White House

3/8 -- Manafort appeared in his inmate jumpsuit in court, and the scene was captured by a sketch artist inside.

Paul Manafort is going away for a little while -- a judge just sentenced him to 47 months in prison ... which means he could be a free man again relatively soon.

President Trump's former campaign chair was sentenced Thursday after being found guilty on 8 criminal counts, ranging from tax fraud to bank fraud ... not to mention laundering more than $18 million to fuel his lavish lifestyle.

Manafort was facing a maximum of 80 years in prison, but federal prosecutors recommended he get up to 25 years. Clearly, the 69-year-old caught a huge break with the judge.

As we reported ... Manafort's charges stemmed from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into potential Russian collusion with the Trump campaign leading up to the 2016 election.

The sentencing is the climax of Manafort's tumble from political power -- the FBI raided his house in VA and seized tons of documents ... he was eventually indicted on multiple federal charges, and surrendered to the FBI.

Although he was out on bail, he got sent back to jail for violating his bail conditions. Mueller's office accused him of witness tampering and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors say he urged 2 witnesses in his case to commit perjury in his defense.

Manafort's been sitting in solitary confinement since June -- and, reportedly, he's mostly been doing it in a wheelchair or using a cane due to his declining health. His lawyers said in court filings he's battling gout.

The big question is will Trump pardon Manafort?

Michael Cohen says Donald Trump left him and high dry the second things got hot, and went back on a promise to cover all of Cohen's legal fees related to the Mueller investigation.

Cohen just filed a lawsuit against the Trump Organization for more than a million bucks -- money he says was supposed to be paid to his lawyers. In the suit, Cohen says shortly after he was first subpoenaed, Donald's co. agreed to cover all of his attorney's fees.

That was in July 2017, and Cohen says all seemed to be going well. In October, his attorneys got a check for $137,460 from the Trump Org. -- and that continued until May 2018. He says Trump's company eventually covered $1.7 million of his legal expenses.

But, when Trump's former right-hand man flipped in June 2018 ... the relationship soured. Funny how that goes. Trump started distancing himself from Cohen. In fact, Cohen recalls his former boss saying in June, "I haven't spoken to Michael in a long time. He's not my lawyer anymore."

According to the suit, the well ran dry that same month ... and Cohen says a total of $1,037,868 remains unpaid to his high-powered law firm. Most attorneys frown upon working for free, and Cohen says they indeed pulled out ... which hurt his case.

Remember, he was sentenced to 3 years in prison for tax fraud and campaign finance violations.

Donald Trump thought he landed a nice jab at Hillary Clinton by basking in her decision not to run in 2020 -- but looks like she's getting the last laugh ... and Regina George would love it!

DT took the first shot Tuesday, tweeting -- naturally -- his response to "Crooked" Hillary not running ... "'Aw-shucks, does that mean I won’t get to run against her again? She will be sorely missed!"

Hillary did promise to continue fighting for what she believes in ... and looks like giving Trump the business is on that list. After his Twitter-diss she clapped back "Mean Girls" style.

She posted a classic GIF of Rachel McAdams' character asking Janis why she's so obsessed with her. Hard to argue with that -- years after his 2016 victory, POTUS never passes up an opportunity to reference her ... and never glowingly.

Funny enough, a Twitter account for the Embassy of Israel responded to the Ayatollah with the same thing when the Iranian dictator went on a tirade against the country.

Donald Trump treated ANOTHER college football team to a fast food spread at the White House on Monday -- with the North Dakota State squad getting Chick-fil-A and McDonald's on a silver platter!

The NDSU Bison football team was invited to Trump's White House to celebrate winning the FCS Championship with a 38-24 win over Eastern Washington back in January.

The team reportedly wasn't expecting ANY food during the trip -- but after the success Trump had with the Clemson football team back in January, he decided to break out the fast food again!

You can see in the photo ... the spread was loaded with Big Macs and chicken sandwiches.

Remember when Clemson visited, Trump served up McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King AND pizza to celebrate their national championship win over Alabama.

At the time, Trump explained the menu by saying, "I would think that's their favorite food."

The food was a hit -- with Clemson's star QB Trevor Lawrence telling TMZ Sports, "It was awesome. We had McDonald's and everything. It was good."

The NDSU Bison have won the FCS Championship 7 times in the last 8 years -- but this is the first time they've gone to the White House.

