Rove Republican Racket

Michigan's Prosecutorial Sex Saga Continues

2010-09-15T21:41:00.000-04:00

A right-wing, Rove Republican, and conservative part of Michigan is still being rattled by the former Holland City Attorney's misconduct.

Last year, we wrote about Carl Gabrielse (pictured) , the former Holland, Michigan City Attorney who reduced a drunk driving charge of a female defendant in exchange for sex in a courthouse jury room. In April, he was sentenced to six-months in jail for his outrageous and depraved misconduct.

Now, the rape victim is suing the City of Holland and Gabrielse. The Grand Rapid Press reports:

The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, alleges the 31-year-old Gabrielse committed assault and battery, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress. It also claims the 23-year-old victim's constitutional rights were violated. Gabrielse, who offered the woman a plea deal in exchange for sex, was sentenced to six months in jail in April for third-degree criminal sexual conduct and misconduct in office.

Alleged Wife-Beating Suspect Goes on the Offense

2010-09-07T21:08:00.001-04:00

Jim Cochran, the Chairman of Fair Finance, the Indianapolis company that allegedly duped and mismanaged $200 million from Ohio investors, is now trying to protect his reputation.

His partner and the CEO of Fair Finance, Timothy S. Durham, a big shot Rove Republican donor, has been saved from criminal prosecution by embattled U.S. Attorney Timothy M. Morrison of the Southern District of Indianapolis, another Rove Republican appointed by the Rove Bush Cheney Administration.

Cochran, who made headlines after being arrested for alleged domestic violence against his wife, (mug shot at left) has now gone on the offensive against Fair Finance's bankruptcy trustee.

The Indianapolis Business Journal reports:

Cochran, who’s ensnared in that same criminal investigation, lets it fly in response to allegations by Brian Bash, Fair’s bankruptcy trustee, that he and other insiders duped the investors, a largely blue-collar lot who purchased unsecured notes with interest rates as high as 9.5 percent.

Bash “utterly fails to identify even a single alleged misrepresentation made by Mr. Cochran,” Cochran’s attorneys said in a filing. Bash relies on “vague and conclusory allegations ... apparently adopting an alchemist’s strategy that repeating the word misrepresentation enough times will magically transform these allegations into a fraud claim.”

Bash counters in a court filing that he provided plenty of particulars to beat back Cochran’s motion to dismiss, especially given that the discovery process, which will unearth additional information, hasn’t begun.

Possible Vindication in Alabama?

2010-08-31T22:11:00.000-04:00

Breaking News

A respected Democratic political leader and a former health care business owner who were scalped by the Rove Republican Racket are seeking vindication from the political persecution they suffered during the Rove Bush Cheney years. The Birmingham News reports tonight:

Former Gov. Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy asked the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals today to toss out all charges against them, arguing that money Scrushy gave Siegelman's 1999 lottery campaign could not be considered a bribe. The U.S. Supreme Court in June sent the case back to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to review in the wake of a recent order from the high court limiting the use of the "honest services" fraud statute in public corruption cases.

The Supreme Court in a case involving disgraced Enron Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Skilling curtailed prosecutors' use of the honest services fraud statute, saying it can be applied only in cases involving bribes or kickbacks. A jury convicted Scrushy and Siegelman on charges that Scrushy bribed Siegelman for a seat on the state Certificate of Need Review Board with $500,000 in contributions to Siegelman's lottery campaign.

Lawyers for Siegelman and Scrushy wrote in their court filings that there is a significant difference between giving money to someone personally and giving money to an issue advocacy campaign. "Siegelman was not paid anything. The prototypical bribe involves a pay-off," lawyers for Scrushy wrote. "The Eleventh Circuit should dismiss all charges against Governor Siegelman, based on Skilling. That would be the correct legal outcome, based on the law as the Supreme Court has explained it," Siegelman lawyer Sam Heldman said this evening.

Indiana Republicans Refuse to Refund Retirees

2010-08-26T18:11:00.000-04:00

Embattled U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of Indiana Timothy M. Morrison let his Republican pal, Timothy S. Durham, a once pompous Hoosier multimillionaire, skirt away after mismanaging over $200 million of investors' money, most of it from Ohio retirees.

Over $1 million of the $54 million Durham loaned himself in the scheme went to Rove Republican campaign coffers in Indiana.

After being called on to refund the money, Republican have weasel-worded themselves out of refunding the money with legal gimmicks and double-speak.

The Associated Press reports:

Asheesh Agarwal, an attorney who represents Daniels' Mitch for [Indiana] Governor campaign committee and his Aiming Higher political action committee, said he stood by a statement last week that the organizations do not intend to refund money already spent. "Based on what we know now, it is not out of the question that some of the money could be returned, but we need to see more than a letter from an attorney," Agarwal said in the statement. "In fact, if a court finds wrongdoing, and these funds were the source, a refund of any remaining dollars would be appropriate."

Republican [Indiana] Attorney General Greg Zoeller, who received $11,000 in donations from Durham, said his campaign treasurer created a segregated account for the money. "The reason I did this was to balance my respect for our legal system's presumption of innocence with concerns from my role protecting consumers that there may be future actions that might possibly involve restitution to investors," Zoeller said in an e-mail. "I did receive a letter from the bankruptcy trustee but intend to continue to hold these funds until the U.S. Attorney's Office completes their investigation," Zoeller said.

FBI Agent Threatens FBI Agent

2010-08-25T21:07:00.000-04:00

Our blog has repeatedly questioned the trustworthiness of some FBI agents, many of whom worked with the Rove Republican Racket to persecute political opponents.

The Associated Press reports from Dallas tonight a bizarre case showing how messed up J. Edgar Hoover's former bureau truly is:

The FBI says it has arrested one of its own Dallas agents and charged him with threatening a federal law enforcement officer. An FBI statement issued Wednesday says Special Agent Carlos Ortiz Jr. was arrested Wednesday at the bureau's office in Dallas. He faces a charge of threatening to assault or murder a federal law enforcement office on account of the performance of official duty. Robert Casey, the head of the Dallas FBI office, says Ortiz was fired after a personnel inquiry. The former agent is scheduled to make an initial appearance in federal court in Dallas on Thursday. The FBI declined to discuss Ortiz's work history or the arrest. No attorney information was available from online federal court records, and a U.S. Attorney's spokeswoman in Dallas said she was unaware of the case and declined to comment.

Until Birotte Splits Us Up!

