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1/27/18 3:30 PM PT -- Suge's former lawyer, Matthew Fletcher, tells TMZ ... his actions and methods while representing Suge were "legal and routinely used by every competent attorney in the world." Regarding allegations of bribery, he says ... "There is absolutely, 100% certainly not a single witness who has ever even insinuated that I spoke with them period! And with even more certainty, there is not a single witness or person who has ever had a conversation with me in which I offered them anything to testify."

Both Fletcher and Culpepper were released from custody late Friday.

Two of Suge Knight's former attorneys are behind bars for allegedly trying to bribe witnesses in his murder case.

Attorneys Matthew Fletcher and Thaddeus Culpepper were arrested on charges of acting as accessories after the fact ... a felony.

The allegations surround Suge's murder case over an incident at Tam's burger joint in Compton. Suge ran over 2 people, killing one of them. He claims he was acting in self-defense.

Fletcher allegedly tried to pay witnesses who were at Tam's to say they saw the victims and others in possession of a gun -- a critical point in Suge's defense ... this according to documents obtained by the L.A. Times.

Culpepper allegedly tried to pay an informant to say he was present during the incident at Tam's and would testify in a way that was favorable to Suge.

Fiona Apple insists the movie industry's got nothing on the music biz when it comes to rampant sexual misconduct -- which explains her shocked reaction to us even asking.

We got the singer at LAX Thursday and asked her about the planned protest at the Grammys -- guests wearing white roses to show solidarity with the Time's Up movement. It's music's version of the black gowns at the Golden Globes.

Fiona's all for it, and says it should come as no surprise powerful men wield their power in the music biz the same way they do in Hollywood.

Mally Mall doesn't have a problem with the way Donald Trump is handling the economy, only with how the prez handles the American people.

We got Mally Mall heading into Lucky Strike in Hollywood Thursday night and surprisingly the rapper had something nice to say about Trump, but only when it comes to the way 45 does business for America.

Trump's been shaking the U.S. economy, first by pulling America out of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiated under the Obama administration and now enforcing trade laws. The TTP is now an 11-nation pact that will be signed in March, without the U.S.

Justin Bieber isn't gonna show his mug at the Grammy Awards again -- or any other award shows for that matter -- until he's got something new to show for it ... HIS NEXT ALBUM!!!

Sources tell us Bieber is skipping the 2018 Grammys -- just like he did last year -- despite the fact a hugely popular song on which he was featured last year is up for a number of awards.

Bieber will not perform alongside Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee Sunday for their performance of "Despacito" -- which has been nominated for 3 Grammys ... Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

We're told Bieber loves Luis and Daddy, but he's passing on the performance because he doesn't want to make appearances until he finishes his new album.

That's big news. We didn't know Bieber had new music in the works, but he does. He'll presumably use award shows like the Grammys to promote the new tracks when they're ready, but not before.

Justin previously was a no-show at the Grammys because he didn't think it was relevant or representative of the music fans really liked. But hey ... business is business.

U2 won't really be performing live from a remote location during the "60th Annual Grammy Awards" ... but it will seem that way thanks to some TV magic.

Sources close to production tell TMZ ... the band is set to record their Grammys performance Friday night on a barge in the Hudson River. When the show airs Sunday night -- live from Madison Square Garden -- cameras will cut away from MSG to U2's pre-recorded performance

It'll look like it's live, but now you won't be fooled. To be clear, the boys from Dublin aren't lip syncing -- just playing live to tape.

It's not uncommon for huge live TV events to prerecord segments, especially when a stunt shot's involved. Remember Lady Gaga's nose dive into the Super Bowl?

Here's how the final product looked for that.

Fletcher Cox says his relationship with a married woman ain't the result of some master seduction ... but just some good ol' fashioned mutual attraction between consenting adults.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Cox -- Eagles star DT -- was sued by Josh Jeffords, a North Carolina man who claimed Fletcher seduced and banged his wife Catherine ... destroying his marriage.

In N.C., that can constitute "alienation of affection" ... what Cox is being sued for.

But in docs filed by Cox's attorney, he's adamant he's no homewrecker ... saying the relationship "was not the result of seduction," but just "mutual attraction" with a woman who "knowingly and voluntarily consented to the relationship."

In fact, Cox says she never told him she was married ... and says it wouldn't matter anyway, 'cause "no genuine love or affection existed" between Catherine and her husband.

The 6'4," 310-pound Pro Bowler does admit to having explicit text conversations with the woman ... including telling her, "I want to get you pregnant."

Cox's attorney is asking the court to dismiss the case ... and make Josh Jeffords pay for his lawyers.

Nelly's girlfriend is standing by her man amid new sexual assault allegations, calling them "false claims" ... and says she knows because she was there to witness what really went down.

It's interesting -- Shantel Jackson admits Nelly "f*cked up" and says they're working on their relationship ... but suggests there's no way he could have sexually assaulted the anonymous women now accusing him because she was "at those venues, in the dressing rooms, and on that tour bus."

Jackson adds ... there are women out there dealing with real issues of sexual assault, but the movement to bring about positive change is being discredited "when people lie."