Before the trip, head coach Matt Entz told the Grand Forks Herald ... "This isn’t a political trip, this is a Bison trip and, personally, I sold it as two things: It’s one more opportunity for the 2018 team to be together, but also in my mind the start of the 2019 season and the things we’re going to do together."

The big question ... how did the food go over with the players?

President Trump finally made it to Vietnam -- but he did it using a ton of taxpayer dollars ... and got a whole lot of nothin' out of it from North Korea.

TMZ did some digging on the cost of Trump's second summit with Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, and turns out it was at least $1.3 million ... much of which went toward putting Americans up for a couple of nights and making sure they were cozy.

According to federal procurement docs -- obtained by TMZ -- lodging alone for Trump and co. during the two-day summit -- which wrapped Thursday without a deal on nukes or sanctions -- ran Uncle Sam upwards of $632k between 3 hotels and miscellaneous costs.

The State Dept. footed the majority of that lodging bill, including a separate $157k for lodging at the Melia Hanoi Hotel -- where Kim Jong-un stayed and where the American press corp was staying as well ... before getting booted by Kim's camp.

According to reports, Kim became uneasy with the American press in such close proximity ... so they were ultimately moved to a new hotel.

But, wait ... there's more!!!

The conference rooms alone where Trump and Kim couldn't come to terms cost $316k, and things like lights, stereo systems, drapes and awnings ran about $100k all together. The Dept. of Defense dropped about $60k for leased internet lines.

John Legend and Chrissy Teigen want to test Donald Trump's theory that there will be riots in the street if he loses the 2020 election.

We got John and Chrissy Wednesday night in Bev Hills leaving Madeo, and asked what they made of Michael Cohen saying Trump once told him black people would never vote for him because they're too stupid -- among other incredibly racist things. JL & CT didn't bat an eye.

According to John, it's been well-established Trump doesn't like African-Americans and exhibits racist tendencies time and again.

12:53 PM PT -- The Trump Campaign spokesperson, Kayleigh McEnany, has issued a statement about Cohen's testimony, stating, "Michael Cohen is a felon, a disbarred lawyer, and a convicted perjurer, who lied to both Congress and the Special Counsel in a 'deliberate and premeditated' fashion according to the Special Counsel's Office. Now he offers what he says is evidence, but the only support for that is his own testimony, which has proven before to be worthless."

She continued, "Prosecutors said his actions were to ensure that he would 'profit personally, build his own power, and enhance his level of influence.' This is the same Michael Cohen who has admitted that he lied to Congress previously. Why did they even bother to swear him in this time?"

We got Michael Cohen arriving at the United States Capitol as he prepares to testify before Congress about the misdeeds of Donald Trump.

Our photog notices Cohen seemed calm. The photog knew he wasn't going to get a preview of the testimony, so instead, he asked what music Cohen listened to in preparation for the big day.

Cohen will say some shocking things about Donald Trump when he testifies at 10 AM ET before the House Oversight Committee. He calls Trump a racist, a conman and a cheat.

Among the things he'll say ... "He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasn't a 'shithole.' This was when Barack Obama was President of the United States."

He adds, "While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. And, he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid."

He will also submit letters he says he wrote at Trump's direction, threatening high schools and colleges not to release his grades or SAT scores.

And, Cohen will submit a check that Trump wrote to him for $35,000 as re-payment for the Stormy Daniels hush money payment.

Cohen also says he lied to Melania about his affair with Stormy -- at Trump's behest -- and says it's one of his biggest regrets.

Samuel L. Jackson says Donald Trump was spot-on when he bragged he's done more for African Americans than Presidents past ... and it's all thanks to Trump's massive "plantation."

We got Samuel L. Monday at LAX and asked him about Trump's shot at Spike Lee in which Trump said, "Be nice if Spike Lee could read his notes, or better yet not have to use notes at all, when doing his racist hit on your President, who has done more for African Americans (Criminal Justice Reform, Lowest Unemployment numbers in History, Tax Cuts,etc.) than almost any other Pres!"

Jackson shot back ... essentially calling Trump a slave owner.

President Barack Obama was quick to show love for Zion Williamson after watching him suffer an injury 30 seconds into the Duke vs. NC game ... wishing the college star a speedy recovery.

You've heard about it by now ... Zion's Nike shoe blew out shortly after tip-off Wednesday night, resulting in a mild knee sprain. Obama was sitting in the front row when it all went down.

