Its Presidential pardon season! For obstructors of justice and launderers of foreign cash, the waning days of the Trump Administration might as well be the Super Bowl. Historically, this end-of-term bonanza has been the domain of a privileged guilty few, with the general public cut out of the action. But times change. Recently, a man named Pat Morrow surveyed the scene and thought, What if I gave you two-to-one odds on Giuliani?

Morrow runs the odds-making operation at Bovada, an online sports book. This year, with the N.C.A.A. Tournament cancelled and the Olympics postponed, Bovada has cleaned up on political wagering. It has allowed bets on everything from Bidens running mate (Kamala Harris led for weeks) to which word Trump would say first at a post-election press conference (fraud and steal lost to count, a heavy underdog). If you are a patriotic American concerned about the electoral process, thats kind of depressing, Morrow said, of the press-conference bet. But it got great engagement.

The latest action is on Bovadas pardon market. From the start, the former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort has been the favorite to receive a pardon, at minus 400 (a winner must bet four hundred bucks on him in order to make a hundred). He is trailed by the campaign advisers George Papadopoulos (minus 325) and Rick Gates (minus 300). When setting lines for events like a Mets game, Bovada uses stats and probabilities. But for pardons, Morrow said, we really just went through a Whos Who of people who are in trouble, and who have some kind of connection to Trump. He added, Who would be in his best interest? Bannon makes sense, Gates makes sense, Manafort really, really, really makes sense. For those looking for a potential dark horse, Julian Assange is plus 250: a hundred-dollar wager would net two hundred and fifty. Ghislaine Maxwells at three to one, Morrow said. Thats probably not fair. I would recommend not betting that.

Getting in on the pardon game requires a working knowledge of constitutional law. I wasnt sure if we wanted to put Trump himself as an option, because theres still some legal discussion as to whether thats possible, Morrow said. Trump made the cut as a plus-160 dog. Initially, his three eldest children did not. We thought he did not have the power to do it, Morrow said. But, when the Times reported that Trump was, in fact, discussing the matter with advisers, the lines went up. Theyre currently plus 130. Jared Kushner is plus 150.

Rudy Giuliani posed another quandary. Can a President premptively pardon someone who hasnt been charged with a crime? Giuliani began as a bargain, plus 240. That one was probably a mistake on our side, Morrow said. I personally didnt price this one. I would suggest that perhaps the trader behind it was thinking that, as it currently stands, Rudy doesnt have any indictments pending. Bettors hammered the line all the way down to plus 140. Giuliani is now the most popular wager on the board. Trump is second.

The election itself accounted for a quarter of Bovadas 2020 revenue. (It was bigger than Mayweather-McGregor! Morrow said.) About two-thirds of the money was on Trump, though most savvy bettors, or sharps, bet Biden. The Biden bettors were paid only after the votes were certified. Morrow is now concerned about the tiny chance that the certifications will be overturned; hed have to pay out the Trump wagers, too. But, in the grand scheme of things, whats a quarter of a years revenue versus, you know, the republic being torn apart? Morrow asked. Thats actually kind of given me a weird bit of peace.

How are the sharps approaching pardons? Gadoon Kyrollos, a prominent professional gambler who goes by Spanky, recommended betting against the news. That strategy returned a big profit for him on Election Night. The market went crazy after Trump, then the underdog, won Florida. I was trading until 4 a.m., Spanky said. Trump was a three-to-one favorite. When I wake up, Trump becomes a three-to-one dog. And then, by 7 p.m., that became a ten- or fifteen-to-one underdog. You never see movement like that. Thats once in a lifetime. Almost like last weekends Jets game. Although that might have been on purpose.

