The long-awaited filing from Special counsel Robert Mueller on the sentencing of Michael Flynn did not go into detail on what precisely Flynn has given Mueller beyond acknowledging his “substantial assistance.” It did include however a surprising disclosure that Flynn was not only helping Mueller on the investigation of the Trump campaign’s ties to the Russian government but also two other redacted investigations. That has led to considerable unease in some quarters as to what those two additional investigation might be. Continue reading “Then There Were Three: Flynn Filing Refers To Three Investigations By Special Counsel”
Category: Criminal law
New York is looking for this man after a brutal attack captured on the videotape below (warning: the video is violent and disturbing. The victim is a 38-year-old man who was left unconscious from the vicious beat down and robbery. The legal question is whether such attacks should be charged as a type of battery or attempted murder when they continued for such a prolonged period. The suspect was clearly enjoying the attack and resumed attacking the man but there is no way to prove intent to kill.
Continue reading “New York Police Seek Man In Vicious Attack”
Conservative author Jerome Corsi yesterday filed a “criminal and ethics complaint” against Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team trying to coerce him into giving “false testimony” against President Trump. The filing was reportedly sent to a scattershot list of addresses including Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, D.C.’s U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu and the Bar Disciplinary Counsel. There is no strong legal basis for such a challenge. If Corsi is charged, he is likely to be charged for alleged false statements and courts rarely explore the motivations in bringing otherwise valid criminal charges. The filing appears designed for public consumption before any indictment is brought against him. Continue reading “Corsi Files Complaint Against Mueller For Allegedly Pressuring Him To Lie”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the recent insights into the efforts of Special Counsel Robert Mueller to bag President Donald Trump. There is little ambiguity in these efforts: while Trump is being called a “subject” of the investigation, he is being treated as a “target.” That danger became more apparent with the later allegations of Michael Cohen that he not only lied to support Trump’s account but that the worked with Trump’s counsel in preparing his false testimony. He claims to have had “regular contact” with Trump counsel during that period. That would pose some serious questions for counsel if Cohen was clear that he was giving false testimony. However, he does not say that. It still remains unclear how much Cohen is suggesting that the President or his counsel knew about the specifics on the “Moscow Project” or his own falsification of dates and information.
What is clear is that Mueller is still on the hunt for Trump and all eyes should be on Corsi, Stone, and possibly Donald Trump Jr. for the next move. Continue reading “What Does Mueller Have On Trump?”
Below is my column in USA Today on the collapse of the cooperation agreement with Paul Manafort. As predicted in the column, President Donald Trump picked up on the conflict to allege that Mueller is pressuring people to lie in order to make a case against him. In the meantime, the White House confirmed that Manafort’s counsel has been conferring with the Trump legal team to tell them what Manafort was supplying and the questions being asked under the cooperation agreement. It is a highly unusual move and prosecutors usually bar such joint defense agreements or meetings from contenting for obvious reasons. It is not clear what Manafort was told but it is hard to believe that Mueller would be moronic enough to fail to make such a clear condition.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Legal Kremlinology: Mueller’s Break With Manafort Leads To Frenzy Of Speculation Over The Russian Investigation”
In a highly disturbing and inappropriate tweet, President Donald Trump retweeted an image that accused his own deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, of treason as well as special counsel Robert Mueller, former FBI Director James Comey, former national intelligence director James Clapper, Bill and Hillary Clinton and others. The image is accompanied with the question “Now that Russia collusion is a proven lie, when do the trials for treason begin?” Such an image and question, even made in jest, would be deeply insulting and below the office of the presidency. The President has previously called the media “the enemy of the people” and used equally intolerant language toward judges. Regardless of how one feels about the Special Counsel investigation or the role of some of these people, people of good faith must speak out against such attacks on the character of these individuals. I have been a critic of some actions in this investigation and specifically Rosenstein’s conflict of interest, but I would never question their loyalty to this nation. Continue reading “Trump Tweets Image Accusing His Own Deputy Attorney General and Others Of Treason”
