LOS ANGELES (AP) — “That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson filed a petition Monday for his two rape convictions and long prison sentence to be thrown out, saying that his trial lawyer failed to call key witnesses and introduce essential evidence that might have exonerated him.
The petition for habeas corpus filed with California's 2nd District Court of Appeal argues that lawyer Philip Cohen did not represent Masterson properly at the 2023 retrial that ended with the actor being convicted of raping two women at his Los Angeles home in 2003. He was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.
The petition also argues that the trial judge demonstrated a bias against the Church of Scientology, allowing an “unconstitutional intrusion” into the church's doctrine and a misinterpretation of its scripture.
Masterson is a member of the church, whose practices were a major issue at his trial, and the women are former members.
The petition says that Cohen spoke to only two of the 20 potential witnesses brought to his attention by his co-counsel and an investigator. It says the witnesses included some who would have testified that the women spoke favorably of the sexual relationships they had with Masterson. And they included psychological and pharmacological experts who would have testified about the effects of alcohol and drugs on memory.
The court filing says there was “unexpected and unreasonable failure of trial counsel to present any of the mountain of exculpatory evidence” that had been amassed by Masterson's pretrial attorney Shawn Holley, and the result was a violation of his constitutional rights.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo declined to delay Masterson’s first trial to accommodate Holley’s representation of former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer against his own allegations of sexual misconduct. Cohen then took over as lead attorney.
Masterson's first trial ended in a mistrial with a jury unable to reach consensus on any of three rape counts against him. He was promptly retried, and a jury found him guilty of two counts while failing to reach a verdict on the third.
Cohen did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the petition, nor did an attorney for the women.
“The unfairness of the second Masterson trial was the result of prosecutorial misconduct, judicial bias, and the failure of defense counsel to present exculpatory evidence,” Eric Multhaup, the attorney who filed the petition for Masterson, said in a statement. “The jury heard only half the story – the prosecution’s side. Danny deserves a new trial where the jury can hear his side as well.”
The petition says Olmedo erred in allowing the prosecution to negatively cast the Church of Scientology as a force of intimidation. It alleges that Cohen also did not present available evidence that would countered the portrayal.
Masterson’s new motion is separate from his main appeal to the same court, a process that is pending.
Masterson, 49, is serving his sentence at the California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo. He will not be eligible for parole for more than 20 years.
Masterson starred with Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and Topher Grace in “That ’70s Show” from 1998 until 2006. He had reunited with Kutcher on the 2016 Netflix comedy “The Ranch,” but was written off the show when the Los Angeles Police Department investigation was revealed the following year.
FILE - Danny Masterson appears at the CMT Music Awards in Nashville, Tenn., June 7, 2017. (Photo by Wade Payne/Invision/AP, File)
LONDON (AP) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was meeting the French, German and British leaders in London on Monday as Kyiv’s European allies try to strengthen Ukraine’s hand in thorny talks on a U.S.-backed plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer was due to gather with Zelenskyy, President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the British leader’s 10 Downing St. residence.
Zelenskyy said late Sunday that his talks with European leaders this week in London and Brussels will focus on security, air defense and long-term funding for Ukraine’s war effort. The leaders are working to ensure that any ceasefire is backed by solid security guarantees both from Europe and the U.S. to deter Russia from attacking again.
U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators completed three days of talks on Saturday aimed at trying to narrow differences on the U.S. administration’s peace proposal.
Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram that talks had been “substantive” and that National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov and Chief of the General Staff Andrii Hnatov were traveling back to Europe to brief him.
A major sticking point in the proposal is the suggestion Ukraine must cede control of its eastern Donbas region to Russia, which illegally occupies most but not all of its territory. Ukraine and its European allies have balked at the idea of handing over land.
In an exchange with reporters on Sunday night, President Donald Trump appeared frustrated with Zelenskyy, claiming the Ukrainian leader “hasn’t yet read the proposal.”
“Russia is, I believe, fine with it, but I’m not sure that Zelenskyy’s fine with it," Trump said before taking part in the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington. "His people love it, but he hasn't read it."
Trump has had a hot-and-cold relationship with Zelenskyy since riding into a second White House term insisting that the war was a waste of U.S. taxpayers’ money. Trump has also repeatedly urged the Ukrainians to cede land to Russia to bring an end to the nearly four-year conflict.
The European talks follow the publication of a new U.S. national security strategy that alarmed European leaders and was welcomed by Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the document, which spells out the administration’s core foreign policy interests, was largely in line with Moscow’s vision.
The document released Friday by the White House said the U.S. wants to improve its relationship with Russia after years of Moscow being treated as a global pariah and that ending the war is a core U.S. interest to “reestablish strategic stability with Russia.”
The document also says NATO must not be “a perpetually expanding alliance,” echoing another complaint of Russia’s. It was scathing about the migration and free speech policies of longstanding U.S. allies in Europe, suggesting they face the “prospect of civilizational erasure” due to migration.
Starmer’s government has declined to comment on the American document, saying it is a matter for the U.S. government.
As diplomatic efforts continued, Russian forces continued to assault Ukraine over the weekend. At least four people were killed in drone and missile strikes on Sunday, while Moscow continues to target Ukrainian energy infrastructure as winter sets in.
Meanwhile, Russian air defenses destroyed 67 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Monday. The drones were shot down over 11 Russian regions, it said.
Novikov reported from Kyiv, Ukraine.
FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron, right, welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Dec. 1, 2025 before a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Services on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, a rescue worker puts out a fire of a residential building damaged by a Russian strike in Sumy region, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Services on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, a rescue worker puts out a fire of a car in front of a residential building damaged by a Russian strike in Sumy region, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