Despite the windfall, Spanky and his partners are sitting out the pardon market. If were not getting down fifty, a hundred thousand a game, were really not into it, he said. Plus, its personal. Eight years ago, Spanky was pinched in a gambling bust. He maintains that he was simply a bettor (legal), but that the large sums he was moving convinced the police that he must be a bookie (illegal). He pleaded guilty to avoid a trial. Officially, hes a felon. Earlier this year, he petitioned both Trump and Andrew Cuomo, on Twitter, for a pardon. Im a hundred to one, Spanky said.

Read more:
What are the Odds That Trump Pardons Himself? - The New Yorker

Image: Niklas HALLEN (Getty Images)

Did everyone know that in July, London designer Vivienne Westwood locked herself in a birdcage to protest the extradition trial of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange? Well, its been approximately 100 years since June, so I totally forgot.

In the shadow of this perplexing political stand, however, a lesser, more confounding drama has escalated to an all-out cage match between Westwoods son and his publicist. Joe Corr, a similar fashion activist and Westwoods heir, was been embroiled in a heated email exchange with his former publicist, Richard Hillgrove, with whom he has worked since 2014. WWD reports that Hillgrove quit his job in September, after the two collaborated on Westwoods bizarre political stunt. Hillgrove reportedly gave Corr a month notice before he left his employment, but in emails seen by the outlet, Corr rejected his notice, and began sending Hillgrove e-mails so venomous they could turn a man to stone. Let me be the judge of that; heres one, per WWD:

Your behavior has been disgusting, I have supported you so much in the past to the point where I would have taken a bullet for you. You havent even had the decency to explain or discuss your decision to cut your relationship with me after everything we have been through.

Elsewhere in the email, WWD reports that Corr than used words to describe Hillgroves wife that cannot be reprinted here. Hillgrove also told the outlet that Corr used sexist language and religious hate speech in the same email.

In a comment to WWD about the whole affair, Corr did himself absolutely no favors.

Richard is an idiot, and his desire to let everyone know that he is one by sending out press releases on this non-story just proves that he is one. We worked very successfully together as a team, but when he is left to his own devices he is a car crash. Goodbye Richard!

G/O Media may get a commission

OK, but is Vivienne Westwood still in that birdcage? Ive lost the plot on what exactly everyone is fighting about. But to Corr, specifically: Please log off!

The rest is here:
Vivienne Westwood's Son and His Ex-Publicist Are Having a Dramatic Dudefight Over Email - Jezebel

Two weeks ago, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Van Buren vs. United States, the landmark case over the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). Nathan Van Buren, the petitioner in the case, is a former police officer in Georgia who used his lawful access to a police license plate database to look someone up in exchange for money. Van Buren was indicted and convicted of violating the CFAA for using his legal access to the database in a way it was not intended.

The fundamental question presented to the Supreme Court is whether someone who has authorized access to a computer violates federal law if he or she accesses the same information in an unauthorized way. While the question may seem trivial, this is a welcome and long overdue court case that could have a major impact on security researchers, consumers, and corporations alike.

Intended as the United States first anti-hacking law, the CFAA was enacted almost thirty-five years ago, long before lawyers and technologists had any sense of how the Internet would proliferate and evolve. In fact, the Act is outdated enough that it specifically excludes typewriters and portable hand-held calculators as a type of computer.

Since its inception, it has been robustly applied for basic terms and services breaches, like the infamous case of Aaron Swartz downloading articles from the digital library JSTOR, to indicting nation-state hackers and extraditing Julian Assange.

The core of the problem lies in the vague, perhaps even draconian, description of unauthorized computer use. While the law has been amended several times, including to clarify the definition of a protected computer, the ambiguity of unauthorized access puts the average consumer at risk of breaking federal law. According to the Ninth Circuit, you could potentially be committing a felony by sharing subscription passwords.

The stakes are particularly high for security researchers who identify vulnerabilities for companies without safe harbor or bug bounty programs. White-hat hackers, who act in good faith to report vulnerabilities to a company before it is breached, face the same legal risks as cybercriminals who actively exploit and profit from those vulnerabilities. Say, for example, that a security researcher has identified a significant vulnerability in the pacemaker that a healthcare company produces. If the healthcare company hasnt published a safe harbor agreement, that security researcher could face up to ten years in prison for reporting a vulnerability that could potentially save someones life.