Some families actively try to avoid political discussions at Thanksgiving dinner, which I have never truly understood. Yet, it appears that even discussions of sports today can devolve into politics and Jorge Luis Valencia Lamadrid, 51, shows just how far that can go. Lamadrid got into an argument with his son over the kneeling controversy in the NFL . . . and proceeded to allegedly shoot him at Thanksgiving dinner. Continue reading “Father and Son Debate The NFL Kneeling Controversy Over Thanksgiving Dinner . . . Father Ends Debate By Shooting Son”
It may be the single least self-aware statement of the year. Prince Turki al-Faisal has insisted that the CIA assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi can be dismissed because “the CIA is not necessarily the highest standard of veracity or accuracy in assessing situations.” This is coming from a government that has issued a series of bold-faced lies about its murdering of the journalist from claiming that Khashoggi was actually alive to blaming him for a brawl in the consulate to now insisting that a group of men (including those closely tied to the Crown Prince) carried out the murder without his knowledge. Of course, even President Trump cannot decide if he will believe his own intelligence officials or the Crown Prince. Trump said continued to say that it is not clear that the Crown Prince ordered the killing despite incriminating tapes and overwhelming evidence to the contrary — as well as leading Republicans saying that continued denials are unbelievable and embarrassing for the country. Continue reading “Saudi Prince: “The CIA Is Not Necessarily The Highest Standard of Veracity””
There is an important federalism ruling out of Michigan that will likely rekindle the debate over the continuing inherent powers of the states vis-a-vis the federal government. Despite the massive expansion of the federal criminal code, most crimes were viewed as state not federal matters in the early days of the Republic. Now, a federal judge in Michigan has ruled that Congress went beyond its constitutional domain in 1996 in criminalizing female genital mutilation. The issue is not whether FGM should be criminalized but whether this is a state or a federal matter under the Constitution. Over half of states (27) have criminalized FGM. Senior United States District Judge Bernard A. Friedman threw out six of the federal charges against Jumana Nagarwala, who was accused of performing FGM on girls around the age of seven. Continue reading “Federal Judge Strikes Down Law Criminalizing Female Genital Mutilation”
I have been going through old mugshots again and you have to love De Gracy and Edward Dalton. Their crime is unknown but somehow I am pretty sure they are guilty. Continue reading “Hardened and Haunting: Old Mugs With Crimes Unknown But Criminality Evident”
President Donald Trump continues to refuse to accept the findings of his own Administration and overwhelming evidence of the guilt of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the savage murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Trump’s refusal has continued despite the report of a tape of a “smoking gun phone call” of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with an alleged instruction to “silence Jamal Khashoggi as soon as possible.” In a new interview, Trump has suggested that perhaps we should all just agree on blaming a “vicious world.” Continue reading “The Khashoggi Murder: Trump Suggests “The Vicious World” May Be More To Blame Than The Saudi Crown Prince”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the reported interest of President Donald Trump in ordering the investigation and prosecution of Hillary Clinton and James Comey.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Trump’s Inclinations and Actions Remain Thankfully Divergent”
President Donald Trump signaled today that he will simply not accept the conclusions of his own CIA which found with confidence that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the brutal murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. If true, it would represent one of the lowest moral moments for this country. Update: Trump just reportedly dismissed the issue by saying “it is what it is.” What it is is murder and the question is what we are. Continue reading ““Maybe He Did And Maybe He Didn’t!”: Trump Signals That He Will Ignore His Own Administration’s Conclusions On Culpability of Crown Prince”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on reported completion of answers to the questions given to President Donald Trump by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The White House anticipated giving the answers to the Special Counsel before Thanksgiving. As noted below, that could put the collusion part of the investigation into high gear toward a report to Congress.
Here is the column: Continue reading ““I Answered Them Very Easily”: The Five Most Chilling Words In The Russian Investigation”
Nathan Sharp, 28, gives family business a bad name. The son of the owner of Superior Crane Corp., a construction equipment company in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Sharp is accusing of “humping” employees and regularly exposing himself, including laying his genitals on the shoulders of employees. When an employee objected, Sharp allegedly responded “Don’t you know who the [expletive] I am? I’ll just go talk to my dad.” I expect that conversation has now occurred because Sharp is now a criminal defendant in a case of fourth-degree assault. Continue reading “Not-So-Sharp: Wisconsin Man Faces Criminal Charges Over Bizarre Exposure Claims”