We previously discussed the cases of attorneys Colinford Mattis and Urooj Rahman, who were accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail into a police vehicle in New York. They were facing domestic terrorism charges and the possibility of 30 years in jail. This week, the Biden Administration agreed to a massive reduction of the charges in a plea agreement that will likely result only in a couple years of jail time. What is particularly bizarre is that the plea agreement reduces an earlier plea agreement for a more serious offense.
The plea deal by the Justice Department is a breathtaking reduction in the charges and expected sentencing of the two lawyers.
Earlier, some of us were surprised that U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie upheld the $250,000 bail determination of U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven Gold. Prosecutors presented evidence that the two attorneys were trying to distribute Molotov cocktails and suggested that Mattis did not appear rational. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed Judge Brodie and the two attorneys were sent back to jail. (Rahman’s bail was paid for by friend and fellow attorney Salmah Rizvi, who served in the Defense Department and State Department during the Obama administration).
Notably, Rahman and Mattis pleaded guilty last year to one count of possessing and making an explosive device, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Now, however, they will be allowed to withdraw the earlier plea and instead plead guilty to conspiring to assemble the Molotov cocktail and damage the New York Police Department patrol car. That is a nosebleed of a drop in the severity and punishment for this violent attack.
It is a sharp contrast to the harsh position taken by the Biden Justice Department on many of those accused of rioting on January 6th. Attorney General Merrick Garland cited the threat to police officers in pledging an unprecedented effort to charge and convict those involved “on any level” in the riot.
Conspiring to assemble the Molotov cocktail and damage the New York Police Department patrol car does not quite capture what these two attorneys did during the violent riot in New York. Rahman was caught on video throwing the firebomb and then fleeing the scene. Colinford Mattis was accused of having a store of firebombs in his vehicle and was videotaped as he attempted to hand them out to other rioters to fuel further violence. Rahman later was unapologetic and declared to reporters that “the only way they hear us is through violence.”
That does not seem the type of the suspects who would ordinarily garner deep sympathy from prosecutors. Yet, the Biden Administration walked back the charges, unraveled the earlier plea to a lesser offense, and told that court that the earlier charges would have resulted in “excessive sentencing” for the attorneys. Instead, they are supporting a maximum sentence of five years with a recommendation of between 18 to 24 months imprisonment.
Attorney General Garland just last month honored law enforcement killed in the line of duty. This plea agreement is likely to infuriate many of those families given strength of the case and the severity of the conduct. These two attorneys were participating in an effort that could have burned officers alive as a form of protest. They will now be given sentences closer to tax fraud than terrorism.
As previously discussed, Mattis was a member of the Corporate Group at Pryor Cashman when he was arrested. Mattis graduated from New York University School of Law in 2016 and received his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University. He was also previously employed as an associate at Holland & Knight. Rahman was just admitted to the New York bar in June 2019 after graduating from Fordham University School of Law.
Both lawyers will be permanently disbarred and will have to pay restitution to the city of New York.
I wonder why these two lawyers even did this.
What lies could have incited them to throw away their careers and their law licenses?
Michael, you ask why would these lawyers trow away their careers? As a famous man once said, “Stupid is as stupid does.”
They are evil – and the despise the USA and everything about it and its law-abiding citizens and lawful residents – especially those who serve in law enforcement.
RE:”””They are evil – and they despise the USA and everything about it….”Citizens should be deeply concerned about the product law schools are turning out, and have been for quite some time now and the spillover. https://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/fulltext/2017/08000/a_call_for_critical_race_theory_in_medical.18.aspx
Michael asks:
“What lies could have incited them to throw away their careers and their law licenses?”
Good question. You might ask that same question of John Eastman, Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, and other Trumpist lawyers. They may lose their law licenses as well.
If they do that will be primarily because leftists have taken over institutions like the bar to they great harm.
It is self evident today that Gulliani was RIGHT about the Biden family influence peddling syndicate.
It is self Evident that Powell was RIGHT about the corruption of the Mueller prosecutors – there are lawyers that should be disbarred.
Sussman may have been acquitted by a Jury of Clintonites, but he should face disbarrment for his role in the Collusion delusion.
His misconduct is far greater than anything you allege regarding any republican lawyers.
In GA republican prosecutors are being threatened with disbarrment if they attempt to investigate or prosecute the substantial election fraud that has been uncovered there.