On the less drastic side, security researchers who work with companies to protect their systems face legal risk in their day-to-day activities. During a penetration test, for example, a client will list assets that are in scope for testing, as well as state what tests are prohibited (e.g., any action that causes a denial of service and crashes a server). A penetration tester could face legal liability and prison time for inadvertently testing the wrong asset that is out of scopeor accidentally executing a test that breaches authorized use. Arguably, engineers could face the same legal liability if they access the wrong database or push the wrong code.

On one hand, the broad and ambiguous language of the CFAA provides robust legal protection for companies and facilitates federal resources, like the FBI, if a significant breach occurs. Some companies have argued that narrowing the scope of the CFAA would not be damaging to security programs if companies are already contracting security services, including crowdsourced programs like bug bounty. One company received pushback from the information security community when it accused MIT security researchers of acting in bad faith by identifying vulnerabilities in its mobile app. Some companies have argued that the difficulty of attribution, meaning the ability to accurately identify a threat actor, makes it difficult to distinguish good actors from cybercriminals.

Yet the CFAA is a reactive measure that would be enforced following an incident. Companies should ideally be focused on preventative measures to protect against a breach before it occurs. It is arguably to the detriment of companies like Voatz, which serves the public through its voting app, that the CFAA is so broad, since security researchers may choose not to investigate or report vulnerabilities due to the possibility that they could be reported to the FBI. While attribution can be incredibly difficult, good faith security researchers will always identify themselves when they report a vulnerability. Unlike malicious actors, who will exploit vulnerabilities for their own gain, security researchers act to increase the security posture of a company and protect citizens from harm.

All companies should use security services, like penetration testing, bug bounty programs, and safe harbor, to quickly identify and triage vulnerabilities. However, security researchers all have different methods for testing and may not be able to cover all of the assets that a company owns. For example, an ethical hacker may be focused on exploiting a SQL injection in a database, he or she may miss exposed credentials on the Internet that allow access into a protected server. With the rapid pace of DevSecOps, engineers could be pushing changes a dozen timesor morein a single day.

Revolutionary changes in the structure and pace of the Internet and the software that fuels it means that ad-hoc or occasional security testing is not enough to protect against vulnerabilities. We need the full force of security researchers, and all companies should encourage and protect their work.

Should the Supreme Court affirm van Burens conviction, the legal landscape will remain largely the same. Security researchers and consumers alike will face liability despite acting in good faith, and the federal government will continue to exercise broad power over trivial and ambiguous breaches of authorized computer use.

Yet the Supreme Court now has the opportunity to limit the scope of the CFAA and restrict what the federal government can prosecute. Doing so will enhance the security of the Internet, protect security researchers, and limit the legal liability of daily Internet users who clicked through terms of services without reading them.

A lot has changed since the CFAA was first enacted in 1984. While the Supreme Courts decision could drastically change the information security landscape, it is still not enough. As weve seen with the Internet of Things bill that was recently passed through the House, the United States needs modern legislation to secure the rapidly changing technology of the twenty-first century.

In short, security researchers who act in good faith are exposing themselves to huge legal risk because of the broad interpretation of CFAA. This is to the detriment of anyone who values the protection of their information. We are in dire need of reform in the United States, but in the meantime, there is hope that the Supreme Court will narrow the scope of the CFAA to protect consumers and security researchers alike.

