A military panel of six officers shocked the Administration by giving Osama bin Laden’s ex-driver, Salim Hamdan, only five and a half years. In a demonstration of the Administration’s contempt for even judicial rulings from its own tribunals, the Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman stated that, after serving his time, Hamdan would revert back to being an “enemy combatant” and could be held indefinitely. So, after proclaiming to the world that he received a “fair trial,” here,the Administration is now saying that the trial and sentence are meaningless.
Category: Justice
It appears that Andre Thomas was right. The Swissvale, Pennsylvania man knocked on doors of an apartment complex yelling that someone was trying to shoot him. The police arrived and, when he allegedly failed to comply with their orders, shot the unarmed man with a taser and then, according to witnesses, beat him. He died at a hospital later and an autopsy is planned.
As expected, Osama Bin Laden’s former driver Salim Hamdan was found guilty of five counts of material support to a terror organization in the September 11, 2001, attacks. He was tried before the military tribunal and found not guilty of conspiracy to aid a terror organization by a panel of six military officers. The verdict is likely to be dismissed around the world due to the means used to secure it. The tribunals have been rightly ridiculed as kangaroo courts, even by conservatives.
Continue reading “Bin Laden’s Driver Convicted in Military Tribunal”
Sgt. Joseph Chavalia has been acquitted in the SWAT case from Lima, Ohio. Prosecution experts in the trial of Chavalia concluded that the SWAT killed Tarika Wilson, 26, by shooting her in the neck and chest while she was on her knees, complying with their orders, and holding one of her children. Her one-year-old son was also shot and had to have a finger amputated. This is only the latest such controversy involving a SWAT team.
Mary Winkler was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the 2006 shooting death of her husband, Church of Christ minister Matthew Winkler. However, she has now been reunited with her children and given full custody.
Continue reading “Home with Mommy: Mary Winkler Resumes Custody of Children After Killing Their Father”
Peter Tubic might not have known in 2004 that he could not park his own broken down van in his own driveway without a proper license plate. What he surely did not know is that the $50 ticket could eventually cost him the house itself. The city foreclosed on his $245,000 home after the accumulated penalties pushed the ticket to $2,600.
Continue reading “Milwaukee Forecloses on Home of Disabled Man Over Unpaid $50 Parking Ticket”
For months, many experts (including myself) have been arguing that the Bush Administration’s claim of privilege in the congressional investigations (and the refusal to comply with subpoenas) is untenable, if not laughable. Nevertheless, Attorney General Mukasey has refused to allow a grand jury to see the evidence of the criminal contempt by Bush Administration officials. Now, a federal judge has ruled against the Administration. Judge John Bates has found that the Administration must comply with the subpoenas in the cases of he president’s chief of staff, Josh Bolten, and former legal counsel Harriet Miers on the firing of nine U.S. Attorneys. The decision not only puts pressure on Mukasey to stop his obstruction of the process, but it clearly reaffirms the view of many that Karl Rove is also in flagrant contempt.
Continue reading “Federal Court Rules Against Bush Administration on Subpoenas”
After blocking any serious investigation or impeachment hearings on crimes committed by President Bush, Speaker Nancy Pelosi finally addressed the allegations of presidential crimes on that forum of deep intellectual and legal thought: the television show The View. She agreed to answer a question from Joy Behar, who will have to suffice as a substitute for Peter Rodino. In a perfectly bizarre moment, Pelosi stated that there is simply no evidence of any crime committed by the President despite the findings of the International Red Cross, various international groups, and a legion of constitutional experts. It seems that America has now had its impeachment hearing before the august body of Whoopi Goldberg, Barbara Walters, Joy Bahar, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. If you feared that our democracy is de-evolving into a caricature of itself, just watch this video.
Continue reading “Speaker Pelosi Declares That There is No Evidence of Any Crime by President Bush”
For many years, Ted Stevens has been the virtual symbol of corruption in Washington, making himself a multimillionaire while serving in Congress. Despite detailed accounts of the shady dealings of Stevens and his family, Alaskans continued to return him to Washington where he and colleagues like Don Young tarnished the reputation of both houses. He is now a criminally indicted defendant, though the current allegations constitute small change in comparison to some of the past controversies surrounding the Stevens clan. The Stevens indictment is below.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has upheld the controversial sentences of former Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean for the shooting of an unarmed illegal immigrant and admitted drug smuggler — and then lying about the incident. While the court vacated the convictions on tampering with an official proceeding, it left the rest of the case intact — upholding the lengthy sentences for both men.
Continue reading “Federal Court Upholds Sentences of Border Agents Ramos and Compean”
The Justice Department Inspector General Office has completed its review of allegations of violations of federal law by Bush officials in the hiring of prosecutors and immigration judges. The 140-page report found that former Alberto Gonzales aides Monica Goodling or former Gonzales chief of staff Kyle Sampson broke federal law and used politics rather than merit to select both attorneys and immigration judges. This will be the subject of my discussion tonight on MSNBC Countdown, click here.
The United States Senate is getting involved in a growing conflict between the United States and Serbia over the unlawful flight of Miladin Kovacevic, a star basketball player who was on bail for an assault on college student, Bryan Steinhauer. Both were students at Binghamton College. Steinhauer has been in a coma since the attack and now weighs only 100 pounds.
Prominent journalist and radio host Uri Orbach has a curious sense of outrage. In a column, Orbach describes the outcry after the release of a recent picture of a handcuffed Palestinian being shot by an 
Israeli soldier with a rubber bullet at close range. Instead of decrying the need for better training or calling for justice, however, Orbach is infuriated that Palestinians have been given cameras to allow them to record such abuses.
Continue reading “Outraged by Picture of Israeli Soldiers Shooting of Handcuffed Palestinian, Israeli Commentator Objects to Palestinians Being Given Cameras”
The Bush Administration has released torture memos that reveal the extent to which officials laid the groundwork for a criminal defense in its torture program. The 2002 memos instructed interrogators in a good-faith defense for any claim that they were committing federal crimes.
Continue reading “The Bybee Memo: How to Torture and Avoid a Criminal Charge on Technicality”
Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac must be wondering why he bothered in 1701 to found the city. Detroit’s government continues its downward spiral toward collapse with new indictments, criminal allegations, and scandal. The federal prosecutors have introduced a superseding indictment alleging more lies from Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick about past affairs. In the meantime, city council members are now under criminal investigation for other crimes while they also engage in bizarre public arguments.
Continue reading “Detroit Descends into Chaos with New Criminal Charges and Investigations”