A federal judge has sanctioned the law firm representing a woman in a lawsuit accusing billionaire Leon Black of sexual assault linked to the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, but stopped short of throwing the case out entirely.

In a 76-page opinion and order, U.S. District Judge Jessica Clarke found that attorney Jeanne Christensen and her firm, Wigdor LLP, engaged in “serious, sanctionable misconduct” during the litigation.

Clarke wrote that Christensen “lied repeatedly” to the court and opposing counsel about a related case and directed her client to delete a potentially relevant social media account.

“In light of the serious and varied misconduct … the Court strongly considered granting the case-terminating sanctions Defendant requests in this matter,” Clarke wrote. “However, the Court ultimately concludes that lesser sanctions can address the misconduct.”

HOWARD LUTNICK SHUTS DOWN DEM QUESTIONS OVER JEFFREY EPSTEIN AT BUDGET HEARING

The lawsuit alleges that Black, co-founder of Apollo Global Management, raped a 16-year-old girl in New York City in 2002. The accuser, identified as “Jane Doe,” claims she was previously abused and groomed by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, who she says trafficked her to other men, including Black.

The judge also raised concerns about the plaintiff’s evidence, finding that some materials — including sonogram images contained in personal journals — had been falsified. Clarke did not rule on the underlying allegations but determined that certain supporting evidence could not be relied upon.

The plaintiff has alleged she was subjected to an “impregnation game” involving Epstein and others, claiming she was forced to carry pregnancies resulting from sexual abuse.

“According to Plaintiff, she was forced to carry out pregnancies that resulted from the men who sexually abused her, and Maxwell took photographs of Plaintiff’s body as it changed during her pregnancies,” Clarke wrote. “Plaintiff testified that all of the sonograms in the journals were hers from several abuse-related pregnancies, including some pregnancies that came to term and others that were terminated.”

HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE CALLS BILLS GATES, LEON BLACK TO TESTIFY OVER JEFFREY EPSTEIN TIES

The judge ordered Christensen to file the misconduct ruling in all of her federal cases in the Second Circuit for the next year, and for five years in any case where sanctions are sought against her, her firm or her client. Wigdor LLP was also ordered to pay the defendant’s legal fees tied to the sanctions motion, and the plaintiff is barred from using journals containing falsified sonograms.

Wigdor LLP, which no longer represents the plaintiff, said it was “upset” by the sanctions but noted the case remains active, Politico reported.

“We are pleased that our former client will get her day in court,” firm founder Douglas Wigdor said in a statement.

Black’s attorney said the plaintiff’s credibility has been “destroyed” and called for the case to be withdrawn, urging authorities to investigate what she described as “fraud.”

EX-PRINCE ANDREW PHOTOGRAPHED KNEELING OVER WOMAN IN LATEST DOJ JEFFREY EPSTEIN FILE RELEASE

“Her credibility having been destroyed, Doe should withdraw her Complaint and apologize to Mr. Black for manufacturing false and defamatory claims. We urge the federal authorities to investigate this fraud on the Court,” Susan Estrich, attorney for Leon Black, said in a statement.”

Black, who left Apollo Global Management in 2021, has denied wrongdoing.

He is also among several high-profile figures expected to testify before the House Oversight Committee next month about connections to Epstein and Maxwell.

Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2021 on sex-trafficking charges.

Wigdor LLP and Susan Estrich could not be immediately reached by Fox News Digital for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Bonny Chu contributed to this report.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is sparking backlash after using his first veto to derail a bipartisan bill aimed at combating antisemitism by expanding protest security safeguards for places of education.

“This could impact workers protesting ICE, or college students demanding their school divest from fossil fuels or demonstrating in support of Palestinian rights,” Mamdani said in a statement on Friday.

“It is a piece of legislation that has alarmed much of the labor movement, reproductive rights groups and immigration advocates, among others, across this city,” he continued.

New York’s former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent against Mamdani in the mayoral race last year, slammed Mamdani’s decision on X, saying he “chose the whims of his radical, extreme-left DSA base over the safety of students and Jewish New Yorkers at a time of rising antisemitism.”

MAMDANI IS AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO JEWISH NEW YORKERS

“Instead of governing for all NYers, Mamdani has repealed the very definition of antisemitism from the city’s books, changed how antisemitic crimes are counted and now vetoed these commonsense security measures when they are needed most,” Cuomo continued. “I proudly stand shoulder to shoulder with my Jewish brothers and sisters — just as the Cuomos always have, and always will.”

The bill, Int. 175-B, requires New York law enforcement to develop a plan to contain the risk of physical obstruction, physical injury, intimidation and interference at educational facilities while still allowing for freedom of assembly and First-Amendment events. The plan would then apply to “any building, structure, or place where educational programming takes place.”