2010-08-24T20:01:00.000-04:00

The Obama-appointed U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles, Andre Birotte, Jr. loves headlines, especially headlines boasting about the awful work he and his crew are doing in Southern California.

In June, Birotte's office applauded the continued persecution of Pierce O'Donnell, a prominent Los Angeles Democrat targeted by the Rove Republican Racket, over some irregular campaign contributions made to John Edwards' failed presidential bid in 2004.

Earlier this year, Birotte looked like a complete buffoon when he tried to escalate the profile of a sushi restaurant that served endanged whale and boost his ever-growing ego. He was harpooned.

Now comes the most ridiculous news story yet! The Associated Press reports this afternoon:

A Mexican-born actress and her musician husband lied about their marriage to immigration officials so she could stay in the U.S., a federal prosecutor told prospective jurors Tuesday. In his opening statement, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James Left showed a picture of Fernanda Romero [pictured] and Kent Ross on their wedding day but said the appearance was deceptive. "There was a real ceremony but nothing else about it is real," Left said. "It was a sham marriage."

Romero, a singer, actress and model who has attained moderate fame in her homeland, and Ross, a musician and manager of a pizza delivery business, have each pleaded not guilty to charges of marriage fraud and making false statements. If convicted, they could each face a maximum prison sentence of five years. The couple sat next to each other wearing black suits and wedding rings on their left forefingers.

And politicians are worried about Arizona? Shame on Andre! Shame on him!

"Immense Relief" in Kansas

2010-08-23T13:51:00.000-04:00

The backlash against the Rove Republican Racket persecution of political opponents and its use of the broad Honest Services crime statute has come now come to fruition.

In Kansas last Friday, just hours after Barry Grissom (pictured) a new, Obama appointed U.S. Attorney took office, the case against two men who have endured two-trials, a third one in the works, saw a seven-year nightmare come to an end. As readers recall, the dishonest "Honest Services" crime was severely narrowed by the U.S. Supreme Court this past June.

The Associated Press reports:

A federal judge Friday dismissed all charges against two former Westar Energy executives who were accused of looting the Kansas utility, granting a request by prosecutors that came just hours after the state's new U.S. attorney was sworn in. Former Westar chief executive David Wittig and his top strategy officer, Douglas Lake, were charged with conspiring to inflate their compensation from the Topeka-based company and taking steps to hide their actions. A third trial date for the men, who were forced out of Westar in late 2002, was pending. Their first trial ended in a hung jury and a conviction in their second was overturned.

"I credit the Justice Department for recognizing how flawed this case was," said Patrick McInerney, an attorney for Lake. McInerney said a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling narrowing the scope of the "honest services" law — which made it a crime to "deprive another of the intangible right to honest services" — crippled the government's case against Wittig and Lake. The high court's ruling in the case against former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling found that theft of honest services is only relevant in cases involving bribes and kickbacks.

Lake, 60, of New Canaan, Conn., and his family have been living with the charges for more than seven years. "It was an immense relief," McInerney said of his client's reaction upon learning of the motion to dismiss. "It vindicates him and what he has said since the very beginning of this that he is innocent. He committed no crime and at long last it has been recognized."

Will Paddy Boy Exit Stage Right?

2010-08-19T22:14:00.000-04:00

The intense fallout against once esteemed U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald (pictured) over his legal and professional failure to successfully prosecute former Democratic Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is growing.

As readers may recall, before the Blago verdict, we reported about Fitzgerald's Assistant U.S. Attorney who was involved in prosecutorial misconduct and allowed a government witness to testify falsely. In addition, we raised the profile of a controversial developer who accused Fitzgerald's staff of wanting him to lie on the stand. When he refused, the developer allegedly was framed and charged with obstruction of justice charges.

But the fallout on Blago is coming from conservative, national, and traditionally Rove Republican publications.

Having failed to secure a conviction on 23 of 24 charges filed, a Wall Street Journal editorial published today called for Fitzgerald's resignation or removal:

Blagojevich may or may not be corrupt, though he has repeatedly proved his stupidity. In any event, Mr. Fitzgerald’s legal team failed to persuade a jury that Blagojevich was guilty of racketeering, conspiracy, wire fraud, extortion, kickback schemes and a litany of other crimes, despite five weeks of argument and testimony that included incriminating selections from thousands of wiretapped phone calls. The defense did not call a single witness. The jury also deadlocked on four charges against Blagojevich’s brother, while his chief of staff earlier copped a plea.

If Mr. Fitzgerald doesn’t resign of his own accord, the Justice Department should remove him—especially after such other recent examples of prosecutorial bad faith or bad judgment involving Blackwater contractors in Iraq, the forgotten backdating accounting scandal and the late Senator Ted Stevens. Prosecutors have vowed to retry Blagojevich this fall on the other 23 mistrial counts. But if he really is guilty, then incompetence alone is grounds for Mr. Fitzgerald's removal.

Blago and Lying to the FBI

2010-08-18T17:27:00.002-04:00

Yesterday's stunning news that former Democratic Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (pictured right) was not convicted on 23 of the 24 counts he was charged with was a tremendous setback to the Rove Republican Racket, federal prosecutors, and esteemed U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.

But there's a bigger story to this. In knee-jerk fashion, prosecutors vowed to retry Blagojevich. The Chicago Tribune reported:

Moments after a rare setback, a chastened U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald was acting nothing like the swaggering prosecutor who just 20 months earlier proclaimed he had arrested a sitting governor to stop a political crime spree. He would not take questions from reporters about his office's failure to convict former Gov. Rod Blagojevich on 23 counts against him, winning a guilty verdict only on a single count of lying to the FBI, among the least serious of the charges he faced. Instead, Fitzgerald vowed to retry the case, then quickly ending his news conference.

The real "political crime spree" and bigger story here is the charge Blago was convicted on: lying to the FBI.

Lying to federal agents, or not telling the whole truth, has been a favorite tool of the federal government to bring in innocent people, some with no criminal records, and force them to plead out or fry bigger fish.

FBI agents visit and interview people and draft up what are called 302 reports. A 302 report (sample pictured left) is used to summarize an interview conducted by an FBI agent. Depending on the agent's interpretation, some interviewees may end up as criminal defendants.

Most interviewees believe the FBI is just doing its job and are never told they should have a lawyer present. Their own words, or misinterpretations and misspeak, can be used against them in a court of law.

The Rove Cheney Bush Administration succeeded in using this slight-of-hand tactic. Like the Honest Services Fraud Crime was, lying to the FBI became a stretched-beyond-the-limits weapon to prosecute political targets.