Aside from the TTV Ballot Havesting scheme there are about 350K ballots from Fulton county that have no provenance – that do not have certification by an election official and a witness verifying that they have a legitimate source – put simply we have no idea where these ballots came from and there is no record of them – except that they were counted, and no person who was responsible for their chain of custody.
And the only investigation of this is by private parites with no subpeona power. They can not even get republican DA’s to sign off on a private prosecution – which would atleast allow subpeona’s.
Put simply the left is using threats of disbarrment to crush any efforts to examine the 2020 election.
Gulliani is likely to retire if he has not already. He has had an incredible carreer – few on the left can claim anything close,. But he was the wrong person to lead the election challenge, he was too old and frequently drunk.
Sydney Powell was brilliant in defending Flynn and has an incredible record prior, But she made a mistake in focusing on one of the least likely means by which the 2020 election was fraudulent.
But she can be forgiven because in many instances it has taken over a year of investigations to prove the more dull but well supported story of 2020 election fraud.
Trump’s legal team had a very short time and a very high legal burden to get from “this all looks funny as h311” to proof of fraud that tipped the election, and they had to do so in a legal environment where the courts were complicit in the lawlessness than lead too the fraud.
I would further note if any of those you mention are actually disbarred that would be proof of the hypocracy of the left.
Lawyers are pretty much never disbarred – unless they are convicted of crimes – usually stealing from clients like Democrat super attorney Micheal Avenatti.
Pfffft
Proverbial apples and oranges.
Or did you see Rudy firebomb a Capitol police car?
RE:””Proverbial apples and oranges. Or did you see Rudy firebomb a Capitol police car?””‘ When a response is completely knotty and ingrained, it should be obvious that you are attempting a constructive conversation with a block of wood. He may or may not respond to this. Do not look to see one from me.
Marly,
Perpetuating a fraud in court as some Trumpist lawyers have been found guilty is unethical and subject to disbarment. Just in case you did not know.
Why? This is what Urooj Rahman said, according to a NYPost note published a couple of days after the incident….
————————
The Brooklyn lawyer accused of tossing a Molotov cocktail into an NYPD vehicle blamed Mayor Bill de Blasio for not holding back cops — for their own protection — less than an hour before the incident.
“I think this protest is a long time coming,” lawyer Urooj Rahman said in a videotaped interview filmed near the Barclays Center in Brooklyn at around 12:15 a.m. May 30.
“This s–t won’t ever stop unless we f–kin’ take it all down. And that’s why the anger is being expressed tonight in this way,” she said.
The same reason lawyers from a high end law firm can push phony scams on the FBI and have them investigate the scams and leak the investigations to the public, with impunity. Knowing they are so well connected no harm would ever get close to them.
Its not what you know, its who you know if your a Dem
On it’s face, this is an outrageous change of position for the DOJ and begs for an explanation better than the initial charge would result in “excessive sentencing.” So, let me offer one possibility about what’s going on here based on my experience in federal criminal cases, limited mostly to criminal tax fraud charges.
The defendants are attorneys and are represented by, what appears to be, pretty sharp defense attorneys. They are obviously “working” the Assistant US Attorney, the “AUSA,” for their clients and got a rare concession on charges and sentencing. I think the only way this happens is either (a) evidence suggests the DOJ got the facts materially wrong in its own investigation and would never be able to convict on the initial charges OR (b) the defendant-attorneys are cooperating with the DOJ and providing significant information about the “sources and methods” of the, my words, underground organizations or groups that may have been behind this riot and others.
Since (a), the DOJ got the charges all wrong, is unlikely given the evidence at the bond hearing, the subsequent plea, and the video evidence, it seems like (b), significant and material cooperation by the defendant-attorneys may be going on. The magnitutde of the concession by the DOJ might suggest the defendants are providing names of other wrongdoers; incriminating testimony about them; sources of money, contriband, or other materials used in these riots; and so on. The information could be so significant that it would allow DOJ to “bring other wrongdoers to justice,” i.e., charge and convict them of crimes. It may provide the FBI opportunities to infiltrate the organizations and obtain prime evidence via undercover investigators. If the informationn provided in the cooperation by the defendant discloses other individulas, sources, and methods that the FBI had little or not knowledge or understanding of, it’s considered to be among the most valuable cooperation and justifies, in the mind of the government, significant sentencing reductions. When the government gets this kind of information about criminal organizations of which they know little or nothing, all the bets are off and the defendant-attorneys, now turned government informants, are going to get significant consideration in return.
