Below is my column in USA Today on the real danger of the Stormy Daniels case. The danger in the campaign finance allegation is the fact of the investigation not necessarily the charge itself. The fact that there is an ongoing investigation presents a more straightforward basis for prosecutors to allege obstruction than in the Russian investigation.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “How A Porn Star Can Take Down A President”
Latonia Shelecia Stewart, 26, is charged in the Bronx with a particularly despicable crime. Stewart allegedly followed obituaries in order to break into homes when grieving families were burying their loved ones.
Brian Zielinski, 29, does not exactly cut the image of Johnny Depp, but he is known in Knoxville as “Captain Jack Sparrow.” His rather unnerving appearance may be due to his alleged habit of huffing glue. He was charged of possessing intoxicants for unlawful purposes, possession of unlawful drug paraphernalia uses and activities, evading arrest and disorderly conduct.
Continue reading ““Captain Jack Sparrow” Arrested In Tennessee”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the controversial comments of Judge T.S. Ellis III. While I viewed that insinuations about Mueller’s motivations to be inappropriate, there is a real question concerning the different and still fully explained difference in treatment of the Manafort and Cohen cases.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “Tale of Two Cases: Manafort and Cohen Cases Stand In Glaring Contradiction”
Angelique Sanchez, 26, may have serious difficulty in pursuing a new job in Aurora, Colorado. Sanchez was cited for property destruction after she allegedly put a urine sample in a 7-Eleven microwave — resulting in it exploding. She was found waiting for a physical and urinalysis at a health clinic a half-mile away.
Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on the widespread criticism of former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s interviews as implication his client, President Donald Trump, in the crime of obstruction of justice. Giuliani noted that Trump fired James Comey in part due to his refusal to state publicly that Trump was not a target. While I have been highly critical of Giuliani’s performance, the defense raised by Giuliani was neither new nor a basis for a criminal charge.
Continue reading “No, Giuliani Did Not Implicate Trump In Obstruction of Justice In Comey Comments”
CIA nominee Gina Haspel reportedly sought to withdraw her nomination last Friday but was convinced to continue by the White House. I have previously written extensively on my views the torture program implemented under the Bush Administration and why it was a clear violation of international laws and treaties. As I wrote recently, CIA nominee Gina Haspel has featured greatly in that torture program. Nevertheless, various Democrats continues to express a willingness to consider making her the head of the Central Intelligence Agency. In the meantime, Sarah Sanders has echoed the talking point that Senators will be hypocrites if they do not vote for the first woman to be nominated for this post. The problem is that she is also the first person nominated with an admitted history of torture, even though she continues to mislabel the programs as “enhanced interrogation.”
We have previously discussed the thankfully small segment of felons who are arrested in flagrante delicto with helicopters, cars, vacuums, picnic table, mailboxes, and other inanimate objects. Newton, Kansas police added another suspect for sex with a car while Virginia police arrested a man for relations with a fence. Justin James Rutley, 30, (left) however found himself stuck in the act.Continue reading “Men In Kansas And Virginia Arrested For Sex With Car And Fence”
Below is my column in USA Today on the disastrous interviews given by Rudy Giuliani where he made a series of damaging statements on the Stormy Daniels scandal and other matters related to President Donald Trump. He has since walked back his remarks and President Trump has said that Giuliani needs to “get his facts straight” and said that people had to “learn before you speak. It’s a lot easier.” Giuliani seemed to contradict himself in the same interview and tripped more wires for potential criminal and ethical violations. Giuliani who emphasized that “zero” money for Daniels came from the campaign seemed to fundamentally miscomprehend the law which is designed precisely to catch contributions coming from outside the campaign reporting system. While doing little for the defense, it did create new questions about the failure to report the loan, the use of payments disguised as fees, and the obvious conflict with Cohen’s own recollection and statement — a point that Cohen himself made to the media.
Here is the column:
The BBC is reporting another shocking murder of a victim in a rape case in India. We have followed the dire conditions for girls and women who are often traded away in marriages or subjected to child bride arrangements that are little more than religiously sanctioned rape. The latest case involves a 16-year-old girl who was raped at a wedding and her attackers were then fined $750 and, according to the BBC, ordered to do 100 sit-ups. While most of us are outraged by such light punishment, the attackers were outraged in their own right and beat the parents and then burned the victim alive.
Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski has, through counsel, sent a intent to sue letter to New York Magazine over an alleged home invasion by reporter Olivia Nuzzi. Nuzzi in March admitted that she entered his home without permission — an act that certainly would be a crime as well as a tort. Update: There is an interesting twist (and potential defense) to the potential criminal or tort case involving the “home” of Lewandowski, which also happens to be the office of Turnberry Solutions, a lobbying firm started a close Trump campaign associate. Continue reading “Corey Lewandowski Threatens To Sue New York Magazine Over Reported Unlawful Entry By Reporter Olivia Nuzzi [Updated]”
Thomas Tramaglini, 42, was arrested for a particularly vile alleged crime: being a serial pooper on a high school football field. That alone would make him a standout as an alleged felon. Yet, the real surprise for police was to learn of his day job: Superintendent of Schools in Holmdel, New Jersey. He was named superintendent of Kenilworth schools in August 2015. Tramaglini also worked as a lecturer at Rutgers Graduate School of Education. Continue reading “School Superintendent Accused For Being Serial Pooper On High School Football Field”
Rocco Mantella, 34, is accused for being a menace to swans after being allegedly seen in public parks practicing his karate on the birds. He has been banned from two Florida parks and charged with cruelty to animals for what witnesses say is a pattern of kicking swans as well as a sleeping duck. Continue reading “Fowl Crime: Florida Man Accused Of Using Karate On Swans In Public Park”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the leaking of the questions outlined by Special Counsel Robert Mueller for an interview with President Donald Trump. The leak occurred shortly before the resignation of Trump counsel and his replacement with Emmet Flood. The change removed the lawyer who was most eager to cooperate with Mueller to bring an end to the investigation. If the leak was designed to poison the well for an interview, the statements of Trump’s counsel certainly indicated a harder line toward Mueller. Giuliani has stated that Mueller would be given no more than a couple hours on narrow topics — a public statement that could push Mueller toward fulfilling his earlier threat to subpoena Trump. If Trump fights Mueller on the subpoena, he is likely to lose. He could then find himself pulled into a grand jury room without the benefit of counsel (though he could always reverse himself and agreed on a sit down with the Special Counsel).
Here is the column: Continue reading “The Danger To Trump Rests In The Sleeper Questions Of The Special Counsel”
President Nixon’s White House counsel John Dean claimed that if the Trump administration leaked questions from special counsel Robert Mueller it could qualify as obstruction of justice. Once again, I disagree with such sweeping interpretations of the crime of obstruction of justice. Leaking such questions or topics would not be a crime under any case that I am aware of in defining the crime of obstruction.
Continue reading “John Dean Calls Leaking The Questions A Possible Basis For Obstruction Of Justice”