Seattle's Lost Luggage

2010-08-16T22:12:00.001-04:00

Post 9/11, the Rove Republican Racket increased the scope of intrusive government with the Patriot Act, Honest Services Crime, and other law enforcement tools that caused Americans to lose some liberty and privacy all in the name of "national security."

Besides a huge and enormous growth in national security and secret intelligence operations, the most visible change Americans have seen is at the airport: the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The TSA screens us, forces us to remove our shoes, and place our laptops in a screening basket.

Now comes the news today from Seattle. The Post Intelligencer writes:

A security supervisor at Sea-Tac International Airport has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $20,000 worth of items from checked luggage. Randy Pepper, a 50-year-old Spanaway resident, pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges related to the string of thefts, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office at Seattle. Hired by the Transportation Security Administration in 2007, Pepper was fired in July 2009 after the thefts were discovered. In pleading guilty, Pepper, a supervisory transportation security officer, admitted to taken money and jewelry from luggage he was inspecting at Sea-Tac. Authorities began investigating Pepper after another TSA employee reported seeing him removing items from luggage. According to the statement, most of the items stolen by Pepper could not be recovered because they were melted down.

And we are to trust TSA officers or their supervisors who testify against alleged "criminals?"

The meltdown of federal law enforcement officers, from the TSA to the DEA to the FBI, has grown out of a culture blessed by the Rove Cheney Bush Administration with this motto: be arrogant, be in absolute control and screw anyone who gets in your way.

U.S. Attorney "Very Pleased" with Political Persecution

2010-08-12T23:08:00.001-04:00

Andre Birotte, Jr., the Obama appointed U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles, has an ego bigger than the Golden State. Last winter he ended up with fish sauce all over his face when he tried to pump up his national profile in a case involving a Sushi restaurant that served endangered whale. His ego-driven sideshow was quickly harpooned when the restaurant immediately closed down as a self-imposed punishment.

Now Birotte is supporting the Rove Republican Racket's continued persecution of Democratic operative and famed trial lawyer Pierce O'Donnell (pictured). O'Donnell was accused of funneling money to John Edwards' 2004 presidential campaign by having friends and family donate to the campaign. O'Donnell later reimbursed them.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the charges were tossed out last year by U.S. District Judge S. James Otero, who ruled that the conduct described by prosecutors in their indictment did not violate the federal law under which O'Donnell was charged. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel disagreed in June. As a result of the ruling, the charges were reinstated and the case was ordered back to Otero's court.

When the federal appeals court reinstated the charges, Birotte's office claimed to be "very pleased" with the ruling.

How "pleased" should Americans be that an Obama-appointed prosecutor is supporting the Rove Racket's purely political prosecution of O'Donnell?

To support the notion that O'Donnell was being singled out by the Rove Republicans, his lawyers presented prosecutors with 21 illegal campaign contribution cases they said were handled administratively by the Federal Elections Commission, even though most involved larger amounts of money and more egregious conduct than what was alleged in O'Donnell's case, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Without a doubt, Birotte should receive another black-eye and his ego fed to the political shredder.

Morrison's Million Dollar Smoking Gun

2010-08-11T23:23:00.002-04:00

We have been puzzled why Bush-leftover and Acting U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of Indiana Timothy M. Morrison has vigorously prosecuted a small-town Democrat but let a high-profile Republican donor, Timothy S. Durham,who allegedly swindled over $200 million from Ohio retirees, completely off the hook.

Earlier this month, the trustee for the bankrupt Fair Finance Company, the entity in which the "high-risk" fraud occurred, announced he had traced $54 million of the money as a loan to Durham. And in that trace, there laid the smoking gun: $1 million of the money was spent by Durham on Rove Republican candidates, mostly in Indiana, according to the Akron Beacon Journal.

Will the Hoosier Republicans return the money? Will Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, a Bush and Rove square dancer who wants to be President, man up and refund the money he received from his Republican pal? Will Morrison finally get off his rear and prosecute Durham?

Death of a Targeted Former U.S. Senator

2010-08-10T13:56:00.000-04:00

Breaking News:

Former U.S. Senator of Alaska Ted Stevens (pictured) was killed in a plane crash in Alaska.

Stevens was targeted, prosecuted, and convicted by the Rove Republican Racket in 2008. He lost his re-election bid that same year.

After the Obama Administration took over the reigns of government, a "horrified" U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder vacated the conviction in April of last year and launched an investigation into gross prosecutorial misconduct by federal prosecutors, who withheld evidence from Stevens' defense team.

His death brings an unofficial close to one of many disturbing and political persecutions of the Rove Bush Cheney era.

Return of the Tomato King

2010-08-09T20:15:00.000-04:00

We're happy to be back and we start where we left off: the Rove Republican Racket's unfair prosecution of the so-called "Tomato King" of California, Frederick Scott Salyer.

As we reported last month, the federal government is in a steaming bowl of hot tomato sauce for obtaining evidence via illegal means, including the theft of internal corporate documents and tomato paste by a turned-FBI informant who was on Salyer's payroll.

The prosecutorial misconduct has not gone unnoticed and now Salyer's friends and family are rallying behind his ridiculous political prosecution.

Tonight, the Sacramento Bee reports:

Lawyers for indicted tomato king Frederick Scott Salyer are renewing their efforts to spring him from the Sacramento County Jail on bail, this time by having his friends and family put up their homes as an assurance that he will not flee the country if he is released. In a motion filed in federal court in Sacramento, Salyer attorney Malcolm Segal states that Salyer's "family and longtime friends have rallied to his support and trust him not to flee."

Together, they have offered to put up $2 million in cash and property as collateral to ensure that Salyer will remain in this country and stand trial on bribery, racketeering and other charges. Federal prosecutors have repeatedly opposed Salyer's release on bail, arguing that he has access to millions of dollars and is a flight risk, especially because he faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison if convicted.

Returning Monday

2010-08-06T11:36:00.000-04:00

We have been on summer break, but we'll be back next Monday. We hope you, our readers, have had a sunny and fun summer.

Stolen Tomato Paste and Docs Shake Feds

2010-07-21T16:19:00.006-04:00

With eight years of dirty tricks and loose laws under their belts, agents of the Rove Republican Racket in the FBI have mastered the art of deception.

Now comes the case out of the Central Valley of California that has shaken the reputation of the FBI and federal prosecutors.