Again, I’m guessing what’s going on here, but anytime you have attorneys as criminal defendants they will quickly understand what’s in their interest to reduce the sentence and, on the other hand, the government understands the criminal organizations may have confided information to the attorneys to take advantage of that expertise in many ways, including carrying out their destructive and forceful riots. That’s a goldmine of information for investigators.
What to look for going forward would be any suggestion in court by the AUSA in the case about “cooperation” or assistance by the defendant-attorneys, ongoing or already provided. It would also not be unusual if the pleas on the new charges and sentencing are delayed for many months or even over a year. This to protect the goverment’s agents who may have gone undercover and not to provide, publically, and on a silver platter, to the target individuals or organizations that investigation of them is likely and ongoing, thereby raising their suspicions.
This assumes that today’s DOJ is interested in uprooting the organisers and financiers of the BLM riots. I am very skeptical about that.
That’s always possible, especially, as Prof. Turley points out, the treatment this DOJ has given to what are relatively trivial offenses by the “Jan. 6” defendants. But the two legitimate and apolitcal reasons are the two suggested in my origianl post.
This administration doesn’t do things for legitimate or apolitical reasons. Everything they do is guided by politics, with the goal of destroying any opposition and grabbing more power.
So Mike, video evidence of committing a crime is not enough to prove a case against them. Only a lawyer leftist would try to convince us that what we see with our own eyes is not reality. Be honest. If you were a prosecutor and you had video evidence of the commitment of a crime why would you go for a lesser plea. They got a shorter time in jail because they have proven themselves to be loyal foot soldiers for the leaders of the leftist mob organization (DNC). You can fancy it up with a this or that argument but it doesn’t diminish the fact that it is what it is. It was mostly a peaceful Molotov Cocktail curtesy of CNN.
Re-read that part of my post. I was providing two apolitical possibilities for this sweet deal the two miscreants received. One possiblity I suggested was the DOJ thought they couldn’t convict and got the facts wrong, so they had to back slide on charges. I said that’s unlikely on account of the testimony at the bond hearing, the plea that had to be factually supported in open court when made (it was also incriminating), and the video. So, we’re in agreement there. The remaining basis for such a sweet deal was cooperation and I already talked about that. They can still do the book deal and cooperate with the government for a lesser sentence. They gave up nothing in that regard.
Hey Mick, you say that these anarchist might be given a lesser degree of judgement because they may be giving up the names of other wrong doers. I’d bet two to one to get some of that action. A better bet would be that while in prison they will write a best selling book saying how they sacrificed it all for the cause against oppression. Just so you know, advanced copies will be made available. As a proof of my forecast of their futures I give you this presentation. In 1970, guns belonging to Angela Davis were used in an armed takeover of a courtroom in Marin County, California, in which four people were killed. Prosecuted for three capital felonies, including conspiracy to murder, she was held in jail for over a year before being acquitted of all charges in 1972. After their stint in jail these Molotov Commandos will become heroes of the left. With such a bright future ahead why should they give up any of their comrades in arms.
Thinkitthrough, I look for them to be re-instated by the NY Bar (and I don’t mean Bemelmans) within 2 years of their release from any prison time and then on to tenured positions at an Ivy law school.
Mick,
Thanks for the comment. If only Turley would have provided such a possible rational explanation so that his “blog family,” as he affectionately calls his contributors, would not hastily jump to the worse interpretation of these ostensibly baffling events. I hope you stick around here. This blog desperately needs level-headed commentary such as yours.
Check’s in the mail, Jeff. Thank you. Just a note, for some reason the blog managers have changed my posting name from Mick to billogoods. Maybe it has to do with an existing WordPress account I had overriding the name I placed in the field appearing after writing a reply. Whatever is the reason, it looks like, hereafter, I’ll be posting as billogoods. Prof Turley is not only a smart, articulate legal scholar (which is exactly why we read this blog), but I understand he carries on a criminal practice, too. So, the cooperation tangent by these defendant-attorneys couldn’t have been lost on him. We can engage in rank speculation about the whys. He has to be more restrained.