Read more here:
What's at stake in the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) - Help Net Security

1. Reports on the climate collapse have stopped in some cases the nonsense talk about needing the United States to lead, and even gone beyond urging it to get out of last place, and begun demanding that it do its fair share to undo its share of the damage. Thats the same thing we need on militarism, when U.S. weapons are on both sides of most wars, almost all foreign bases are U.S. bases, and most people in the U.S. cant begin to name its current wars, drone murders, or nations with U.S. troops in them. We saw this past year that moving even 10% out of militarism, even explicitly to address a health crisis killing huge numbers of people in the United States, was too great a blasphemy. The biggest chance of reducing militarism, winding back the nuclear doomsday clock, and funding a serious Green New Deal is to make demilitarization part of a Green New Deal. That means telling your misrepresentative and senators that, and telling every environmental organization that. Here are some resources to help:https://worldbeyondwar.org/environment

2. At the time of the failure to move 10% out of militarism, Congress Members Lee and Pocan announced the formation of a so-called Defense budget reduction caucus. Heres a petition encouraging them to follow through on that. Sign and share it:https://moneyforhumanneeds.org/letter-to-u-s-representatives-lee-and-pocan

3. The biggest enemy of the Pentagon is not some foreign nation spending 8% what it does on militarism. The biggest enemy is free college, or the inclusion of college in public education. Demanding that the United States join other wealthy nations in making education accessible to its residents is a tremendous good in itself. Many organizations will be promoting this in the coming months. It starts with ending student debt. One group working on this is: https://rootsaction.org

4. During the four years of Trump, Congress for the first time used the War Powers Resolution to end a war the war on Yemen but Trump vetoed the bill. Congress also for the first time adopted the practice of forbidding a president to end a war or a post-war occupation specifically the war on Afghanistan, the Korean War, and World War II. Senator Rand Paul raised hell about this a couple of days ago, and the war supporters said little, while liberals denounced him for recklessly suggesting that Trump could be permitted to end the war on Afghanistan in under two decades. We need to put everything we can into getting a repeat vote of the ending of the war on Yemen, and into undoing and ending the practice of allowing presidents to start dozens of wars but forbidding them to end them. Many groups will be working on at least part of this, including: https://rootsaction.org https://worldbeyondwar.org

5. Building on ending the war on Yemen, we should insist that Congress end additional wars, starting with the war on Afghanistan. And we should insist on an end to weapons sales, military training, military funding, and military basing in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. We should, in fact, extend that to support the reintroduction of Congresswoman Omars Stop Arming Human Rights Abusers Act, and eventually end the trading of weapons that cannot actually be used without abusing human rights.Contact your Congress Members at https://actionnetwork.org/letters/pass-the-stop-arming-human-rights-abusers-act

6. We should organize a major coalition to support the reintroduction of all of Rep. Omars peace bills, including the Global Peacebuilding Act, the Global Migration Agreement Act, the Congressional Oversight of Sanctions Act, the Youthbuild International Act, the Resolution on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Resolution on the International Criminal Court. See: https://omar.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-omar-introduces-pathway-peace-bold-foreign-policy-vision-united-states

7. Sign and share the petition asking President-Elect Biden to end Trumps sanctions against the International Criminal Court:https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/ask-biden-to-end-trumps-coercive-measures-against-the-international-criminal-court/

8. Peace activists stopped a particularly egregious contender for Secretary of so-called Defense in Michle Flournoy. Review what worked and get ready for the next one here: https://rootsaction.org/news-a-views/2378-2020-12-08-13-01-24

9. Make sure everyone you know is on board with what is coming at us in a Biden regime that had no foreign policy on the campaign website and no foreign policy task force, but made a top-priority for the transition to nominate numerous warmongers from the boards of weapons companies, with an inauguration being funded by weapons companies. We should see if we cant shame the shameless over the inauguration funding of yet another presidency brough to you by the war profiteers.https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-biden-inauguration-donors-corporations-2020-12