In an undercover operation started in 2006, the feds targeted the so-called "Tomato King," Frederick Scott Salyer. Salyer is the heir to one of the largest agribusinesses in California.

The feds filed 20 charges of mail and wire fraud last February. But yesterday, his defense team struck back hard.

The Salinas Californian reports:

The defense motion is potentially the most damaging counterattack in one of the biggest prosecutions ever against the nation's food industry. Legal experts say case law is clear that the government cannot encourage an informant to steal documents it can legally get for it-self, nor can it acquiesce in such conduct by knowingly accepting the documents. "By the time Manuel's efforts were complete, he had conducted more than 40 illegal searches over a period of 18 months with the complicity and participation of [FBI Special] Agent [Paul] Artley, viewed many thousands of documents and had surreptitiously taken and delivered to the FBI well over a thousand private documents, computer printouts, e-mails, tomato paste samples and other proprietary information," Segal wrote. Manuel became an informant in August 2006 after federal agents searched his home and, in return for his help, the government allowed him to defer a guilty plea to an unrelated crime, work off his prison time and continue receiving his $200,000 salary from Sal-yer, said Segal. The defense accuses Artley of directing or encouraging Manuel to take evidence against Salyer without a search warrant.

No One Would Stop Them

2010-07-20T23:18:00.002-04:00

For over 16 months now, our blog has posted stories about the Rove Republican Racket, the web of political operatives headed by Karl Rove that turned the U.S. Department of Justice into a political arm of the Republican Party.

Using the dishonest "Honest Services" crime to lock away Democrats and other political opponents, the Rove-Bush-Cheney Administration's DOJ hacks consistently engaged in prosecutorial misconduct or other unsavory practices to bring fear and intimidation into the political process.Some of those practices backfired.

Now the mainstream media are picking it up.

Titled "Judicial System Takes a Hit," Michael Hiltzik, a Los Angeles Times business columnist, (pictured) wrote a piece over the weekend about the prosecutorial misconduct in the Broadcom back-dating case, which was staged in the heart of Republican country: Orange County, California.

The judge in the case chastised the prosecutors for a "shameful campaign" to intimidate witnesses and obtain unjustified convictions.

Hiltzik's column has a revealing quote from a legal expert on why the renegade Republican prosecutors have consistently broken the rules to jail opponents:

"In the post- 9/11 years, a lot of prosecutors got emboldened to go as far as they could and play as dirty as they could, figuring that no one would stop them," Bennett Gershman of Pace University law school, the author of a legal text on prosecutorial misconduct, told me. "Judges seem to have become emboldened by what they see the prosecutors doing."

Amen, Brother Gershman!

Silicon Valley's New DA Under Fire

2010-07-19T07:42:00.001-04:00

The Queen of the Rove Republican Racket in the Silicon Valley, Dolores Carr, narrowly lost her re-election bid in June. As readers recall, she spurred a boycott of a sitting judge after the judge had lambasted prosecutorial misconduct in Carr's office.

Now the incoming prosecutor is under fire by Carr's friends for his own prosecutorial misconduct.

The San Jose Mercury News writes:

The prosecutor who narrowly won the race for Santa Clara County district attorney has been flagged for misconduct by an appellate court for the second time in his career — though in both cases the panel found the errors "harmless" and upheld the underlying criminal convictions.

The 6th District Court of Appeal this week found that Deputy District Attorney Jeff Rosen violated a judge's order in a 2008 trial by disclosing to a jury that a man on trial for rape had a criminal background. Nine years ago, an appellate court found Rosen erred in a different case — also by divulging evidence that could bias the jury against the defendant, despite orders from a judge not to do so.

Rosen's political opponents Thursday seized on Wednesday's decision by the appellate court as proof that the prosecutor who will replace first-term District Attorney Dolores Carr in January is unethical — and a hypocrite to boot for attacking Carr's ethics during the contentious campaign.

Katrina Killers and the Cover-up

2010-07-15T23:23:00.000-04:00

We have focused extensively on corrupt prosecutors, unethical U.S. Attorneys, and renegade law enforcement officers. The Rove Republican Racket inspired a generation of arrogant and incompetent attorneys and officers of the law.

The Rove-Bush-Cheney Administration's biggest domestic failure was the response to Hurricane Katrina.

But even more troubling were the alleged actions by six police officers (pictured) after the hurricane hit.

But now, under the era of Obama, justice is being sought. The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports:

Six current or former New Orleans police officers were charged in a sweeping federal grand jury indictment Monday that accuses four of the men of shooting unarmed civilians on the Danziger Bridge several days after Hurricane Katrina and all six of them of plotting to cover up what they knew was an unjustified attack. The charges, unsealed Tuesday, are the culmination of a two-year probe by the federal government, the third investigation into the hugely controversial events that took place on the bridge on Sept. 4, 2005. The first inquiry, led by police, found no wrongdoing by officers. A state grand jury convened to look into the matter charged seven officers with murder, but the case later fell apart.

Since the fall of 2008, federal investigators have been in charge of Danziger, and earlier this year, prosecutors from the U.S. Department of Justice broke the case wide open, showing their hand through a series of guilty pleas from officers who acknowledged the bridge shootings were unjustified and that police had conspired to cover them up. The indictment charges the rest of the officers involved in what prosecutors have termed a "bad shoot" and the alleged coverup that followed.

Stunning Defeat for "Race War" Alabama Governor

2010-07-14T22:33:00.001-04:00

Alabama Governor Bob Riley, a Rove Republican, has made it a cornerstone of his last year in office to target African-Americans and their jobs by using his Gestapo to shut down a local government-backed casino in the heart of the Blackbelt: Greene County, Alabama.

We wrote about Riley's Race War earlier this month.

Riley is working with a left-over Bush appointed U.S. Attorney to chill free speech and intimidate casino operators, Democrats, and African-Americans (which they like to call "Negroes" or worse down in backwards Alabama.)

Yesterday, Riley was handed a stunning loss: his hand-picked successor for Governor, Republican Bradley Byrne, lost! Amazingly, Byrne lost in a run-off after having won a plurality in the first round of voting in early June.

The racist assault on Greene County has obviously backfired but the economic damage has shaken Alabama.

This week, Riley had the audacity to send a mobile "unemployment" office to Greene County.

