Legal

Melania Trump's asking the court to sanction journalist Michael Wolff and his attorney ... claiming he tried to manipulate the legal system with his lawsuit against her.

Michael previously sued Melania ... claiming she threatened to take legal action against him over statements he made linking her to Jeffrey Epstein.

The First Lady of the United States filed the request Tuesday ... telling the court that Michael and his lawyer presented allegations without any evidence and used federal filings for improper purposes.

Melania says Michael falsely claimed she had a close association with Epstein.

She claims Michael defamed her ... and says her team sent a letter demanding he stop spreading the claims ... but -- instead of responding to her -- she says he sued her as a form of harassment.

11:31 AM PT -- Kimora Lee Simmons has no plans to give estranged husband Tim Leissner primary custody of their son ... 'cause TMZ has learned a court filing suggesting otherwise was simply a clerical error.

Kimora Lee Simmons looks like she wants her estranged husband Tim Leissner to have primary custody of their son ... which is interesting, because Tim asked for joint custody when he pulled the plug on their marriage.

Kimora just filed her response to Tim's divorce petition ... and while she agrees "that "irreconcilable differences" led to their split ... she splits from Tim on the issue of legal and physical custody of 11-year-old Wolfe.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Kimora checked the box for Tim to have primary legal and physical custody ... even though Tim asked for joint legal and physical custody in his original petition.

Kimora is also asking to terminate the court's ability to award any support to Tim, and she also checked the box to request that spousal support be paid to her. She also wants him on the hook for her legal fees stemming from the divorce process.

Joseph Duggar's attorneys wants to question his in-laws as they fight criminal charges related to allegations he molested a 9-year-old girl ... TMZ has learned.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Kendra Duggar's parents, Paul and Christina Caldwell, are scheduled to be questioned under oath on September 14 at the State Attorney's Office in Panama City, Florida.

Investigator Darrell "Chase" Norris is also set to be deposed, while a man named Thomas Lowe will be questioned later that afternoon. The notice says the testimony is being gathered for discovery and possibly to use at trial.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, a Georgia judge ordered the Minnesota Timberwolves star to pay $3,222 a month in child support. 

In 2023, Anthony signed a 5-year deal with the Timberwolves worth over $200 Million. Ayesha’s monthly income was listed as zero. 

Mackenzie Shirilla is trying to breathe new life into her latest appeal ... but Ohio prosecutors say she's merely recycling arguments the court already rejected.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office urges the Supreme Court of Ohio to deny Shirilla's motion for reconsideration ... arguing she has not raised a single new issue warranting another look at her case.

Prosecutors acknowledge reconsideration can be used to correct a decision later deemed erroneous ... but say it is not available when someone simply reargues their case.

Celeste Rivas' parents made the trek into court on Tuesday ... looking serious as they arrived for the preliminary hearing in D4vd's murder case.

Jesus Rivas and Mercedes Martinez were spotted walking down the street in downtown Los Angeles ... holding hands on their way into the courthouse ... and looking solemn.

Celeste's parents have attended some of the prior court proceedings ... so it's not a total surprise to see them in court today ... but today's prelim won't be any easier for them to stomach.

07/21/2026 11:59 AM -- Former President Joe Biden's office tells TMZ ... President Biden's conversations for a book a decade ago that discussed his late son are private, and were provided to the Department of Justice on the express condition they stay that way. Reversing course and making them public is just the latest example of this Administration weaponizing the DOJ for political retribution. It’s wrong, and while President Biden disagrees with today’s decision, he also respects the courts and the vital role an independent judiciary plays in a healthy democracy.

Rough news for Joe Biden to wake up to -- his appeal to block the Department of Justice from releasing audio from a 2017 interview with his memoir ghostwriter has just been rejected.

The 2-1 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit came late Monday, with the court reasoning there is a "substantial" public interest in disclosing the material, AP News reports.

The former president wanted to keep the recordings under wraps, with his legal team arguing it was an invasion of privacy. The DOJ previously said the recordings were exempt from disclosure under public records law.

A woman who says she survived Jeffrey Epstein's abuse as a minor is speaking publicly for the first time ... claiming she became so desperate to stop him, she tried to contract an STD because she believed it would kill him.

Roza Gilles shared her shocking story with CNN ... saying she was hired by Epstein as a secretary when she was having a hard time getting her modeling career off the ground. One of the tasks she was asked to do? Massage his feet.

