Connect with us

CRIME

‘Just for Trump’: Legal Experts Blast Judge for ‘Special Exception’ That Puts Former President ‘Above the Law’

Published

on

A federal judge appointed by Donald Trump and confirmed after he lost the 2020 presidential election on Monday granted the former president his request for a “special master,” an independent third party, to review the more than 11,000 documents stolen from the White House and seized by federal agents at Mar-a-Lago on August 8.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a member of the far-right Federalist Society since 2005, not only granted Trump his request, but ordered the U.S. Dept.of Justice to cease, at least for now, its criminal investigation into Trump and the stolen documents, which include more than 100 classified, highly classified, and top secret documents.

Last week former federal prosecutor Shan Wu said Judge Cannon “has no business trying to oversee a federal criminal investigation.”

READ MORE: Trump Suggests It’s Corruption for DOJ to Not Release Information Regardless of How It Could Influence an Election

“Special masters are used in federal courts to assist judges in matters involving some ‘exceptional condition,’ or ‘complex accounting or computation of damages,’ or where a ‘district judge or magistrate judge of the district’ is not available to address the issue,” he explained at The Daily Beast.

On Monday he wrote: “DOJ must continue to fight this attack on the integrity of the criminal justice system. A really gutsy move by AG Garland & DOJ would be to appeal while defying her attempt to derail a criminal investigation.”

Glenn Kirschner, the well-known former federal prosecutor of 30 years and an MSNBC legal analyst last week blasted Cannon as “dead wrong” for announcing she was considering the appointment of a special master before even hearing DOJ’s side.

“In 30 years of prosecuting cases, I never saw a judge make up her mind on an issue BEFORE the other party had an opportunity to respond to the request. This is dead wrong.”

READ MORE: ‘Nothing’ Should Stop DOJ From Investigating Trump – Not Even 60 Day ‘Unwritten Rule’ Says Former Inspector General

He agrees DOJ should appeal, and explains the gravity of Judge Cannon’s decision today.

“So this means DOJ must withdraw any witness subpoenas they issued base on the documents Trump stole and unlawfully concealed. It also means,” he adds, “DOJ must stop any forensic testing (fingerprints/DNA) that may be underway regarding the stolen documents. I hope the DOJ chooses to appeal this decision rather than just let it lie.”

Former Harvard Law professor of law Laurence Tribe slammed Judge Cannon:

“According to Judge Cannon, the robber can get a special master — but only if he had been the president before robbing the bank, because ‘the investigation and treatment of a former president is of unique interest to the general public.’ I.e., a former president is above the law.”

Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti adds that “Judge Cannon made sense out of Trump’s bizarre, convoluted motion and gave him more than he was entitled to.”

“The motion didn’t really help the defense much, but by granting a temporary injunction, she delays the investigation,” he says, which does help Trump.

“She bent over backwards to grant him this review based on ‘extraordinary circumstances’ and the need for the appearance of fairness,” he says.

Continue Reading
Click to comment
 
 

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.

NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.

Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.

CRIME

Linda Sun Arrested By FBI, Accused of Working for China and Blocking Taiwan Access to NY Gov

Published

on

Linda Sun, New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s former deputy chief of staff, was arrested Tuesday morning on charges that she was acting as an unregistered agent on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.

Sun and her husband, Chris Hu, had their home raided in July by the FBI, though any information about why was kept sealed until Tuesday. Sun is accused of being an unregistered Chinese agent, and using her position to promote Chinese interests, as well as alien smuggling and visa fraud, according to CNN.

She allegedly blocked Taiwanese delegations from being able to access New York officials, while setting up meetings with Chinese delegations and the state government. Sun also worked on certain public statements from politicians in order to make them more in line with the CCP’s views, according to the Associated Press.

Hu faces charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and bank fraud, as well as a misuse of identification, the AP reported. Hu is a businessman who owns and operates several businesses, including a Queens liquor store, Golden Capital Group LLC, Medical Supplies USA LLC and a seafood import/export business called Foodie Fisherman LLC, according to the New York Times and Gothamist.

READ MORE: Trump Took Millions From China, Saudi Arabia, Other Foreign Governments While President: Report

Sun and Hu received business opportunities in China, along with other perks including luxury goods, event tickets, a job for one of Sun’s relatives and Nanjing-style salted ducks for Sun’s parents, according to ABC News.

“The illicit scheme enriched the defendant’s family to the tune of millions of dollars,” United States Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.

Sun was fired by Hochul’s office in March 2023 after her office found “evidence of misconduct,” Hochul’s press secretary, Avi Small, told CNN.

Sun had been working in the New York state government since 2012, when she was hired by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration as a liaison to the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, according to Politico.

 

Continue Reading

CRIME

Texas Senator Says More Uvalde Cops Need To Face Criminal Charges Over Shooting

Published

on

pete-arredondo-democratic-donation-party-affiliation-biden-beto-uvalde-shooting

After two Uvalde cops were charged over their botched response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary, a Texas state senator says more officers should be charged.