Today's Tuscaloosa News writes:

The arrival of the industrial relations department with its mobile Career Center is in response to the recent raid on Greenetrack by Gov. Bob Riley's Task Force on Illegal Gambling. The task force, with the aid of the Alabama Supreme Court, removed more than 800 electronic bingo machines from Greenetrack and about 375 people lost their jobs at Greene County's largest employer. Luther W. “Nat” Winn, president and CEO of Greenetrack, said he was insulted by the Career Center's arrival in Eutaw, a move he believes was orchestrated by Riley and his administration. “Greenetrack employees signed up for their unemployment ... the day Bob Riley's task force put them out of a job,” Winn said. “And if Bob Riley wants to help the people of Greene County, then he needs to send them jobs with comparable wages to what they were making at Greenetrack, along with benefits.”

Targeting Protestors in Santa Cruz

2010-07-13T23:47:00.000-04:00

With the Patriot Act in hand, U.S. Attorneys from the Rove Republican Racket love to call political opponents terrorists or corrupt.

In Santa Cruz, California a few animal rights activists were targeted by over-zealous federal prosecutors, but the case was dismissed on Monday.

Although prosecutors want to target these activists again, we suspect the four protestors aren't high-paying Republicans.

The San Jose Mercury News reports:

A federal judge on Monday dismissed the indictment against four animal rights activists accused of a violent protest at the home of a UC Santa Cruz researcher more than a year and a half ago, but attorneys involved in the case estimated the legal battle is far from over. U.S. District Court Judge Ronald White, who heard arguments on the motions to dismiss the case a month ago, sided with the activists in a 14-page ruling issued Monday. "...(T)he indictment fails to allege the facts of the crimes charged with sufficient specificity," the judge's ruling stated.

Joseph Buddenberg, Maryam Khajavi, Nathan Pope and Adriana Stumpo were arrested in February 2009 and charged with interfering with animal enterprise - a violation of a federal law - and conspiracy. Attorneys for the four filed motions this spring that challenged the indictment, stating in court documents that the allegations were too vague and failed to outline the criminal behavior the group is accused of taking part in. "The reason the indictment was so sketchy is because the government didn't want to put it out there in public that these people are accused of being terrorists for picketing," said Robert Bloom, attorney for Buddenberg. " ... It's not a crime to picket. Nobody has committed a crime in this case."

"Serious Fault" with U.S. Prosecutors

2010-07-12T21:15:00.000-04:00

As you most likely know, Roman Polanski, the famed film director (pictured) who has been under house arrest in Switzerland, was not extradited to the U.S. today.

Although Los Angeles County prosecutors and U.S. State Department spokesmen are attempting to say the Swiss let a sex offender off the hook, the truth is the Swiss let Polanski go because U.S. prosecutors failed to turn over documents.

The decision was not based on the merits of the case. It was based on prosecutorial negligence.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

In its decision Monday, the Swiss Justice Department said it could not exclude the possibility that the extradition request was "undermined by a serious fault" because the U.S. had failed to turn over certain documents. Specifically, the Swiss wanted to determine whether the 42 days Polanski had already spent in a Los Angeles jail would have been considered sufficient time served for having sex with a minor. Also, Swiss authorities said that until 2009, the U.S. had not filed any extradition request against Polanski "for years," even though it knew he had bought a house in Switzerland in 2006 and was a regular visitor there. That gave the director a reasonable expectation that he was not under threat of arrest and deportation from there. "Roman Polanski would not have decided to go to the film festival in Zürich in September 2009 if he had not trusted that the journey would not entail any legal disadvantages for him," the Swiss justice department said.

Nevada's Feud

2010-07-08T18:54:00.000-04:00

The Rove Republican Racket like all Republicans want to be the "most" law and order officials in the country.Without a tough "law and order" persona, the Republicans would feel naked.

In Nevada, where Republicans and Libertarian Ron Paul freaks control the desert outside Las Vegas, a feud between two lawmen has gone ugly and has gone national because of a well-written piece in The Wall Street Journal.

PAHRUMP, Nev.—Like a scene from a Western movie, the two top lawmen here are settling their scores in public. In May, a Nye County sheriff's deputy arrested the district attorney. The sheriff, Tony De Meo, alleges that the D.A., Robert Beckett, was misusing public funds. According to Mr. De Meo, public money had gone to supporting the local cheerleading squad, led by the D.A.'s wife, and to make a family friend's car payments. No charges have been filed, in part because Mr. Beckett, the D.A., refuses to charge himself.

Meanwhile, Mr. Beckett appointed a special prosecutor to investigate possible abuses of power by the sheriff's office and other public officials. Mr. Beckett claims that arresting him was part of an effort to sabotage his re-election. Mr. Beckett ended up running last among five candidates in the Republican primary.

Alabama's New Race War

2010-07-07T19:21:00.001-04:00

If there is one thing the Rove Republican Racket hates worse than prominent Democrats are economically independent African-Americans.

In backwards Alabama, Republican Governor Bob Riley has teamed up with the Republican-packed Alabama Supreme Court, and the U.S. Attorney in Montgomery, a left over from the Bush era, to shut down and seize electronic bingo machines in Greene County, a heavily black and economically poor area of Alabama in the heart of the Black Belt.

African-Americans have been arrested for voicing opposition to Riley's New Race War.

To date, no dogs or water hoses have been used by Riley and his henchmen.

The Associated Press reports:

Sixteen protesters who refused to leave the Greenetrack casino in west Alabama during a night-long standoff were arrested Thursday as state police entered to seize more than 800 electronic bingo machines. Alabama Public Safety Director Christopher Murphy said the 16 had been blocking the entrance to the casino at Eutaw for 12 hours after the Alabama Supreme Court cleared the way for state troopers to conduct the raid. One of the protesters, Democratic state Sen. Bobby Singleton of Greensboro, told WBRC television they wanted to demonstrate their opposition to Republican Gov. Bob Riley's gambling task force. Protesters contend Riley is wrongly closing a major employer in the poor, rural county.

Morrison Negotiates a Deal with Republican Pal

2010-07-06T06:50:00.000-04:00

With embattled Acting U.S. Attorney Timothy M. Morrison of the Southern District of Indiana doing nothing for eight months and in fact protecting his Republican friends, the FBI finally did something! Finally!

The FBI seized a valuable car collection from former top-Republican donor Timothy S. Durham who allegedly swindled more than $200 million from Ohio retirees. Maybe these poor folks can start recovering something.

(Durham is pictured with his Bugatti Veyron that sells for more than $1.5 million.)

Morrison, who used his office recently to prosecute a small time city clerk for embezzling $369,000 over three years, has not lifted a finger against Durham who swindled 542 TIMES MORE MONEY. Why? Politics. Durham and Morrison are Republicans and the former city clerk was a Democrat.

