Fairly Legal

David Daniel, a Capitol Rioter pardoned by President Trump, is cutting a plea deal with federal prosecutors in a separate case ... and it involves sexual exploitation and child pornography.

Daniel hammered out a plea deal after being charged in North Carolina with sexual exploitation of a minor and possessing sexually explicit images of children ... according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ.

The court docs, signed by Daniel's lawyer, say in 2015 and 2016, Daniel coerced a minor younger than 12 years old "to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any visual depiction of the conduct."

Prosecutors say Daniel used a phone to document the sexually explicit images and kept them on a hard drive.

Taylor Frankie Paul will NOT be prosecuted for her alleged involvement in a couple domestic violence incidents in Utah involving her ex, Dakota Mortensen.

Prosecutors in Utah announced Tuesday they were declining to file criminal charges against the 'Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' star.

Taylor was the subject of two separate investigations by two different police departments ... but the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office says there was not enough evidence to support filing criminal charges.

Red card for Lionel Messi ... who is at the center of a bombshell lawsuit in Florida, with a promoter claiming the soccer legend left them bleeding cash on a pair of hyped up friendlies that they claim he blew off.

VID, a Miami-based company that puts on large-scale music and sporting events, according to court docs obtained by TMZ Sports, filed a lawsuit against the 38-year-old footballer and the Argentine Football Association on Tuesday in South Florida, alleging fraud and breach of contract, saying they were burned out of millions of dollars.

In August, VID says they struck a deal and ultimately paid the AFA $7 million for the exclusive rights to two exhibition match-ups scheduled for October -- Argentina vs. Venezuela, and Argentina vs. Puerto Rico.

Joe Biden is catching heat online after pausing a speech at Syracuse University to say a Trustee is a doppelganger for Barack Obama ... and it's all on video.

Check out this clip from Biden's speech Tuesday at his alma mater ... he's on stage for the unveiling of his portrait at the University's College of Law when things take an unexpected turn. The former Commander-in-Chief suddenly calls Syracuse Board Chairman Jeffrey Scruggs up to the podium and tells the crowd Jeffrey looks a lot like none other than ... President Obama.

The chittering sounds from the crowd lead us to believe that the comment was laughed off ... but the audience on social media is not as forgiving.

Guy Fieri was caught on camera shaking Andrew Tate's hand at UFC 327 over the weekend ... and has been getting dragged on social media for it.

On Saturday, the Food Network star was filmed dapping up the red-pill podcaster and hand-hugging with Andrew's brother, Tristan Tate.

Fans expressed their disgust over the interaction ... slamming the celeb for playing nice with the brothers, who have been accused of allegedly committing some pretty heinous sex crimes.

Taryn Manning has had a steady stream of police activity at her home over the past year … with multiple calls ranging from alleged threats to mysterious 911 hang-ups ... TMZ has learned.

According to 911 dispatch logs, obtained by TMZ, officers have been sent to the "Orange Is the New Black" star's Palm Springs, California residence at least five separate times since the beginning of last year.

On January 3 of this year, officers were dispatched to “keep the peace,” and assistance was provided at the scene -- typically meaning cops were there to prevent a dispute from escalating.

Sherrone Moore was facing 6 months in jail, but the former Michigan head football coach won't spend another minute behind bars ... he was just sentenced to probation, entirely avoiding jail.

The 40-year-old coach appeared before the honorable J. Cedric Simpson in a Washtenaw County courthouse on Tuesday afternoon, where he was sentenced after pleading no contest to two charges, malicious use of a telecommunication device in a domestic relationship and trespassing.

Ultimately, Moore, 40, will be on probation for 18 months. He was also ordered to pay around $1,000 in fines.

Pacman Jones can breathe a massive sigh of relief ... the former NFL star was sentenced to five years of probation in his officer assault case on Tuesday -- after staring a year and a half in prison right in the eyes.

Jones went before Judge Patricia Summe in Kenton County, Kentucky on Tuesday ... wearing a dark-colored suit for the occasion.

Jones shared a prepared statement in court -- apologizing for his actions in June 2025 and stating he didn't realize he had hit "rock bottom" until after the incident.

Nancy Grace is sick of Anna Kepner's family appearing to protect the stepbrother accused of raping and killing her ... and Nancy feels he should face life behind bars like every other killer.

