Below is my column in USA Today looking at the array of threats still present for the Trump White House even if collusion fades as part of the Russian investigation. There still could be evidence discovered or disclosed on collusion. However, after multiple indictments, pleas, and a year of investigation, we have not yet seen any credible criminal allegations linked to collusion. As many on the blog know, I have long been skeptical about the real likelihood of a criminal case based on collusion or obstruction against President Donald Trump. However, even if collusion does recede as a threat, there remain significant areas of risk for the President.
Category: Criminal law
We recently discussed the decision of Durham District Attorney Roger Echols to drop felony charges against protesters who destroyed a civil war monument in a premeditated and videotaped crime. The popularity of the crime was obvious as voters rallied around the accused — support that some have alleged pressured Echols to reduce the charges to mere misdemeanors. That reduction however was still criticized by the defendants and their supporters. Now, after an unfavorable ruling by a court, Echols has dropped all charges against defendants who not just committed criminal acts on camera but proudly proclaimed their guilt. It is hard not to view the outcome as an example of popular crimes enjoying a level of immunity.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller has charged Dutch lawyer Alex Van Der Zwaan. The charge however is another false statement indictment and is not tied to Russian collusion. Rather Van Der Zwaan was interviewed in rather to dealing concerning Ukraine’s Ministry of Justice in 2012. The expected guilty plea certainly adds to the prosecution cases but remains far removed from the Trump campaign. It is more likely related to the Paul Manafort prosecution.
Continue reading “Mueller Charges New Defendant: Alex Van Der Zwaan”
We have repeatedly discussed how Great Britain has been in a free fall from the criminalization of speech to the expansion of the surveillance state. The alarming rollback on free speech rights in the West, particularly striking in England ( here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here). Now, a new case shows how ambiguous laws are being used to criminalize conduct that was once viewed as simply rude or obnoxious. A woman has been arrested for leaving a furious note on an ambulance of the West Midlands Ambulance Service for parking in a reserved space during an emergency call. The note is disgraceful, but the arrest shows how England has plunged head-long into the waters of speech criminalization and regulation.
This could be a case for Angela Lansbury on Meldonium, She Wrote. There has been considerable coverage of Aleksandr Krushelnitckii, a bronze medalist in mixed doubles curling (with his wife), who tested positive for a doping drug. Many of us immediately wondered why a curler would need to dope. The sport is not viewed as the most intensive physical challenge. Yet, after the comprehensive cheating by Russia (leading to the banning of their flag and identifications at these games), the doping allegations seemed all-too-believable for many. Now, however, officials are looking at the possibility of sabotage.
For a year, we have debated the foundation for criminal allegations against President Donald Trump and others in the continuing investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Mueller has indicted individuals for crimes far removed from the Trump campaign, but has remained silent after the singing of the national anthem (I think it was the national anthem) by Fergie at the All-Star NBA game.
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the implications of the Special Counsel indictment of 13 Russians and the express statements of the Special Counsel and the Deputy Attorney General that there is no evidence of any American knowingly working with these Russians. This indictment addresses the core of Russian hacking and misinformation campaigns by the Russian government. The admission of no evidence of collusion is notable and significant. As I mentioned in the column, that does not mean that the investigation will not go forward, including pursuit of any collusion between the Russian and the Trump campaign. However, after a year and multiple pleas, none of the indictments have established the alleged nexus between the Trump campaign and the Russians.
There still remain a number of potential threats for the White House from new collusion evidence to financial-related crimes to new allegations stemming from the alleged payoff of former lovers. However, while Rep. Adam Schiff is still insisting that there is ample evidence of collusion and obstruction, the core (and original) allegation against Trump has moved little in terms of real evidence (at least evidence made public). Moreover, the evidence of the Russian campaign shows that it began in 2014 before Trump ran for president. It seemed to target the presumed victor: Hillary Clinton. However, when Trump ran, it targeted Trump. Both anti-Clinton and anti-Trump rallies were ultimately organized by the Russians to spread division. It was a curious effort since the country was already quite divided and the Russian-led protests paled in comparison to the massive anti-Trump rallies like the Women’s March or the continual protests over Hillary Clinton. The most serious problem was not the trolling or the organizing but the hacking.