At that time, Epstein was in a 12-hour-a-day work-release program after pleading guilty to solicitation of prostitution charges ... which Roza had no idea about until she noticed his ankle monitor, she tells CNN. She said during the massage, she was asked to take her top off ... and that's when Epstein began to grope her and masturbate.

Stefon Diggs’ male sexual assault accuser, Christopher Griffith, says he now has hard evidence proving the NFL star coordinated the L.A. beatdown on him ... TMZ has learned.

Christopher filed court docs saying he plans to add new allegations to his lawsuit against Stefon using the evidence handed over by Diggs during discovery in the case.

He said he now has text messages and phone records from Stefon’s assistant showing the coordination of the attack ... including logistical correspondence about booking flights and hotel arrangements with one of Chris’ assailants on the day he was attacked.

D4vd's preliminary hearing begins today, and over the course of this week the prosecution will be presenting an avalanche of evidence in court as they try to convince a judge there's enough to warrant a murder trial ... and it's expected to get graphic.

The proceedings are finally getting underway after a few delays ... back in April, D4vd was arrested charged with first degree murder in the stabbing death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.

D4vd -- real name is David Burke -- is also charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14 and unlawful mutilation of human remains.

It will be interesting to see what evidence the prosecution has -- they say they have DNA evidence, surveillance footage, text messages and phone records -- but they've already laid out some of it in court documents ... claiming D4vd and Celeste began a sexual relationship when she was 13.

Diddy says one of the lawsuits against him is so baseless that he's now asking a judge to make the woman who sued him ... and her lawyers ... to pay up.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, Diddy is asking a federal judge to sanction Grace O'Marcaigh and her attorneys, claiming they filed what he calls a frivolous amended complaint against him even after a judge ruled California courts don't have personal jurisdiction over him.

In the filing, Diddy's lawyers argue O'Marcaigh's amended complaint simply repackaged the same jurisdictional arguments the court had already rejected instead of fixing the problems identified by the judge.

Andrew and Tristan Tate are gearing up for a major legal battle ... 'cause their lawyer says they're "100 percent" fighting extradition back to the United Kingdom.

Lawyer Joseph McBride tells TMZ ... fighting extradition is a high bar, but he'll argue there are special circumstances why the brothers shouldn't be sent back. He says they're not a flight risk, pointing to what he calls their total compliance with the courts over the past three years. According to McBride, they haven't missed a single court date in either their Romanian human trafficking case or Palm Beach defamation case.

McBride says the brothers were "startled" when U.S. Marshals in plain clothes wearing vests and badges approached them during Saturday's arrest and ordered them to put their hands behind their backs.

Brian Trascher helped search for Nolan Wells by air before the 18-year-old's body was found along Horn Island's shoreline ... and he believes dangerous water conditions may explain how Nolan ended up surprisingly close to where he was last seen alive.

The United Cajun Navy vice president tells "TMZ In The Know" ... weather conditions forced his team to switch tactics as the search stretched into its second day -- ultimately taking to the sky to cover more ground.

Brian says he and the pilot had been searching for about two hours on July 6 when they noticed several law enforcement boats converging on the northwest tip of Horn Island ... and they swung in close and saw a body floating face down in the water near shore.

D4vd's asking if he can ditch his handcuffs for his preliminary hearing in Celeste Rivas' murder case.

According to NBC 4 Los Angeles, the singer filed a motion requesting his cuffs and other restraints be removed for the prelim, which is set to start tomorrow.

D4vd's attorney, Blair Berk, said in the motion that he's never tried to escape or been disruptive, arguing that his 5 court appearances have all been uneventful.

Former NFL linebacker Thomas Davis's ex-wife cut a deal in her assault case ... avoiding a criminal trial over an alleged attack on a woman she believed had hooked up with the athlete.

Kelly Davis entered a pretrial diversion program Monday and agreed to complete a Cognitive Behavioral Intervention course, stay away from alleged victim Laura Watterson, and pay $1,380 in restitution, according to North Carolina court records obtained by the California Post.

Kelly's attorney, James J. Exum, told the outlet the charge will be dismissed if she completes every condition of the program ... calling it a "very fair resolution" for someone with no criminal history.

Andrew and Tristan Tate are used to a life of luxury ... but now the two brothers are cooling their heels in a federal lockup -- and eating crappy prison food instead of lobster and steak.

The brothers are currently incarcerated at FCI Miami -- a low-security detention facility in Florida -- while awaiting extradition to the United Kingdom to face charges of rape and sex trafficking.

The food in the UK gets a bad rap ... but it's a delicacy compared to jail menus in the United States ... and we fond out what they've been eating since their arrests.