Gloria. It was about the children and their safety. This was a good day for those kids, and that's all that matters."

The next hearing is scheduled for the end of Sept. -- where Gloria can argue to change the arrangement.

As we previously reported, cops arrested Govan on August 31 after she allegedly blocked Matt from picking up their 9-year-old twin boys on Matt's scheduled custodial day.

Matt claims Govan used her car as a weapon against him -- and claims he feared for his life (and the lives of his kids) and Gloria punched the gas in her Escalade and "[barreled] toward me."

"I am ever thankful that no child or parent was hit by Gloria and her 17-foot-long Escalade as she endangered every child's and adult's safety when she plowed through the parking lot."

In court docs, Matt claims Gloria put their children and other kids at the school in physical danger -- and Matt claims the twins have been traumatized by Gloria's actions and subsequent arrest.

Matt and Gloria got married back in 2012 but split almost 2 years later. Their divorce wasn't finalized until 2016.

11:35 AM PT -- Kim just tweeted about the trip, saying, "It started with Ms. Alice, but looking at her and seeing the faces and learning the stories of the men and women I've met inside prisons I knew I couldn't stop at just one. It's time for REAL systemic change."

7:57 AM PT -- Kim just left the White House ... Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley described the meeting in further detail, saying, "Today at the White House, members of the Administration are hosting a listening session about the clemency process. The discussion is mainly focused on ways to improve that process to ensure deserving cases receive a fair review."

Among the other attendees at the meeting were Jared Kushner, Van Jones and Judge Kevin Sharp, who sentenced Chris Young.

Kim Kardashian West has just entered the White House to meet with President Trump and his administration Wednesday morning to talk prison reform and to possibly lobby the Prez to free another person who has been sentenced to life in prison for drug-related charges.

We've learned Kim flew to DC in the middle of the night from L.A. for the face-to-face.

Kim just pulled up to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and is getting cleared by security to enter the Oval.

Her cause is prison reform ... and she's also championing the case of Chris Young, who is serving a life sentence in Tennessee for cocaine and marijuana possession. Young, who is now 30, has already served just under 10 years.

Kim was on the 'Wrongful Conviction' podcast with Jason Flom and talked about the Young case ... saying she had a phone call with Young and promised to work for his freedom.

Kim also says she's in regular touch with Jared Kushner, who she says is "passionate" about prison reform ... especially in drug cases where the sentences are draconian.

12:17 PM PT -- Cosby's attorney, Joe P. Green, tells us, "This claim arises from a disagreement over the amount of legal fees charged. Mr. Cosby’s team offered to submit that dispute to mediation, but Mr. Silver’s firm decided to file suit. We still hope to resolve the claim fairly.”

Bill Cosby may have to pay extra for his sex crime conviction, 'cause one of the law firms that was previously repping him is suing for money it says he still owes.

The Philly-based firm, Schnader Harrison Segal and Lewis, just filed suit against the now-convicted actor for failing to pay more than $50k in legal services it says it provided him. One of SHS&L's partners, Samuel Silver, was one of Cosby's new lawyers as he geared up for his second trial earlier this year. However, Sam later withdrew from the case before proceedings got underway in April.

The details are scant in the legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- but there's no question SHS&L worked on Cosby's case for a while. He'd announced his new legal team -- which included Michael Jackson's former lawyer, Tom Mesereau -- in August of 2017, which also included Silver at the time. Silver bailed on the case in January ... so that's 5 months on the books.

Silver has also repped Cosby in other cases, and the expenses in the lawsuit reflect that work as well.

Kim Kardashian West was serious when she said she was going to make prison reform her thing, because she's trying to free another inmate who is serving a life sentence for drug possession.

Kim was on the podcast 'Wrongful Conviction' and said her new cause is freeing a guy named Chris Young, a 30-year-old man who is just under 10 years deep into a life sentence for cocaine and weed possession.

Kim says she spoke with Chris on the phone and now seems to be trying to do for him what she did for Alice Marie Johnson, who was freed after Kim lobbied Donald Trump.

She also says she's in regular touch with Jared Kushner, whom she calls "passionate" about prison reform.

Before she became the Notorious R.B.G. ... Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a high school twirler who also played for the school orchestra!