Julie Menin, the speaker of the New York City Council, had framed the bill as key to warding off threats of antisemitism.

“The legislation is part of the Council-led Five-Point Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism,” Menin had said in March.

ELITE UNIVERSITY ATTENDED BY TRUMP’S SON CRACKS DOWN ON LEFT-WING STUDENT AGITATORS

“According to the NYPD, antisemitic incidents accounted for 57% of reported hate crimes in 2025, although only approximately 10% of New York City residents are Jewish. Jewish New Yorkers were the targets of hate crimes more than all other groups combined.”

The bill passed the New York City Council by a 30-19 vote late last month.

Commentators online criticized the veto, citing a need for enhanced protections. 

“We are deeply disappointed by Mayor Mamdani’s veto of legislation designed to help protect students from intimidation and disruption outside schools. The right to protest and the right to an education can and must coexist. We urge the City Council to override this veto and reaffirm a basic principle: protecting students is not politics; it is a civic responsibility,” the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a pro-Jewish group, said in a post to X.

“Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D- HAMAS) vetoed a bill for buffer zones around schools because it ‘could impact workers protesting ICE, or college students demanding their school divest from fossil fuels, or demonstrating in support of Palestinian rights.’ All the bill would have done was require clear safety plans around schools with law enforcement,” Ari Hoffman, a political commentator, wrote in his own post. 

Notably, Mamdani approved a very similar bill that applied to religious sites. He explained that he was concerned by the expansive range of what the second bill meant by “educational facilities.”

“The problem is how widely this bill defines an educational institution and the constitutional concerns it raises regarding New Yorkers’ fundamental right to protest. As the bill is written, everywhere from universities to museums to teaching hospitals could face restrictions,” Mamdani said in a statement.

NYC RABBI WARNS ZOHRAN MAMDANI ‘POSES A DANGER’ TO JEWISH COMMUNITY’S SAFETY

The city council could override a mayoral veto with a two-thirds vote, according to New York City’s charter. Doing so would require 33 of the chamber’s 50 members.

Assuming the bill retains the support of the legislators that originally advanced it out of the council, it would require just three more votes to secure its implementation over Mamdani’s objection.

Florida prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for a woman accused of killing both of her ex-lovers on the same day.

Susan Avalon, 51, was arrested in December after David Scott, 54, was found with a gunshot wound to his chest at his front door in Bradenton on Dec. 17 and Timothy Flecher, 55, was later found dead at his home in Tampa.

Scott was still alive when police arrived, telling them the shooter was “possibly my ex-wife, Susan,” an arrest affidavit said, according to The Tampa Bay Times.

The day after the killings police found Avalon at her home, and after they told her they wanted to speak with her about her ex-husband, she replied, “Which one?” according to the New York Post.

BAHAMAS JUDGE REVOKES BAIL FOR AMERICAN BEAUTY QUEEN CHARGED IN EX-NFL HUSBAND’S MURDER PLOT

That’s only when they realized there might be a second victim.

She was also reportedly seen bleaching the inside of her car.

Flecher was found dead from a gunshot wound inside his home with the back door glass shattered after police did a welfare check on him following their conversation with Avalon.

“Witnesses reported seeing Avalon and her vehicle in a driveway near the home around the time of the shooting,” the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office said in a release. “Investigators have also found several pieces of evidence they say connect her to the murder.”

BELOVED TEACHER KILLED AS SHE SLEPT, DAUGHTER STABBED IN ATTACK AS MOTIVE REMAINS UNCLEAR: DA

Prosecutors believe Avalon actually killed Flecher first, then Scott next just hours later, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Her current boyfriend, identified as Jeffrey Wescoat, told police in an arrest affidavit that Avalon has been sending him “unusual” texts during the day and had called to tell him: “in case anything happened to her, she loved him,” The Times reported.

He also heard her say: “f–k David and f–k Tim” when she got home before taking a shower with her clothes on.

“While our case focuses on one victim here in Hillsborough County, we know this tragedy did not end with one life,” State Attorney Suzy Lopez said in a statement. “Two families are grieving, and we are committed to seeking justice while standing with everyone impacted by this senseless violence.”

The state’s attorney’s office added that they are seeking the death penalty because of Avalon’s “cold, calculated, and premeditated” crimes that were “especially heinous, atrocious” and “cruel, that it occurred during the commission of a burglary, and that the defendant was involved in a contemporaneous violent felony.”

Avalon is charged with first-degree murder in Flecher’s death and second-degree murder in Scott’s death.

Avalon, who remains in custody in Hillsborough County on no bail, is expected to next be in court in July.