Read the article below. Interesting to note how Durham's attorney could easily negotiate an agreement with Morrison. But then again, they're old Republican pals.

The Indianapolis Business Journal reported last week:

Beleaguered Indianapolis businessman Tim Durham on Wednesday voluntarily turned over a Bentley Flying Spur, a Lamborghini, a Ferrari and other high-end rides to the FBI, a move that sets the stage for the cars to be sold by a bankruptcy trustee. The FBI late in the afternoon was collecting 15 vehicles from Durham’s Geist Reservoir mansion and another three from his home in Los Angeles.

“Today, the FBI is a towing company,” said Larry Mackey, a criminal defense attorney representing Durham. “We pushed them down the driveway, and the FBI has taken them away.” Mackey said the FBI began gathering the vehicles after he negotiated an agreement earlier in the day with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and a bankruptcy trustee. Under the pact, Durham voluntarily turned them over in return for assurances that proceeds from their sale would go toward mitigating losses suffered by investors in Akron, Ohio-based Fair Finance Co., a Durham-owned firm that collapsed last fall and now is being liquidated.

Happy Independence Day!

2010-07-04T00:05:00.002-04:00

We wish our readers a safe and Happy 4th of July!

What's Karl Rove doing?

2010-07-02T02:26:00.004-04:00

We end the week with a question we've been wondering: what's Karl Rove doing? And we ask in the political sense.

Answer: Raising money. Lots of money.

The Rove Republican Racket hopes to get a foothold come November.

The Associated Press reported yesterday:

A conservative activist group says it raised more than $8 million in June to help conservative candidates and causes ahead of midterm elections in November.American Crossroads and its new affiliate, American Crossroads GPS, hope to raise more than $50 million by Election Day. Both groups are associated with former Republican White House aides Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie.Both groups are tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations operating under somewhat different rules. Major donors to American Crossroads must be disclosed in public reports filed with the IRS.

Torture Cop Found Guilty in Chicago

2010-07-01T14:19:00.000-04:00

The Rove Republican Racket targeted Democrats and put them behind bars for crimes they didn't commit. In Chicago, a rogue top cop tortured young black men and put them behind bars for crimes they didn't commit.

Now comes justice.

The Associated Press reported this week:

A decorated former Chicago police lieutenant accused of suffocating, shocking and beating confessions out of scores of suspects was convicted Monday of federal perjury and obstruction of justice charges for lying about the torture of suspects. Jurors deliberated for parts of three days before finding former Lt. Jon Burge guilty. Burge, who did not react as the verdict was read, faces 45 years in prison when he's sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow.

Burge's name has become synonymous with police brutality and abuse of power in the country's third-largest city. For decades, dozens of suspects — almost all of them black men — claimed Burge and his officers tortured them into confessing to crimes ranging from armed robbery to murder. Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan released four condemned men from death row in 2003 after Ryan said Burge had extracted confessions from them using torture.

Judge Removed and Barred in Georgia

2010-06-30T17:20:00.000-04:00

Who says some judges aren't ignorant, rude, and unprofessional?

Here's an amazing news story of a high-school educated probate judge, Kenneth E. Fowler (pictured), in rural Georgia who got sacked this week.

Law. com reports:

The Supreme Court of Georgia on Monday ordered the permanent removal of a Twiggs County probate judge from the bench and barred him from ever holding or seeking judicial office. In an 11-page ruling, the court unanimously found that Twiggs County Probate Judge Kenneth E. Fowler had violated the state's judicial canon of ethics and that his conduct "shows that he is simply unwilling to live up to his legal and ethical responsibilities as a judge."

The high court also dismissed Fowler's contentions that any judicial misconduct in which he may have engaged stemmed from unintentional errors and a lack of legal education. Fowler has a high school education, which is all that the state mandates for probate judges in its less populated counties. Instead, the Supreme Court found that Fowler had demonstrated judicial incompetence, disregarded the law, taken actions that eroded public trust and confidence in the judiciary, engaged in behavior inappropriate for a judge and showed a lack of judicial decorum and temperament.

"His ignorance of the law is inexcusable, and his abuse of his judicial office unacceptable," the court opinion stated. "Indeed, we cannot expect that members of the public will respect the law and remain confident in our judiciary while judges who do not respect and follow the law themselves remain on the bench."

Tossing the Key Away in Michigan

2010-06-29T16:56:00.009-04:00

A federal appeals court struck down the decision to release the final five so-called Michigan Militia members. Once a hot issue, the national media has ignored the story since the case started to crumble.

U.S. Attorneys under the Obama Administration are following the steps of Rove Republican Racket and arresting people because of their political views and hateful speech.

The Associated Press reported:

Five members of a Midwest militia charged with conspiring to rebel against the government and use weapons of mass destruction will remain in jail while awaiting trial, an appeals court said Tuesday, reversing a decision by a federal judge. Each man is dangerous and "no conditions of release will reasonably assure the safety of the community," two judges on the three-judge panel said. During a series of raids in late March, authorities arrested nine members of a southern Michigan group called Hutaree. The government claims they were scheming to kill a police officer, then attack law enforcement who attended the funeral, in the first steps toward a broader rebellion.

Over prosecutors' objections, U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts had said they could await trial at home under strict conditions, including electronic monitors. The government later dropped its opposition to releasing four but took her decision on the other five to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Defense lawyers say the men legally possessed weapons and that any talk of killing people was simply stupid, hateful speech with no specific targets planned.

Can of Worms Explodes

2010-06-28T17:15:00.001-04:00

Our friends at Pittsburgh Post Gazette have opened a delicious can of worms and the Rove Republican Racket should begin to sweat.

It appears U.S. Attorneys from around the country were racking up frequent flyer miles at the expense of Uncle Sam.

Even the Main Justice blog site has picked up the story.

The Post Gazette writes:

Mary Beth Buchanan spent more than half of her eight years as U.S. attorney in the Western District of Pennsylvania on the road, racking up at least 347 trips that cost taxpayers more than $450,000. Ms. Buchanan, a Republican who stepped down in November, a year after a Democrat won the White House, and other U.S. attorneys often were permitted to sign off on their own travel and then get rubber-stamp approval from the Executive Office of United States Attorneys. In March, however, the Department of Justice under the Obama administration changed those regulations after reviewing travel by all 93 U.S. attorneys. The department now requires approval for out-of-district travel from the director or deputy director of the executive office. "The previous policies and procedures were admittedly inconsistent," said department spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz. "Changes to the process were made to ensure full compliance with departmental travel policies and procedure and to strengthen controls and oversight of U.S. attorney travel."