As we reported ... Monique Greene accused the rapper of raping her on a tour bus in Washington, and now claims the 2 new women went through a similar ordeal as her.

Check out Shantel's full statement below.

William Shatner had an unwanted visitor outside his home Thursday night, but when the suspicious man was confronted ... he took off at warp speed before cops could catch him.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the 'Star Trek' legend was at his San Fernando Valley home Thursday around 5 PM when an adult male wearing shorts was spotted outside peering into his house.

We're told someone by Shatner's residence went to ask the guy what he was up to, at which point he began pacing back and forth ... and then bolted.

Our sources say a 911 call was made and cops showed up within 5 minutes to search for the prowler, but he was long gone. Police spoke with the OG Captain Kirk to make sure everything was fine at his place, which it was.

We're told cops have upped patrols in the area and are still looking for the guy.

Joel Taylor's death is officially off the FBI's plate -- for now at least ... TMZ has learned.

Carlos Osorio -- a spokesman for the FBI's San Juan Division -- tells TMZ the feds have been pulled off the "Storm Chasers" star's case, and it's been passed back to local authorities.

Osorio says FBI members conducted a preliminary investigation on the cruise ship Taylor died on this week, and concluded his death was not the result of a violent crime. That, coupled with other factors he wouldn't elaborate on, made U.S. officials determine the case was no longer in the FBI's jurisdiction.

Here's the catch -- if it's determined Taylor's death is linked to murder ... we're told the feds could reopen the investigation. That doesn't seem likely -- Taylor's death appears to be tied to a drug OD.

As we reported ... Taylor was so out of it after consuming what we're told was GHB that he was rendered unconscious on the dance floor and had to be carried to his room. Passengers told us drug us was rampant on the cruise ship as passengers partied.

No arrests have been made, and local police in San Juan are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding Taylor's demise.

Sir Elton John scored a better view than Miley Cyrus at the Grammys ... scheduled duet be dammed.

Here's a look at the seating chart for Sunday's Grammys at Madison Square Garden in NYC ... where Elton's sitting right in front of Miley. Their duo is one of several scheduled for that night. Bruno Mars and Cardi B are also slated to perform.

Pablo Escobar's girlfriend is suing a production company for a Netflix show, claiming it's based on her memoir about her love life with the drug kingpin.

Virginia Vallejo just filed suit against Caracol American Productions over the series, "Pablo Escobar: El Patron del Mal" -- alleging producers for the show stole specific stories from her 2007 memoir, "Amando a Pablo, Odiando a Escobar." That's "Loving Pablo, Hating Escobar" ... for the gringos.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Vallejo -- a former journalist -- says she was in negotiations with Caracol, but they never struck a deal to use her work. According to the suit, Caracol went ahead and lifted scenes and narratives from her book.

For instance, she says the scene of her getting an excessive amount of flowers from Pablo is a direct rip from her book.

She also says they changed her name in the show, but it's not clever. As she points out ... Regina Parejo blatantly rhymes with Virginia Vallejo.

There's a lot of buzz Oprah Winfrey will definitely NOT run for President in 2020, based on a recent interview she did ... but there's one crucial fact everyone's leaving out.

Oprah told InStyle she doesn't "have the DNA" to run for the White House -- which seemed to shut the door on the speculation that started after her Golden Globes speech. Problem is ... that "DNA" comment was made 3 weeks BEFORE the Globes.

That's spelled out in the "In Style" article, but almost no one's talking about that part of the story. You see the difference -- Oprah clearly could have changed her mind after the response to her Globes speech.

There's also the fact Stedman Graham said she'd "absolutely do it" if the people wanted her to run. We're guessing Stedman wouldn't have said that without some direct knowledge.

Sen. Marco Rubio told us Oprah might not be cut out for politics, but again ... he didn't know it was an old remark.

So, yeah ... we're saying there's still a chance.

Jesse Williams didn't violate a custody order by letting his kids hang out with a woman his kids call "Mama C" ... because she's not his girlfriend, according to sources close to Jesse.

We broke the story ... Williams' ex, Aryn Drake-Lee, claims he violated their custody agreement by introducing their 2 kids to his new gf ... Ciarra Pardo ... well, at least Aryn thinks she's a gf.

According to our sources ... Jesse and Ciarra, a visual artist, have known each other for a very long time, but are not a couple and don't ever hook up. In fact, we're told Ciarra's been a pal since the kids were born, and Aryn knows her.

The two were recently on a trip together, joined by other friends, to Brazil.

Alex Rodriguez's private jet just made an emergency landing only minutes after leaving a runway in New Jersey.

The multi-million dollar Gulfstream IV took off from Teterboro Airport Thursday morning, and the pilot declared an emergency shortly after. We're told he attempted to land the plane in Albany, but aborted, and headed back to Teterboro where he he was able to bring it down safely.

A-Rod was not on board, and it appears the issue was mechanical.

TMZ obtained air traffic control audio, and you can hear the pilot mention a problem with a flap. Air traffic control opened a runway for the emergency landing, which was successful.

A source connected to A-Rod tells us the landing was made mostly as a precaution, and the pilot was making a test run. The FAA tells us it's investigating.

As we reported, A-Rod just took delivery of the G4 last month.