10. Make sure everyone you know understands what happened in the Trump regime now ending, that Trump started no big new wars other than a cold war with Russia, but escalated existing wars, moved them more to the air, increased civilian casualties, increased drone murders, built more bases and weapons, tore up key disarmament treaties, openly threatened to use nuclear weapons, and dramatically increased military spending. Trump both bragged about selling weapons to brutal dictatorships and denounced anyone bowing before the military industrial complex. No other presidents will do either of those things. But they will follow in the footsteps of his actions, which followed those of his predecessor unless we change things. That means undoing much Trump damage (including policies on Iran, Cuba, Russia, etc.), even while insisting on following through on a few things Trump suggested (such as withdrawing a few troops from Afghanistan and Germany).Email your Congress Member about Afghanistan here:https://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=14013

11. There is a brief opening to undo the Trump damage and the damage of decades of U.S. conduct on Iran, before the Iranian elections in June 2021. Learn more, sign the petition to Biden, and inform others here:https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/end-sanctions-on-iran/

12. Biden has committed to restoring at least somewhat better relations on Cuba. Lets hold him to that and insist on an end to the whole blockade. Lets even build on that to demand an end to deadly and illegal sanctions against other nations. Use these fact sheets on the sanctions now imposed on various countries:https://worldbeyondwar.org/flyers/#fact

13. Another novelty in the Trump years is corporate media outlets calling a president a liar and fact-checking him. Sometimes their own facts are wrong too. Sometimes they still fail to call the president on lies. But if this new policy were upheld consistently, war would be over. Take a look and spread around my book, War Is A Lie. Also check out the debunking of war myths and the case for war abolition on the homepage of World BEYOND War.https://warisalie.orghttps://worldbeyondwar.org

14. Another novelty is military officials proudly bragging about having tricked a president into thinking he was withdrawing more troops from a war (Syria) than he was. This is just as dangerous a power-balance development as Congress forbidding presidents from ending wars. We need to be prepared to spot this maneuver the minute it next happens.

15. Another odd twist in these past 4 years is the development of great liberal affection for a new cold war with Russia, for building up NATO, for keeping troops in Germany and Korea and Afghanistan, and for supporting the CIA and the so-called intelligence so-called community. When Trump talked this week of stripping the CIA of support from the military, good liberals were outraged. The world is now seen as unsafe if it lacks sufficient hostility toward Russia and blind support for militarism and lawless secret agencies. I really cannot gauge how long this will last or how hard it will be to undo the damage, but we have to try. We have to confront true believers with all of Trumps anti-Russian behavior, with the U.S. governments longstanding support for most of the worlds oppressive governments, with the abuses and counterproductive activities of the spies and killers on whom is bestowed the euphemistic label intelligence.

16. When nuclear weapons become illegal in over 50 countries on January 22, 2021, we need to celebrate globally, hold events, put up billboards, petition the nuclear nations, etc. A whole toolkit of resources is online here:https://worldbeyondwar.org/122-2

17. We need to get organized, build community, build power, win local victories, and connect local allies and individuals with a global movement. One way to do that is to form a World BEYOND War chapter. Try it here:https://worldbeyondwar.org/findchapter

18. We need to take advantage of the fact that real-world events no longer compete with online events, and create larger, more global, more effective and persuasive webinars and actionars. World BEYOND War can help with this. Here are numerous upcoming webinars already planned, and videos of many that have already happened:https://worldbeyondwar.org/eventshttps://worldbeyondwar.org/webinars

19. Campaigns we can work on locally with likely success and global support, with educational and organization benefits, include divestment, base closures, and demilitarization of police. With even the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff talking about closing foreign bases, we darn well should be. See:https://worldbeyondwar.org/divesthttps://worldbeyondwar.org/baseshttps://worldbeyondwar.org/policing

20. Take advantage of the existence of tons of great books. Read them. Get them into libraries. Give them to elected officials. Organize reading clubs. Invite authors to speak. Check out these lists of books, films, powerpoints, and other resources for events, and this list of available speakers:https://worldbeyondwar.org/resourceshttps://davidswanson.org/bookshttps://worldbeyondwar.org/speakers

