Islamophobic Think Tank Helped Prosectors Write Terror Indictment Against ICE Protesters
Source: The Intercept · Bias: Far Left
Summary
The far-right Center for Security Policy, led by anti-Muslim activist Frank Gaffney, is best known for pedaling conspiracy theories.
The post Islamophobic Think Tank Helped Prosectors Write Terror Indictment Against ICE Protesters appeared first on The Intercept.
Islamophobic Think Tank Helped Prosectors Write Terror Indictment Against ICE Protesters
Far Left
The far-right Center for Security Policy, led by anti-Muslim activist Frank Gaffney, is best known for pedaling conspiracy theories.
The post Islamophobic Think Tank Helped Prosectors Write Terror Indictment Against ICE Protesters appeared first on The Intercept.
From U.S. v. Virginia, decided yesterday by Judge Robert Payne (E.D. Va.); these conclusions played a role in the court's…
The post Judge's Conclusions About Risks of Identification for ICE Officers appeared first on Reason.com.
The Louisiana Supreme Court on Friday temporarily halted criminal proceedings against Attorney General Liz Murrill, just one day after a New Orleans grand jury returned a politically motivated 16-count felony indictment accusing the Republican attorney general of intimidation and malfeasance.
The post UPDATE: Louisiana Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Politically Motivated Indictment Against AG Liz Murrill appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Some Americans who have always celebrated the anniversary of our country's independence see us losing independence and so much else on the eve of our 250th. They aren't in the mood for a parade.
Republican Liz Murrill was indicted for the alleged intimidation of New Orleans elected officialsSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Louisiana’s highest court has granted a stay of the proceedings in a criminal indictment targeting the state’s attorney general, in the latest twist of a high-stakes political battle between Republican state leaders and Democrats who govern its most famous city, New Orleans.Liz Murrill, a Republican who is Louisiana’s first female attorney general, was slapped with a 16-count indictment on Thursday by a New Orleans grand jury charging her with intimidation and malfeasance. The charges effectively accused her of trying to intimidate New Orleans officials who fought a law passed by Republican legislators to overhaul the city’s courts. Continue reading...
Ahead of the 250th birthday of the United States, a Louisiana judge tried to clear a courtroom when a grand jury returned an indictment of a political official. Now, the state supreme court has stepped in to save her. A grand jury returned an indictment on Thursday of Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill, but less than 24 hours later, the conservative majority of the Louisiana Supreme Court stepped in to put the whole thing on hold. All four of the Republican justices voted in favor of Murrill and one Democratic one joined. The other Democrat and one Independent justice dissented. Local WWL News reported that the court issued Murrill's requested stay of the indictment, claiming that she "makes a compelling argument concerning the disturbing defects in the grand jury proceedings and in the trial court’s handling of those proceedings.”According to new allegations, Murrill used the chaos in the courtroom to claim that the special prosecutor failed to follow proper procedure in the indictment when people were removed from the courthouse. On Thursday, journalists, a producer, and a First Amendment lawyer were not only locked out but also handcuffed by court police when they tried to report on the case. James Finn, reporter for The Times-Picayune, wrote on X that "WWLTV producer Danny Montverde was placed in handcuffs by Orleans Sheriff’s Office court security officers after objecting to the closed-door nature of the proceeding."He added, "I was told I’d face contempt of court charges and threatened with cuffs if I didn’t leave the courthouse hallway. When I left the building and came back, security wouldn’t let me back in. When I questioned on what grounds, I was again threatened with handcuffs."Finn issued a follow-up report on the paper, stating that no one at the New Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office has commented on what happened. The office "has made no comment about its deputies’ conduct yesterday, incl cuffing/detaining journalist @DCMonteverde and 1A lawyer Elana Beiser for refusing to leave a taxpayer-funded courthouse. OPSO has not responded to inquiries from," Finn wrote on X. WWL TV reporter David Hammer commented on Thursday evening, "Code of Criminal Procedure Section 383 says grand jury 'indictments shall be returned into the district court in open court.” That did not happen in Judge Leon Roché’s court today and Danny was objecting on behalf of the public. @WWLTV ’s lawyer, Elana Beiser, was also detained.'"Beiser later quipped, "Nothing like a brief detention while standing up for freedom of information to celebrate Independence Day weekend.""The episode ended with combative, dueling press conferences on the courthouse steps. The special prosecutor assigned to the probe lamented that she had taken the case; defense lawyers for Attorney General Liz Murrill decried a system of 'kangaroo courts' in New Orleans," Finn wrote in his report. Murrill claimed in her court filing that there were also conflicts of interest involving Special Prosecutor Laurie White. She is currently being represented by the AG's office in a sexual harassment lawsuit. She also served as an attorney for Calvin Duncan, a central person in the case. For those reasons, Murrill claimed that it wasn't fair. The conservative majority of the Louisiana Supreme Court agreed that the case must be examined and that there are likely conflicts of interest. Everything must remain on hold until further investigation. They also agreed that Murrill is "likely to succeed in having the case dismissed and that she would suffer irreparable harm if it can move forward," said the Associated Press. “This indictment appears to turn the law on its head and flows from what appear to be extraordinary procedural defects and improprieties,” the court said in the Friday filing signed by Republican Justice Jay McCallum.“I hope this political witch hunt is not a harbinger of things to come,” she said in a statement Friday, “but I fear that it is.”Echoing President Donald Trump, Murrill claimed the matter was a "witch hunt."
Matt Sledge, who was at the sentencing for the Prairieland defendants, and Mark Bray, author of “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook,” on the timeworn government strategies to stifle dissent.
The post Trump’s Communist Boogeyman Playbook: Charging Protesters as Terrorists appeared first on The Intercept.
Former special counsel Jack Smith has been a constant target of fury and legal threats by President Donald Trump, dating back to even before the election, when the famed prosecutor was helming a pair of federal criminal cases against him.But Smith doesn't dwell much on the possibility that Trump's Justice Department will fabricate some charges against him, he told MS NOW's Nicolle Wallace in an exclusive interview on Thursday. There's something he worries a lot more about."Do you think that this is a department that you could send someone to go work in, and they could be asked to indict you?" asked Wallace.Smith agreed "that could happen" — however, he continued, "in the Justice Department, even as we sit here right now, there are lots of people doing good work prosecuting violent crime, protecting their communities, doing the everyday work of being a prosecutor. And yes, it could happen. That could happen, and that would be unfortunate. And then you might have to step down." Nonetheless, he added, "I don't want to see people run from public service because of that possibility.""Do you expect to be indicted?" Wallace followed up, noting that Trump "said he would indict you."Smith replied, "I'll tell you, Nicolle, I honestly do not spend a lot of time thinking about the things he says about me and his threats about me."Instead of that, he continued, "I'm really focused on the people who I worked with, looking out for them. I'm really focused on how the Justice Department is going to be better going forward, things like that."What Smith worries about more, he made clear, is the future of the people he worked with who helped him do his job.Ultimately, Smith said, "I had an all-star team ... the agents on my case, if I were to walk you through all the awards they've won throughout generations of administrations, we would be here all night. These were superstars. I'm much more concerned that those people get to serve in the department, get to serve in the bureau again someday." - YouTube www.youtube.com