"Zion Williamson seems like an outstanding young man as well as an outstanding basketball player," #44 tweeted after the game. "Wishing him a speedy recovery."

It didn't take an expert lip reader to figure out Obama's reaction to the injury -- cameras captured Barack's shocked look while he mouthed the words, "His shoe broke!"

LeBron James -- who's also a big fan of Zion -- tweeted out support for the young star as well, saying, "Hope young fella is ok! Literally blew thru his [shoe]."

The freak injury didn't stop Obama from being fan-friendly with the Cameron Crazies ... dappin' up all the folks who packed into the crowded arena for the big game.

Check out the footage we got from inside the arena showing Barack posing for pics before the game -- and meeting fans throughout the night.

The Blue Devils ended up losing 88-72 without their superstar ... and Zion's status will be evaluated on Thursday.

Being president is pretty cool ... but Barack Obama's biggest accomplishment came on the hardwood ... 'cause 44 says he's the man behind Stephen Curry's dangerous jumper!!

Obama and Curry hosted a town hall meeting for the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance in Oakland on Tuesday ... and naturally, Barry had to let the jokes fly when introducing the 2-time MVP.

"Even Bulls fans have to acknowledge that it's been fun to watch the Warriors and the greatest shooter of all time -- because I gave him some tips right before, about 5 seasons ago, there's film of this in the White House."

Steph doubled down on the quip ... saying Obama fixed his "chicken wing" jumper as well as his resume ... calling him "the best mentor" (which might not be a joke).

The duo traded zingers before getting serious about helping minority youth in America, the work their MBK Alliance has accomplished in the 5 years of its existence ... and what needs to happen moving forward.

Steph Curry and Barack Obama's bromance took another step forward with a dinner date ... although Ayesha Curry and a couple o' Legends were there too.

The Currys sat down with 44 for a serious power dinner Monday night in San Francisco at Ayesha's restaurant, International Smoke. Her collaborator and chef, Michael Mina, posed with the smiling trio and shouted out Barack, saying ... "No greater privilege than to cook for this man on Presidents Day. Thank you for the highest honor @barackobama!"

The star power at the dinner table didn't stop there -- John Legend and Chrissy Teigen showed up to make it a fab fivesome. Chrissy also shared a shot of herself enjoying a drink with Chef Michael.

You'll recall, Steph set up a meeting last month in Washington, D.C. between his BFF and his Golden State Warriors teammates ... who opted out of meeting President Trump to celebrate their NBA Championship.

As for why they're all in the Bay Area ... Barack, Steph and John are all taking part in the My Brother's Keeper conference in Oakland, aimed at supporting boys and young men of color. It's being hosted by the Obama Foundation.

Good eats, good cause ... good times!

Donald Trump's old golfing buddy, George Lopez, is not down with POTUS' new, $50k golf simulator at the White House ... telling TMZ Sports the guy should be focusing on his job, not his stroke.

ICYMI -- The Donald recently had a room-sized golf simulator installed in the personal quarters at 1600 Penn ... and it's reportedly a big upgrade from what Barack Obama had during his presidency.

G Lo -- who has hit the links with Trump prior to becoming #45 -- tells us the move is "unnecessary" ... and Trump should put his time into fixing the country's issues.

"This fool needs to stop napping 60 percent of the time and he needs to get to work, because this is some bullsh*t that's going on," Lopez says.

"It's a bad look."

George never holds back when he talks about 45. He's been critical of the Prez since he went from reality star to candidate, and even went as far as to fake pee on his Hollywood Star last year.

21 Savage may be deported, and not because he's ineligible to stay in the United States ... it's because of Donald Trump.

We now understand MOST of what went down with 21's arrest and looming deportation. Here's how it goes.

Sources directly connected to the case tell TMZ ... the decision to arrest and deport 21 Savage was made months ago by the Atlanta bureau of ICE. At that time, ICE decided it would arrest Savage and hold him without bond until he could be deported.

As for why ICE wanted Savage held without bond, we've learned they incorrectly believed 21 had a felony conviction, which would have disqualified him from being able to post bond. As we reported, 21's 2014 drug conviction was vacated and sealed in the Fall -- which effectively erases it -- but court records weren't updated, so all ICE saw was the conviction.