21. Take advantage of online courses, for yourself, and to recommend to others:https://worldbeyondwar.org/education/#onlinecourses

22. Make use of this collection of resources to celebrate and educate about the Christmas Truces:https://worldbeyondwar.org/christmastruce

23. Nip in the bud this insane idea that extending draft registration to women is feminist progress. Overcome the twisted idea that a draft is good for peace. And join the coalition working to abolish the so-called selective so-called service:https://worldbeyondwar.org/repeal

24. Help halt the extradition of Julian Assange and the criminalization of journalism, despite all your completely justified complaints with Assange:https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/fight-for-peace-and-free-press

25. Email Congress to stop impeding peace-making in Korea:https://actionnetwork.org/letters/peace-in-korea-email-your-representative-and-senators

26. Those of you Im talking to on December 12 from Ohio, elect Nina Turner!

27. Wear your damn mask!

Continue reading here:
27 Things You Can Do to Let There Be Peace on Earth - PRESSENZA International News Agency

12.12.2020 - Pressenza Athens

This post is also available in: French, Greek

A snapshot from the video of Manu Chao on Twitter #FreeAssange is flooding social media while calls for the release of Julian Assange and against his extradition to the USA multiply. Ordinary people who are calling for the protection of free journalism and of Julian Assange raise their voices every day together with journalists, artists, lawyers, politicians and academics.

Manu Chao posted his appeal on his Twitter account by singing:

In a desperate plea, Edward Snowden, the NSA public interest whistleblower, who himself is being persecuted by the USA but who has been granted asylum in Russia and lives there, called upon President Trump to release Assange. He writes on Twitter: Mr. President, if you grant only one act of clemency during your time in office, please free Julian Assange. You alone can save his life.

In his turn, Oliver Stone, the award-winning American film director, in a photograph of himself holding the slogan I am Julian Assange calls for a halt to the censorship of journalists. The next court hearing in London for the case of Assanges extradition to the USA is scheduled to take place on December 11, while the decision is expected to be announced in one months time, on 4 January 2021.

Related articles:

Pressenzas Campaign 14Assange: Varoufakis on the Offensive for the Defense of Assange (video)

Juan Branco: The Greek people to apply pressure for the granting of asylum to Julian Assange.

Julian Assange is being held in severe conditions according to a report by the UN Rapporteur

A call to protest for Julian Assange the court hearing for his extradition starts on 24/2.

Translation by Jeannette A. Arduino, from the voluntary Pressenza translation team. We are looking for volunteers!

Originally posted here:
Appeals for the Release of Julian Assange: Manu Chao, Snowden, Oliver Stone - PRESSENZA International News Agency

WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE: A war of words has erupted between Vivienne Westwoods son Joe Corr and Richard Hillgrove, his former p.r. man and activist organizer.

Most recently, the two worked together on a publicity stunt in July aimed at drawing attention to the plight of Julian Assange, who was charged in the U.S. in 2019 for publishing classified documents linked to U.S. military action in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As reported, Westwood, dressed in a sharp-shouldered canary yellow trouser suit and black combat boots, voiced her support for Assange from inside a giant birdcage suspended 10 feet off the ground in front of Londons Old Bailey criminal court.

It was Westwoods first public appearance after quarantining for 16 weeks during the U.K.s COVID-19 lockdown earlier this year. Megaphone in hand, she decried the illegal U.S. extradition of Julian Assange for telling the truth about American war crimes.

Since then Corr, an activist and clothing entrepreneur who has inherited his mothers flair for drama, has fallen out with his longtime ally Hillgrove, with whom he had worked since 2014, staging a number of protests.

The two have not worked together since September, after Hillgrove quit his job. Hillgrove said he gave Corr a months notice that he was leaving, which he said Corr rejected.

Since then, Corr has been sending Hillgrove e-mails so venomous they could turn a man to stone.