The change of regulations is not the story. The real story is where, why, and when did these Rove Republicans travel? Was it political work? Were they justified in traveling so much or were they sightseeing at taxpayer expense?

It's time for the Congressional Oversight Committees to issue subpoenas and make these free-spenders pay.

Supreme Court Disbowels Honest Services Law Half-Way

2010-06-24T18:47:00.000-04:00

Breaking News: U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on Rove Republican Racket's strongest weapon to incarcerate Democrats: the "Dishonest" Honest Services Crime.

The LA Times hits it on the head:

[I]t is often the least sympathetic defendants who end up seeking and winning redress from the U.S. Supreme Court. In this case, Skilling challenged one of the laws used to convict him, which allows people to be prosecuted for fraud for "depriving another of the intangible right of honest services" — an ill-defined concept that has been taken to mean, in effect, the failure of politicians or corporate executives to act in the best interests of their constituents, shareholders or customers. The law, Skilling argued, was impermissibly vague and left too much discretion to prosecutors.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court agreed — up to a point — ruling that the law went too far and setting a specific limit on its application. Although the justices declined to invalidate the law, preferring to "construe" it rather than "destroy" it, they did conclude that it fails to adequately define the behavior it prohibits. Instead of overturning the law, they limited its application to cases in which the fraud involves kickbacks or bribery paid to a third party.

It would have been preferable if the court had overturned the much-overused law entirely and left it to Congress whether to rewrite it. But the decision correctly identified the flaws in the law, which was so broadly worded that any businessman or politician who deceived his company or constituents about almost anything could be snared. Fraud and corruption must be vigorously prosecuted, but this law allowed prosecutors to make criminal charges out of questionable but not necessarily illegal activities; ultimately, the law meant whatever a judge or prosecutor decided it meant. Justice Antonin Scalia was right that the law "invites abuse by headline grabbing prosecutors in pursuit of local officials, state legislators and corporate CEOs who engage in any manner of unappealing or ethically questionable conduct."

Closing the Book in Northern Mississippi

2010-06-23T02:51:00.003-04:00

With the headline, "Scruggs Investigation Over," and sub-headline, "Closing Book in Bribe Scandal," the Jackson, Mississippi Clarion Ledger declared the Rove Republican Racket's largest and most famous investigation and prosecution of some of the wealthiest Democratic boosters ever is finally over.

Dickie Scruggs, the once famous and one of the wealthiest trial attorneys in Mississippi, and his Democratic friends were cleverly set up and stupidly ate the bribery bait of a questionable state judge, who happens to be a Republican. Scruggs and friends were prosecuted and all of them went to jail.

Jim Greenlee, the former Bush-Rove appointed U.S. Attorney of the Northern District of Mississippi, prosecuted Scruggs and friends. Greenlee, who left in disgrace and scandal last January after being involved in a racial profiling case, used the power of his office to investigate, intimidate, retaliate against, and scare other prominent Democrats, even some innocent folks associated with Scruggs.

But Greenlee is gone. Gone with the winds of change.

So, finally yesterday, those left behind in Oxford saw the light: no evidence and no political support. Thus, with newly discovered courage, they closed the politically-charged investigation.

The Ledger writes:

Federal prosecutors have ended their criminal investigation into political operative P.L. Blake in the judicial bribery scandal that imprisoned former trial lawyer Dickie Scruggs, according to those close to the probe. The decision to drop the case involving Blake means the federal investigation into Scruggs and others officially has ended. Contacted about the decision, Blake's attorney, Doug Jones of Birmingham, confirmed the matter involving his client had been closed, saying prosecutors declined to prosecute. "We obviously are very pleased," he said, adding that he felt with a fair review of the evidence that prosecutors would make the right decision.

Judicial Record "Rife with Error"

2010-06-22T06:42:00.001-04:00

Although we have no sympathy for sexual predators, we also have no sympathy for judges that railroad a conviction and trample on the rights of the accused.

A decision by a Texas Court of Appeals shows how the rights of the accused were tossed aside in a case from Mineola, Texas, even though there was sufficient evidence to convict the perverts without having to engage in prosecutorial or judicial misconduct.

Luckily for us, the two sexual predators will be re-tried.

KMOO radio reports:

The 14th [Texas] Court of Appeals overturned the convictions of Patrick Kelly and Jamie Pittman on Thursday and ordered that the two men be retried. Writing the opinion for the court in Pittman's case, Justice Tracy Christopher said the trial court "permitted the State to try [Pittman] for being a criminal generally, rather than for the offense for which he was indicted." In Kelly's case, Christopher calls the record, "rife with error." The opinion accused the trial court, overseen by District Judge Jack Skeen, of adopting "ad hoc" rules, that "operated to assist the State in proving its case, while impeding [Kelly's] ability to defend himself. Christopher did note that the evidence in Kelly's case is, "legally sufficient" to support the conviction.

Lone Star Judicial Misconduct?

2010-06-21T18:42:00.000-04:00

The Rove Republican Racket likes to be tough on Democrats and others they perceived as criminals. Before George W. Bush became Idiot-in-Chief, he was Governor of Texas, a state known to execute people like flies.

Now a Rove Republican Judge in Texas is being ripped to shreds for her alleged judicial misconduct in Texas. The Associated Press reports:

The top criminal judge in Texas was left waiting Friday to find out if a disciplinary panel would recommend her removal from the state's eminent death-penalty court after charges she closed her courtroom to a death row inmate's last-minute appeal. Judge Sharon Keller declined to comment after a five-hour hearing before the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, where state investigators argued she is "not the right person" to lead the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals if she can't admit to wrongly turning away a condemned inmate's attorneys the night of his execution. The panel adjourned without a decision and offered no timetable for a ruling. Keller, a Republican elected to the court in 2006, faces five counts of judicial misconduct.

"She is the public face of criminal justice in the state of Texas," said Mike McKetta, the attorney leading the state's case against Keller. "She has violated a mandatory principal, a duty of her office, in one of the most time-sensitive and irreversible circumstances."

More Trumped-Up Charges in Michigan

2010-06-18T10:12:00.001-04:00

The Rove Republican Racket used politics and hysteria to throw political opponents in jail. Now, sadly, the Obama Administration is doing the same in Michigan.

