Michael S. Schmidt

Hollywood laywer Kevin Morris' influence in shaping an aggressive legal and public relations defense for the president's son, Hunter Biden, against criminal indictments and Republican attacks has rankled President Joe Biden's advisers inside and outside the White House.

WASHINGTON — He found a house for Hunter Biden's new family, paid divorce costs to Biden's ex-wife and helped resolve a paternity lawsuit from a third woman.

Ippei Mizuhara stands accused of covering his gambling debts by stealing millions of dollars from Shohei Ohtani’s bank account.

By quickly pleading guilty, Mizuhara would increase his chances of receiving a more lenient sentence, as federal prosecutors and judges often look more favorably upon defendants who make the government's job easier by expeditiously admitting their guilt.

The interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was charged with bank fraud, after prosecutors said he stole money to pay his gambling debts.

The account provided by authorities largely confirms what Ohtani told the public in late March, shortly after reports first surfaced that $4.5 million had been transferred from Ohtani's account to Mizuhara. At that time, Ohtani explained how he believed Mizuhara had stolen money from him and that he did not bet on sports himself.

At times, baseball’s biggest star seemed in danger of being tainted by a gambling scandal, before his longtime interpreter was charged with fraud.

In the clubhouse after the Los Angeles Dodgers won their season opener in Seoul, South Korea, last month, Shohei Ohtani's longtime interpreter, Ippei

An American who won silver in Tokyo calls for an investigation. A British gold medalist demands bans. But the most bitter fight was between antidoping leaders.

Within hours, the disclosure of an incident that had been a secret for more than three years had drawn strong reactions from athletes, coaches and others in the fight to keep drugs out of elite sports.