Now, this is super weird ... we've learned just days ago ICE headquarters in Washington D.C. got involved in the case, and when they did, ICE had already figured out 21 was not a felon and therefore should have been released on bond. Our sources say ICE in D.C. IGNORED the fact that the conviction was erased and doubled down, saying 21 should NOT be released. No one we've spoken to has any idea why D.C. took such a position when it was not supported by the facts.

Keep reading ... we're getting to Trump.

We've confirmed ICE was on the scene with various other local and federal law enforcement agencies when 21 was arrested on Super Bowl Sunday with a plan to arrest him. We're told ATF first took 21 into custody and literally handed him over to an ICE agent on the spot.

Our ICE sources say they had no other involvement in the other arrests at the scene ... they were only there to arrest Savage. It is unclear why ICE needed to be part of that operation ... why didn't they just go to 21's home and arrest him in the months prior to the sting?

As we reported, 21's lawyers went to court Tuesday and convinced a judge to bond 21 out. As for next steps, 21's application to stay in the U.S. will be processed, and it's virtually certain it will be approved because he qualifies on every count. He has dependents in the country, he has no convictions, and he's been here more than 10 years. There are no obstacles in his way ... EXCEPT TRUMP.

Turns out Trump changed the immigration policies from Obama and Bush. We're told Trump's marching orders are to deport people who have a pending visa application -- even if it's a slam dunk -- and they can come back if and when it's approved.

We've learned, before 21 Savage was released Tuesday, ICE agents told him they would drop deportation proceedings if he voluntarily left the country. We're told he passed and will fight to stay.

BTW ... 21 filed his application to stay in the U.S. in 2017 and it takes around 4 years for ICE to process it, so the stakes are high.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has some refreshing thoughts on the highest office in the land ... she has no issues with a sitting President lighting up.

We got AOC Tuesday afternoon on Capitol Hill, and the instantly powerful Congresswoman made it clear ... if you don't have a problem with your Prez enjoying a drink, you should feel the same way about weed.

AOC knows a thing or two about liquor ... she's a former bartender. And, AOC is a strong supporter of the legalization of marijuana.

Ganja has been a political hot potato for years, with politicians sidestepping questions about smoking.

2020 Presidential hopeful Kamala Harris made fun of Bill Clinton's famous line about not inhaling when she was on "The Breakfast Club" this week, acknowledging she's partaken in the past ... then quickly adding, it was a long, long time ago. The message ... don't worry, she doesn't smoke.

Seems politicians are still afraid of losing voters over sativa stigmas ... but not AOC!!!

Michelle Obama just rocked the house at the 2019 Grammy Awards -- and before she could even get four words out on the importance of music ... she was interrupted by cheers.

The former First Lady made a surprise appearance Sunday at the Grammys alongside Jada Pinkett-Smith, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez and host Alicia Keys. After Jada discussed respecting everyone's voice in the music industry, Michelle took the mic ... but had a hard time getting her speech started 'cause people were losing their minds.

Eventually, after Michelle told folks to settle down, she talked about the wide ranging musical genres that got her through tough moments in life, and reiterated just how impactful music is to pretty much everyone.

In typical Obama fashion, Michelle sounded just as good as ever in her delivery ... and this reception proves she's still one of America's favorite people to hear from.

Tough act to follow, for sure.

It's Grammy season, which means we're due for another outlandish Joy Villa outfit to grace the red carpet ... this time, she's here dressed as President Trump's border wall.

The alt-rock singer -- who's super conservative -- showed up to the Staples Center Sunday ahead of the big show wearing a silver "build the wall" gown, complete with faux barbed wire on her shoulders and a spiked crown on her head. Lady Liberty would be ... proud?

Joy told reporters that her 'BTW' ensemble was custom made by Designers Allinger of Desi Designs -- and, of course, she wore it to make a political statement, per usual. If her "steel" colored dress didn't tell you that ... her MAGA handbag hits the point home.

This isn't Joy's first rodeo with right-leaning outfits. She showed up to last year's Grammys wearing a pro-life dress, which also had an on-the-nose accessory.

Her 2018 fashion choice was apparently a big hit with DT's fam ... Joy told us that Eric Trump's wife, Lara, gave her rave reviews ... calling her dress "stunning."

Considering Joy has been rockin' MAGA gear to the Grammys since at least 2017, something tells us this is gonna be an ongoing thing as long as Trump's in office.