Turns out, a TMZ staffer's grandfather went to high school with Ruth at James Madison High School in southeast Brooklyn back in the day (class of 1950!) ... so we dug up the yearbook and found the Supreme Court justice back when she was an over-achieving teen!

According to the yearbook, Ruth had a busy extracurricular schedule -- which included being the treasurer of the Go-Getters club (a student pep group) and playing in the school orchestra.

She was also part of the "Twirlers" (guess that means baton twirling) and was the Secretary to the English Dept. chairman. She was also the feature editor of the term newspaper.

Pretty impressive for a high school senior -- and a prelude of big things to come for Ruth.

Asia Argento says Jimmy Bennett -- who had sex with her when he was 17 years old -- is lucky she didn't file charges that HE sexually assaulted and then extorted her.

Argento's lawyer, Mark Jay Heller, tells TMZ, his client's text messages that TMZ posted tell the real story about what went down at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Marina del Rey, CA. The text in question read, "The horny kid jumped me ... I had sex with him it felt weird." She goes on to say she was "frozen" when he was on top of her.

Heller says, "Asia chose at the time not to prosecute Bennett for sexually attacking her."

As for her statement after the story broke -- "I have never had any sexual relationship with Bennett" -- Heller says she was being honest because it was a one-time only encounter and not a relationship.

Heller goes on to claim Bennett smelled a payday and tried to extort Argento, especially when he found out she was dating Anthony Bourdain. He says Bennett "chose to intrude on that relationship and demand financial payment from Bourdain in consideration for not embarrassing Asia and indirectly Bourdain ..."

Heller says Anthony chose to protect Asia by agreeing to pay $380k even though she did nothing wrong.

And, Heller says, Bourdain paid $250k up to this point, but Argento will not pay the balance.

Heller ends by attacking Bennett, saying, "Asia does not intend to prosecute Bennett for his conduct and recognizes that his unfortunate past, his stalled acting career, and a lawsuit against his own parents for allegedly misappropriating more than a million and a half dollars from his account might explain his desperation to seek money from Asia and Bourdain for this falsely alleged incident that took place more than 5 years ago."

The attack against Bennett is odd ... because Argento has spoken out against shaming alleged victims in sexual assault cases.

Tekashi69's throwing a Hail Mary in hopes of avoiding prison time in his child sex case ... TMZ has learned.

Tekashi filed a letter with the judge in the case, explaining why he thinks he should get off with probation. You'll recall, prosecutors have recommended he gets 1 to 3 years in prison because of 2 recent arrests -- one in Houston and one in Brooklyn.

6ix9ine pled guilty back in 2015 to one count of using a child in a sexual performance -- a video shoot -- and was required to keep his nose clean for 2 years. In docs, Tekashi says his arrests for assaulting an officer (Brooklyn), and attacking a fan in a mall (Houston) don't constitute a violation of his plea deal.

The rapper's lawyer, Lance Lazzaro, says both arrests happened this year, and the deadline on his plea deal was Oct. 2017. Translation: It's too late to nail me for that stuff. Plus, he points out, neither arrest has resulted in a conviction.

Orlando Brown reeeeeally likes to smile for the camera -- problem is, lately he's smiling for mug shots ... the most recent one coming Sunday morning for the ex-Disney star.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Orlando was busted in Vegas after he was caught on camera changing the locks inside Legends Restaurant & Venue. You can see him wandering around the kitchen and eventually using a rag to cover the security camera.

The restaurant is owned by ex-Death Row artist Danny Boy, who's been friends with Orlando since they were kids. We're told Orlando's presence triggered a security alarm and alert on Danny's phone. He called the cops ... who say they found Orlando on the roof, claiming he was there with permission to change the locks. Danny shot that down ... and Orlando was arrested.

Danny tells us Orlando was released from a hospital 2 weeks ago and needed a place to sleep, so he invited him to stay in the restaurant. He says Orlando appeared to be in a haze Sunday, and accused Danny of stealing money from him.

Danny says pressing charges seemed like the best way for Orlando to get the help he needs.

This new arrest complicate matters for Orlando, whose bond in 2 previous cases has been revoked. Orlando remains behind bars and bail's set at $13k.

TMZ broke the story ... Orlando posed for an incredible mug shot after some family beef. He was arrested just last June for narcotics possession when he showed off a new tat in that mug shot.