Nancy popped in to "TMZ Live" absolutely furious about the case and the fact that the stepbrother -- identified in court docs as "T.H., a minor" -- is out on bond.

She told us, "I don't understand it. This is charged as murder one!"

She continued, "It seems to me, from the beginning, that the family has been more worried about protecting his identity and protecting him than they are about what happened to Anna and getting justice for her."

The prosecutors who charged Anna Kepner’s stepbrother with her murder have revealed the evidence they have collected in their investigation ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, the feds provided the defense team for Anna’s accused stepbro -- identified as "T.H." by prosecutors -- with FBI investigation docs, two videos from the FBI, Carnival Cruise documents, and Anna’s autopsy photo and X-rays.

The feds say they also handed over the full medical examiner report, body cam videos, and the “extraction of C.K.” cell phone. Anna’s father’s name is Christopher Kepner, but prosecutors do not identify who C.K. is in the docs.

One of the men suing Tyler Perry for alleged sexual assault was called out in court for his minor role in one of the director's 'Madea' films ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Mario Rodriguez -- who sued Tyler and the movie's distributor Lionsgate -- was dragged by the movie distributor in its effort to be dismissed from the suit.

In new docs, Lionsgate said Mario “spent less than a week playing ‘Frat Guy #10’" in Tyler’s film. The company said Mario admitted there was no misconduct during his time on set, noting Mario himself alleges the assault occurred at Perry's home.

Eric Swalwell is facing explosive new claims ... and now it’s all out in the open after a pair of accusers, Annika Albrecht and Ally Sammarco, sat down for a bombshell interview with CBS News.

The disgraced congressman from California was already facing multiple allegations of sexual assault, leading to him resigning from Capitol Hill and suspending his campaign to be governor of California.

In this new interview from Tuesday, Albrecht and Sammarco put their own experiences front and center.

Eric Swalwell's latest accuser, Lonna Drewes, says the disgraced politician drugged and raped her in 2018 ... and she's planning on filing a police report.

In a press conference Tuesday, Lonna said she was a model in Beverly Hills at the time as well as the owner of a software company, which she says Swalwell offered to assist her with.

Lonna claims Swalwell invited her to an event when his wife was pregnant and accuses Swalwell of drugging her drink. She says, despite only having one glass of wine, she was rendered incapacitated and found herself in Swalwell's hotel room, unable to move, while she alleges he choked and sexually assaulted her.

Brian Hooker is going quiet ... and it’s raising just as many questions as answers in the desperate search for his wife, Lynette Hooker, who's been missing for 10 days after she went overboard on a boat in the Bahamas.

The husband at the center of the mystery has officially stepped back from the spotlight ... with his attorney, Terrel Butler, announcing Tuesday he will no longer be doing media interviews as the situation intensifies.

Hooker’s focus is locked in on finding his wife of 25 years ... pouring all of his emotional and physical energy into the ocean search while working behind the scenes with “relevant parties,” according to his lawyer.

Eric Swalwell is red-faced and bleary-eyed in a recently rediscovered video reportedly capturing a wild yacht trip from 2022 ... amid numerous accusations of sexual misconduct brought against the disgraced politician.

Watch the clip ... multiple scantily clad young women are seen throughout the vid, dancing near a bar and partying the night away. In 2 separate parts of the video, Swalwell is seen in a bathrobe.

The mysterious video, posted Saturday by influencer Nik Richie, comes as Swalwell has been inundated with sexual assault and misconduct allegations by a former staff member and at least 3 other women. 

The stepbrother charged with raping and murdering 18-year-old Anna Kepner received a glimmer of good news amid all the bad news in his indictment ... prosecutors say there's no chance he'll be put to death, because it's unconstitutional.

Here's how it all breaks down ... the 16-year-old defendant, identified in court docs as "T.H., a minor," is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse, and he faces life in prison if convicted. In the charging docs, prosecutors indicated this is not a death penalty case.

In their new motion seeking to keep T.H. behind bars pending his trial, the feds says the death penalty is off the table under Supreme Court precedent that bars the imposition of capital punishment on juvenile offenders. T.H. was 16 at the time he allegedly killed Kepner ... though he was actually indicted as an adult by a federal grand jury.