Alicia Murphy, 60, is under arrest for allegedly stealing the 1969 Preakness Stakes trophy. The trophy belonged to the wealthy owner of Majestic Prince and was stolen from a storage facility in Delray Beach, Florida. It is a curious item to steal since it would be immediately recognizable in any attempt to pawn or fence. It was among hundreds of items stolen from the facility. Police stated that the trophy was immediately recognized and reported by an auction house.
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
A concerning practice has emerged over the years where intermediary service providers proffer to obtain apostille certifications on behalf of the those unfamiliar with the credentialing process for documents sent overseas. Unscrupulous providers charge hundreds and some over a thousand dollars for several documents while a typical cost assessed by each state’s secretary of state centers around fifteen dollars per document.
Most of these providers are unregulated and operate from virtual offices or use addresses traceable to private mail box companies such as the UPS Store. Some go so far as making promises of authenticity under legally questionable guises.
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
In an interesting reversal, a young Chinese child unseated the predominating meme of hungry birds stealing food from humans.
The setup played into the hands of the girl, who took charge of the unsuspecting avian and snatched a morsel directly from the victim dove’s beak. All while her unwitting accomplice–her mother–attracted the bird under the guise of feeding pigeons.
President Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen has moved to claim at least $20 million in damages from porn star Stormy Daniels. Cohen is alleging at least 20 violations. With the recent allegations of physical threats and post-election actions, the political costs to this strategy is likely to continue to rise. Notably, Cohen is not simply pursuing damages through his limited liability corporation Essential Consultants. An attorney for Trump is now directly calling for Daniels to be forced into arbitration . . . and silence.
Continue reading “Trump’s Attorney Files To Silence Daniels and Force $20 Million In Damages”
This evening, I discussed why I thought Attorney General Jeff Sessions would fire Andrew McCabe. Now that has come to pass in a late night announcement that McCabe has been terminated just 24 hours before his retirement (and eligibility for a pension).
We just hit another milestone today with over 34,000,000 views. We are also recently passed 40,000 followers on Twitter. We remain the “little engine that could” among blogs with a growing collection of people who are seeking a place for civil but passionate discourse on legal and policy issues of our time (and perhaps a few wacky stories). We often use these milestones to look at the current profile of the blog and its supporters around the world.
House Intelligence Committee member Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) leveled a serious allegation at former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Jordan alleged that Jordan leaked classified information about the Trump-Russia investigation to CNN. Clapper later became a CNN contributor. I recently wrote a column about how Clapper ran out a statute of limitations for allegedly lying in testimony to Congress.
Below is my column in USA Today on the nomination Deputy Director Gina Haspel to head the CIA. While Sen. Rand Paul has declared that he will oppose Haspel over torture, some Democrats (who are being criticized for previously failing to act on torture allegations) are again hedging on whether they will oppose a nominee solely due to her involvement in the torture program. However, one promising development is an effort by Sen. Dianne Feinstein to have Haspel’s record on torture declassified. There remains some debate over Haspel’s role on notable cases. Reports still indicate that Haspel oversaw the torture of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri at the “Cat’s Eye.” However, it is not clear if she was “Chief of Base” during the torture of Abu Zubaydah. ProPublica issued a correction Thursday that she was not Chief at the time of the Zubaydah torture. There is no debate that Haspel ordered the destruction of evidence of the torture program.
Here is the column (which has been edited since its original posting):
Continue reading “Gina Haspel’s CIA Nomination Is A Women’s Milestone We’d Be Wise To Avoid”
We have previously discussed the continuing debate over France’s generous vacation and work regulations — and their impact on productivity. Anyone who goes to France in the summer will find most stores shut at the peak of tourist season as the French take off for month long vacations. One Frenchmen however wanted to work . . . and he now going to pay the price for productivity. In Lusigny-sur-Barse, a baker has been ordered to pay a €3,000 fine for refusing to close his shop and work less.
Continue reading “French Baker Fined For Refusing To Work Less”
We have previously discussed how Saudi princes and princess routinely flee debts and criminal investigations (here and here and here and here and here). Now France has issued an arrest warrant for the sister of Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman after she allegedly ordered her bodyguard to beat up a contractor in her Paris apartment. Princess Hassa bint Salman (aka Hussat ben Salmane) is named in a warrant.
There is a major controversy unfolding at Penn Law School. Professor Amy Wax has been removed from first-year courses after making controversial comments about the performance of black students at the school. Regardless of the merits of Wax’s comments, the action raises serious questions over academic freedom and free speech. We have been discussing controversies over academics being punished for controversial views including two recent cases involving the use of the “n-word” in classes on offensive speech at DePaul and Princeton.
Continue reading “Penn Law Professor Removed From First-Year Classes After Controversial Statements”
Below is my column in USA Today on the expanding litigation over the Stormy Daniels controversy and specifically the precarious ethical position for Trump’s longtime counsel, Michael Cohen. One interest development was the move by Daniels’ counsel (and my former research assistant) Michael Avenatti to get a new judge in the Daniels case. Avenatti argued that it was inappropriate for the case to be heard by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Feffer because she is seeking a federal judgeship from President Trump. The move was surprisingly successful and the case was transferred to Judge Howard Halm. Like Feffer, Halm was appointed by former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R).
Here is the column:
Continue reading “The Ultimate Loser In The Stormy Daniels Saga Could Prove To Be Trump’s Lawyer”
The family of the late Democratic National Committee Staffer Seth Rich has sued Fox News for intentional infliction of emotional distress and related torts in the airing of allegations of a conspiracy involving Rich and Wikileaks. Despite my great sympathy for this family in the loss of Seth Rich, the complaint (below) is in my view without serious merit. The causal connections are too attenuated and liability would undermine first amendment protections for the free press.
I have previously written how Trump personal counsel Michael Cohen has left himself utterly exposed ethically in his effort to protect the President from the brewing scandal involving porn star Stormy Daniels. Cohen has struggled to deny any connection of the payoff to Daniels to the President or Trump organization. It is for that reason that a new document released by Daniels’ counsel (and my former research assistant) Michael Avenatti is so curious. The arbitration documents include the listing of Trump Organization Vice President and lawyer Jill A. Martin. Martin is listed as counsel for Essential Consultants LLC, a shell Delaware company formed by Cohen to help disguise the payment of the $130,000 to Daniels (whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford). The arbitration documents in Orange County, California were signed on February 22 — less than a month ago. It is bizarre that, given the huge effort to insulate Trump and his organization from this payment, Martin would effectively intervene in this way.Continue reading “Trump Org Lawyer Tied To Effort To Gag Stormy Daniels In Arbitration Proceedings”
I recently wrote a column about the expected finding of the Inspector General that former Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe misled investigators about a leak to the media. The finding raises the question of consistency in criminally charging Michael Flynn for the same alleged act. There is now a report that the IG is recommending not a criminal referral but that McCabe be terminated, even though he is literally days from retirement.
Continue reading “Report: Sessions Considering IG Recommendation For The Firing Of McCabe”