Continue reading “Russian Indictments Are Long On Chicanery and Short On Collusion”
Sergio Palomares-Guzman, 28, is accused of a truly bizarre crime of force feeing a goat a combination of whisky and cocaine. The abuse was captured on a videotape as Palomares-Guzman and another man can be heard laughing. He is charged with aggravated cruelty to animals and also faced deportation.
President Donald Trump late Saturday night issued another highly controversial and frankly unfair tweet targeting the FBI. Trump suggested that the FBI might have prevented the massacre atMarjory Douglas Stoneman High School in Parkland, Florida if they weren’t “spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign.” It is obviously a false association since the local and national offices dealing with such school threats are entirely removed by the Russian investigation. Indeed, the entire structure of the Special Counsel operation is designed to set it apart from Main Justice and other investigations. The tweet is being condemned as politicizing the massacre as students are still being mourned and buried. This includes some very angry responses from the surviving students.
Michael Hufhand and Jed Kidwell, both 54, are facing a novel criminal charge: creating and maintaining an illegal bike trial in a state park. The two men were specifically charged with criminal mischief and trespassing for their bike trial in the Fort Harrison State Park.
Continue reading “Indiana Men Charged With Creating Illegal Bike Path In State Park”
In Rathdrum, Idaho, Brett K. Anderson, 47, does not appear to have seriously thought out his criminal scheme. Anderson is accused of stealing 40 foot sections of irrigation pipe and then driving down the highway with the pipes sticking out the car windows. He proceeded to hit other cars with pipes before being pulled over by police.
I have been critical of the House Democrats on the Intelligence Committee, particularly for their claims of highly sensitive material in the Nunes memo (which turned out to be facially devoid of such material). However, I believe that the Democrats (and some Republicans) are on solid ground in considering a contempt sanction against former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. Bannon has refused to answer questions on the grounds of executive privilege but the White House has not asserted executive privilege in prior hearings as far as we can tell. He simply says that he was told not to answer questions. After failing to appear before the Committee or to answer questions previously, Bannon was already looking at a serious possibility of contempt. He then showed up yesterday with a list of 25 questions that he was prepared to answer “yes” or “no.” Bannon spent 20 hours with the Special Counsel’s investigators but gave monosyllabic responses to a congressional oversight committee and then refused to answer material questions. That sounds a lot like contempt to me.
Continue reading “Bannon Moves Closer To Contempt In Defying The House Intelligence Committee”
Below is my column in the Hill Newspaper on the recent column in the New York Times by Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Tribe and others that Devin Nunes could be charged with obstruction of justice. The column contains highly dubious uses of both history and precedent to advance this latest claim of criminality. The ABA Journal and other papers have reported on the theory without any objective of its meritless foundation in constitutional law. The basis for such claim is so attenuated as to border on the fanciful. There are serious possible crimes being alleged without twisting the criminal code to go after supporters of President Trump.
Continue reading “When Mania Goes Mainstream: Experts Claim Nunes Could Be Indicted Next”
We have previously discussed tourists who damage art and artifacts by their thoughtless conduct (here and here and here and here and here). This includes people snapping off legs or fingers of ancient works. Now Michael Rohana of Bear, Del. is accused of intentionaly snapping off the thumb of one of China’s ancient terracotta warriors on loan to the Franklin Institute.
In case you thought that the greatest threats to free speech in Latin America is coming from the leftist Maduro regime, Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez is showing that such repressive policies can be found on either end of the ideological spectrum. The Trump Administration supported Hernandez in his contested election despite widespread questions of election irregularities. Faced with various sites discussing these allegations, Hernandez’ government is pursuing a new and chilling law to criminalize any “hate campaigns” on the Internet. This is one of our closest allies in Latin America and it has set itself on the course of criminalizing political speech.