Be aware. Kamala Harris said out loud that the riots in Seattle should continue. The lowering of the penalties for these two anarchist is just a message being sent to Black Lives Matter letting them know that this administration has their back. A phenomenon occurring among Democrats as the midterm elections approach is a newfound support of the police. I ask you, what are the odds that the Democrats will return to form after they are elected or re-elected. Will you be fooled again?
Makes you wonder if maybe Saudi Arabia has a better criminal justice system when it comes to violent crimes against the police:
off the heads of anyone who offs the pigs!
(just kidding, kind of)
Peter Navarro was charged with contempt of Congress by a monopartisan Committee. He got shackles.Eric Holder was held in contempt of Congress by a bipartisan vote of 255-67. He went out to dinner that night. And DC wonders why people believe in the Swamp. Democrats, MSM and Biden DOJ are the enemies of American Democracy
Ben Domenech
@bdomenech
Holder faced a bipartisan vote and Democrats scrambled to avoid voting because he clearly engaged in contempt, perjury, and illegal acts.
[sarc]Don’t worry about them being disbared and having to make restitution.
They’ll obtain jobs with the DNC or one of the legacy media companies.[/sarc]
They only went to law school so they could embark on a career in terrorism – with a law degree attached to their names. Maybe they thought and think it gives some kind of credibility to their evil-doings.
Brookings Institution would be more likely.
Arthur Schwartz
@ArthurSchwartz
Hunter Biden lied on a Form 4473 to illegally purchase a gun, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison & a $250K fine. His girlfriend then dumped that gun in the trash next to a school. He wasn’t even arrested. Why don’t we enforce existing laws before demanding new ones?
They should be returned to the countries that they came from. Standing trial there would have been real justice. If they were born in the country reducing their jail time is criminal !
Thank you for following the Mattis and Rahman matter. I, too, have followed it and I share your concerns.
Biden…da dada daddaa da da, poop goes the weasel
Surprised? Not really. The two are “progressive activists”. We all know that this group can do no wrong. I’m not even surprised that a federal judge would accept such a deal.
The Department of Justice (not really) has aided and abetted an attempt to destroy a sitting president. It is just a short step to aiding and abetting criminal behavior.
And people wonder why Americans buy and own guns.
RE:””And people wonder why Americans buy and own guns…..””” Until gun control advocates wake up and smell the coffee brewed as example in the post, expect the perceived need for self-protection against lawless behavior to be the rule. That, for which those two were charged as prime example of that summer, and worse. Local, state and federal officials have abrogated their responsibility to assure and guarantee life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness among the citizenry by not establishing a zero tolerance policy for the criminality abroad in the land. Arrest, charge, and bring to trial the offenders. Incarcerate those found guilty and throw away the key.
‘Holy ‘why am I not surprised?’, Batman!!”
” What is particularly bizarre” No it’s not, it’s becoming the expected result any time a dimdem criminal faces legal action against them. It just makes a deeper and more lethal joke of our justice system and our Rule of Law. A tragic end to a great political and social experiment. As B. Franklin said… “A Republic, if you can keep it.
Special rules for special people, in this case the brownshirts of the Democrat party. They need them on the streets after the November midterms to riot and loot over the results.
Mike,
Democrats have brown shirts, but the Republicans have black shirts. The latter are more deadly.
Hey Jeffsilberman, any comment on the disparity of treatment between these two violent lawyers and the folks at the Capital on Jan 6th? Hey Anonymous, any comment on a former Obama official providing bail for people throwing bombs at cops?
Jeff will tells us that Trump caused this, that Fox News abetted this and that, although he likes Turley, the good professor is discussing this because of Fox News…or Trump…or some other delusional reason.
hullbobby
You have perfectly captured the essence of those two retards.
Monumentcolorado, an ugly name-caller.
Hullbobby,
I made 2 replies so far:
https://jonathanturley.org/2022/06/05/new-york-attorneys-accused-of-firebombing-police-car-given-generous-plea-deal/comment-page-1/#comment-2190709
And
https://jonathanturley.org/2022/06/05/new-york-attorneys-accused-of-firebombing-police-car-given-generous-plea-deal/comment-page-1/#comment-2190710
Sorry to disappoint you.