In one of them, seen by WWD, Corr tells Hillgrove to never get in touch with him, Vivienne Westwood, or Ben Westwood (Joes half-brother) again.

Your behavior has been disgusting, I have supported you so much in the past to the point where I would have taken a bullet for you. You havent even had the decency to explain or discuss your decision to cut your relationship with me after everything we have been through, wrote Corr in one of the e-mails.

Corr then went on to insult Hillgroves wife Lois Perry, a broadcaster, in words that cannot be reprinted here.

Hillgrove also accused Corr of using women hate speechandreligious hate speechagainst Perry.

Hillgrove confirmed that he has not gone to the police or taken legal action, although that might be a possibility in the future.

Asked to comment Corr said: Richard is an idiot, and his desire to let everyone know that he is one by sending out press releases on this non-story just proves that he is one. We worked very successfully together as a team, but when he is left to his own devices he is a car crash. Goodbye Richard!

See original here:
High Anxiety in London as Joe Corr and a Former Ally Lock Horns - WWD

Despite losing his U.K. libel case against The Sun at the beginning of November over being called a wife beater, Johnny Depp isnt done with the judicial system just yet. Not only has he decided to appeal that verdict, but the actor is also simultaneously pursuing a whole other $50 million defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard in Virginia. And in case this legal battle wasnt already high-profile enough, as part of the case, Depp is reportedly going to have to turn over communications with all of his former romantic partners, which apparently includes about half of Hollywoods A-list actresses.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actors next court battle is shaping up to be even more revelatory than the last, as it threatens to pull a number of other big-name celebrities into the fray. Depp is reportedly obligated to produce for the court all responsive communications with his former romantic partners, which THR reports includes Angelina Jolie, Keira Knightley, and Marion Cotillard. Ellen Barkin has also already given a deposition in the U.K. case, claiming that Depp threw a wine bottle in her direction when they were dating. However, according to the Daily Mail, Depp said Barkin is simply holding a grudge against him.

When Cotillard filmed Public Enemies with Depp in 2008, there were rumors that the pair flirted heavily on set and that their chemistry was palpable, despite neither confessing to a relationship, especially as Depp may have still been in a relationship with Vanessa Paradis at the time. Likewise, while there have been rumors about Jolie and Depps relationship for years, neither has ever confirmed anything romantic happened between them after meeting on the set of The Tourist, when Jolie was married. In fact, during filming, In Touch Weekly reported that the pair actually couldnt stand each other. But in an interview that year, Depp also said of his costar, Shes everything. Shes kind of a walking poem, Angelina is. Shes this perfect beauty but at the same time very deep, very smart, very quick, very clever, very funny, and also has a very perverse sense of humor.

Knightley has also never confirmed a relationship with the actor, but they did work on the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise together over the course of a decade. If the two stars did date, youd certainly never know it from Depps Evening Standard interview during which he said, Kissing someone you are not romantically involved with is always awkward, but the fact that Keira is 20-something years younger than me made it infinitely more awkward. Still, she was a good sport about it and we did what we had to do. As a side note, Heard is actually one year younger than Knightley.

And its not just dragging all of his famous exes into the trial thats going to make this case more difficult than the last. THR points out that unlike the U.K. case, in this one, the burden of proof will be entirely Depps responsibility. To further complicate matters, Depps attorney Adam Waldmanwhose former clients include Russian oligarchs and Julian Assangehas already been removed from the case for leaking confidential information to the press. The lawyer has since stepped away from his Twitter account as well, last tweeting on October 16, when he seemed to call out media bias against his client by conspiratorially connecting positive articles written by the same author about both Heard and Elon Musks current girlfriend, Grimes.

Depps defamation case is expected to go to trial in early 2021.

Representatives for Jolie, Cotillard, and Knightley did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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Johnny Depp Will Reportedly Have to Turn Over His Communications With Every Famous Actress Hes Dated - Vanity Fair