Former Police Chief Pete Arredondo and then-officer Adrian Gonzalez were charged on felony counts of child endangerment, according to the San Antonio Express-News. The May 24, 2022 shooting was Texas’ worst; 19 children and two teachers were killed.

Uvalde cops were criticised for not stopping the shooting earlier, particularly when camera footage was released showing officers standing in a hallway while the shooting continued.

READ MORE: Listen: Uvalde School Massacre Was God’s Plan Says Texas AG Ken Paxton – ‘Life Is Short’

Democratic Texas State Senator Roland Gutierrez  said that the charges against Arredondo and Gonzalez were not enough. Gutierrez represents District 19, which includes Uvalde.

“If they’re going to indict those two officers, they need to indict the 13 DPS troopers in that hallway,” Gutierrez told the Express-News. “That’s very disturbing to me.”

Almost 400 law enforcement officers had responded to the shooting, the Express-News reported, including 28 officers from the Uvalde PD.

During the shooting, Arredondo and Gonzales were among the first officers to enter the building in the first few minutes of the incident. The incident started at 11:29 a.m., when the shooter crashed near a funeral home, fired on the employees, then entered onto the school campus, according to the official timeline from the Uvalde Police’s internal investigation.

At 11:30, police were dispatched; the shooter entered the building at 11:33 and started firing. At 11:35, four officers, including Gonzalez and Arredondo, entered the building. Approximately a minute later, officers opened the unlocked door to the classroom, and were fired upon and injured. At 11:38 a.m., Arredondo ordered the officers to retreat.

At 11:55 a.m., as the shooting continued, Arredondo ordered police to clear the rooms surrounding the classrooms and start to negotiate with the shooter. Police finally entered the classroom nearly an hour later, at 12:50 p.m., and took down the shooter. During this wait, Arredondo was waiting for someone to bring him keys to the door, mistakenly thinking the classroom was locked.

Police inaction during a school shooting is sadly not uncommon. In 2018, former officer Scot Peterson was acquitted for not acting to stop the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Footage showed Peterson was on the scene, but was standing outside the building as the shooting continued.

A federal judge also dismissed a lawsuit against Broward County officials including the sheriff for not protecting the students at the school. The judge ruled that though the 14th Amendment requires police to protect those in custody, there is no police duty to protect people not in custody, according to CNN.

In that shooting, 14 students and three teachers were killed; another 17 victims were wounded.

 

 

Continue Reading

CRIME

Seattle Police Didn’t Provide Access to Lawyers 96% of the Time: Report

Published

on

The Seattle Police Department violated the law and didn’t give people under 18 access to a lawyer when it was supposed to 96% of the time, according to a new report released Friday by the city’s Office of the Inspector General.

The OIG audited the Seattle Police Department on its compliance with two laws, a city-level law called the MiChance Dunlap-Gittens Ordinance and a similar state law, RCW 13.40.740. The laws require police give those under 18 years old access to a public defender before the youth waives their right to remain silent. Police also must provide attorney access when requesting consent for a search, according to the OIG.

The OIG examined 89 arrests and found 50 cases where the laws applied. In those cases, access to an attorney was only provided twice. The OIG broke the interactions into four categories: Custodial Interrogation, which made up half of the cases; Consent to Search, 3 cases; Detained and Questioned, 7 cases; and Arrested, No Evidence of Questioning, 15 cases. Both of the instances where attorney access was provided were in this last category.

READ MORE: DOJ Report Says Louisville Police Needlessly Use Tasers & Dogs on Civilians

In an appendix, the OIG laid out eight recommendations, including updating the Seattle Police Department’s policy manual, requiring officers to “make a good faith effort” to check the age of the person detained, and to perform regular internal audits on whether or not the law is being followed by officers.

SPD’s chief operating officer, Brian Maxey, said it was sometimes difficult to determine if someone is legally a minor, according to the Times, but admitted that “in some instances there are clear gaps in officers’ understanding of the laws and inconsistencies in practice.”

The law is named for MiChance Dunlap-Gittens, a high school senior shot in 2017 following a botched sting operation. King County sheriff’s detectives investigating a homicide attempted to create a sting to catch a suspect. Dunlap-Gitten was killed when he attempted to flee. The suspect the detectives were after also fled, but was caught by a SWAT team that night, according to the Seattle Times. However, neither teenager was involved at all in the homicide under investigation.

Dunlap-Gittens’ death led to a $2.5 million ruling against King County in 2020. In addition to the victim’s family receiving the money, the sheriff at the time apologized and promised to make her officers wear body cameras and use dash cameras, according to the Times. Shortly following the settlement, the Seattle City Council passed the ordinance. A similar ordinance also went before the King County Council. A year later, RCW 13.40.740 passed the State Legislature.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2020 AlterNet Media.