This sort of action is not lost on the rest of America. You know, the ones who are not attorneys or left wing. No problem changing your plea here. I wonder why Gen Flynn got so much resistance when he wanted to change his plea. Oh that’s right he was just a soldier of the right and not an attorney. Not to mention the Jan 6 rioters.
And people wonder why there is so much rage on the right as well as outside the DC, New York Political complex.
Many working people who keep this country running, strongly feel that the law does not work for them. Decisions like this only reinforce that thought. And Barack Obama thought Merrick Garland was supreme court material. I have rarely supported Mitch McConnell but his stonewalling of the Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court looks greater and greater every day.
When the executive branch is lenient on clear cases of violence, why do people wonder at the increase in violence?
Wayne,
Exactly which is why the DOJ is taking a hardline on the Jan 6 rioters who violently attacked the police.
You mean like those folks who were induced and had “fake orders” yelled at them to “go INTO” the capitol by paid instigators and covert operatives?
You mean like those folks who had doors opened for them and who were let in by capitol police?
You mean like the dupes and victims of a communist government “false flag” operation?
You mean like that?
George,
You must really hate Turley after he called the storming of the Capitol a “desecration” by the Trumpist/Q-Anon rioters. I support Turley because I am a NeverTrumper like he is.
“never trumper”, so I guess you are Okay with the Yale skull & bones folks like Bush…they are just so perfect right?
Weapons of Mass destruction, right?
George, you are talking to Silverburg whose knowledge is near zero.
That’s right. We need to put people in jail for Jan 6 along with anyone who was guilty of wrong-think. Put them in jail and solitary even though the videos show them innocent. After a year in jail and solitary for doing nothing wrong, I wonder how much we should pay to that gentleman. Riot in the streets burn and loot if you are doing it to support the left. We will even proviso your bail (Kamela Harris).
You are a goddamn liar. Don’t take my word on it. Turley agrees:
“There were some truly dangerous people in this mix, such as the agitators who had pipe bombs and ropes. Groups like the Proud Boys and antifa have fulfilled these roles in violent riots on the left and the right for years.”
https://jonathanturley.org/2021/01/10/a-crisis-of-faith-why-we-should-be-worried-more-about-a-desecration-than-an-insurrection/
One was recently released from custody because he was in jail for no reason.
One was jailed and in solitary for much of his time he didn’t do anything wrong. It looks like the opening of the doors by the Capitol police is going to force a lot of people arrested to be found innocent.
You don’t know what is happening and you don’t want to know because then you would know you are a liar.
Turley has said nothing about Ray Epps. I’m siding with Turley against your false flag conspiracy theories.
Turley may have said nothing about Ray Epps, but the FBI did and put him on their most wanted list with a picture until they found out who he was.
It looks like Antifa and BLM remain Dem Party paramilitaries and allies of FBI-DOJ.
RE:”””It looks like Antifa and BLM remain Dem Party paramilitaries and allies of FBI-DOJ”””.. ‘Sturmabteilung’…more aptly put,, by their behaviors alone.
Seriously. We need to be done with this administration. Words are no longer adequate. I have never seen such madness and willful entropy in my life. These people are not well.
“These people are not well.” NOT WELL!! NOT WELL!! These people starting with Biden and his entire administration are flat out pieces of pure shit!!! They are scum!!!! and when I look at these two things it pisses me off to no end to know the kind of civilization that white people built!! And, pieces of scum like this that should’ve never been allowed into the country!!
They are doing everything they can to wreck the most civilized nation on the face of the earth!!!!! MY NATION!!!! MY COUNTRY!!!! And I am proud to admit it!!! WHITE PEOPLE BUILT THIS COUNTRY ALONG WITH THE BLACK RACE!!
These foreign brown pieces of pure “Dingle Berries!!” Should shot!!!! EXCUTED!!!!!! every damn one that tries to enter this country illegally should be shot on site I swear to God if that was done you would see people trying to get in this country fall off so fast
Remington’s reaction:
“These foreign brown pieces of pure “Dingle Berries!!” Should shot!!!! EXCUTED!!!!!! every damn one that tries to enter this country illegally should be shot on site I swear to God if that was done you would see people trying to get in this country fall off so fast”
should be forward to Turley so he might wish to preface his articles in the future that he is not calling for violent actions to take back the country.
James, I could not agree more. Who ever is actually pulling the strings is hell bent on destroying this nation.