As we reported last month, Obama's U.S. Attorney in Detroit has thrown the book at nine members of the so-called "Michigan Militia," which is made up of right-wing nutballs who appear to be weekend paintball/gun-shooting enthusiasts.

With federal prosecutors scrambling, the case has been crumbling and four members have since been released from custody. A district judge wanted to release all nine members because the evidence was weak, but the feds appealed. Five members still sit in prison awaiting the appeal court's decision.

Earlier this month, the three-panel appeals court heard the arguments. The La Crosse Tribune reported:

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen Moro Nesi told the judges that the indictment against David Stone, which charges him with conspiracy to commit sedition, includes counts of making and attempting to make illegal explosive devices. Nesi also said Stone led training sessions on how to use the weapons. "He led these occasions and he was the one on more than one occasion using the illegal explosive devices," she said, adding that Stone talked of killing people. Stone's attorney, William Swor, denied that Stone built explosive devices and said the prosecution had no evidence to back that up. He also said Stone has "no criminal or violent history of any kind."

Even though it appears none of these defendants have had a real criminal or violent history, the politics of lynching these so-called "extremists" has caused the feds to only scramble in the wrong direction. On June 2nd, the feds filed more ridiculous and trumped-up charges. The Associated Press reported:

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday filed additional weapons charges against several Midwest militia members who are accused of conspiring to wage war against the United States. The new indictment alleges possession of illegal machine guns or short-barrel rifles by the group's leader, David Stone, sons David Stone Jr. and Joshua Stone, and a fourth man, Joshua Clough.

Ticket-Fixing Illinois Judges

2010-06-17T14:49:00.002-04:00

Who says judges, prosecutors, and other law enforcement officials DON'T think they're above the law?

The Rove Republican Racket created an atmosphere of elitism during the Rove-Bush-Cheney Administration that impaired the impartiality of the U.S. Department of Justice and trickled down to local prosecutors and judges.

Both judicial and prosecutorial misconduct have risen in the past decade and today we share a story from the Land of Lincoln, the capital of the State of Illinois. The Springfield State Journal Register reports:

A pair of Sangamon County judges are suspected of fixing a traffic ticket, and the case has been turned over to the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board, which could result in discipline ranging from reprimands to removal from the bench. Associate Judge Judge Robert Hall on June 7 dismissed a Leland Grove ticket issued a month earlier to the 16-year-old daughter of Associate Judge Christopher Perrin. Police say the teen failed to heed a road-closed sign.

Hall initialed a court document indicating the state’s attorney’s office had moved for dismissal, and the docket on the circuit clerk’s website shows the ticket was dismissed for insufficient evidence. However, the docket also shows that no prosecutor was present when the case was dismissed, and State’s Attorney John Schmidt confirmed Tuesday that his office did not seek the dismissal. Schmidt said he told presiding Judge Patrick Kelley of the problem last week, as soon as a prosecutor discovered it while reviewing dockets. In a written statement, Kelley said Hall dismissed the case of his own accord after speaking with Perrin.

Morrison's Hypocrisy is 542 Times Greater

2010-06-16T22:06:00.001-04:00

Acting U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of Indiana Timothy M. Morrison, a Bush leftover, has shown his enormous political hypocrisy today.

As a Rove Republican Racket member, Morrison looked the other way when high-donating Republicans from Indiana fleeced and robbed Ohio retirees of over $200 million in an alleged Ponzi scheme. Morrison let the Republican masterminds of this scheme keep their cash and assets and even hold an Estate Sale.

Now comes news today that Morrison has used the full weight of his office to come down on a city clerk in Brownstown, Indiana who padded her checks and was overpaid $369,000 in a three and a half period.

Mind you, a crime is a crime is a crime.

However, why would Morrison so aggressively prosecute a small town city clerk who was using the extra cash to pay for the treatment of a mentally ill and drug addicted child (who has since died) but on the same hand let two nouveau-riche Republicans completely off the hook even though they allegedly SWINDLED 542 TIMES MORE MONEY than the clerk?

Well, you see, the city clerk was a Democrat.

Goodbye Dolores!

2010-06-11T23:15:00.018-04:00

Breaking News from the San Jose Mercury News:

In a stunning outcome determined only after the counting of late ballots Friday, veteran prosecutor Jeff Rosen (pictured) has succeeded in unseating his boss, District Attorney Dolores Carr — the first time in at least eight decades that a challenger has wrested the office from an incumbent. But Carr will continue to lead the office until early next year, raising the question of how she will deal with a largely mutinous staff of prosecutors in the next seven months, given that most supported Rosen.

The historic upset came after Rosen, 42, spent months relentlessly attacking Carr's ethics and judgment while offering himself as a reform-minded and ethical alternative. Carr, 56, tried to keep the focus on Rosen's lack of management experience, but voters apparently took more stock in Rosen's vow to be "a DA for the people" who would restore public trust in an office plagued by Carr's controversial missteps and questionable decision-making. "People really value high ethics and integrity in a DA," Rosen said. "The experience that really mattered was my experience as a tough, fair prosecutor."

Carr conceded Friday afternoon, about 90 minutes after elections officials released updated election returns. With 444,220 votes counted, Rosen won 224,399, or 50.5 percent; Carr had 49.4 percent. There are still an estimated 7,600 ballots left to count in the race, but Rosen is leading by 2,854 votes, a gap even Carr recognized she was unlikely to overcome.

Incumbent Rove Racket DA Losing in Silicon Valley

2010-06-09T14:52:00.001-04:00

Dolores Carr, (pictured) the witch of Silicon Valley, the Queen of the Rove Republican Racket, the soon-to-be-former District Attorney of Santa Clara County, California is losing a heated race to retain her job as the top prosecutor.

Carr alienated many when she hit the nuclear button in January and boycotted a judge who lambasted prosecutorial misconduct by one of Carr's Assistant District Attorneys.

The San Jose Mercury News writes this morning:

In a startling development, Santa Clara County's most competitive race is still being bitterly fought today, with no clear winner emerging for district attorney. Veteran prosecutor Jeff Rosen is holding a razor-thin lead over District Attorney Dolores Carr, 50.61 percent to 49.39, with all precincts reporting. However, there are still several thousand mail-in ballots still not counted. If Rosen wins, it would be the first time in at least 83 years that a challenger has wrested the office from an incumbent district attorney. Even if he only comes close, it would be extraordinary. Sitting district attorneys are usually invincible in Santa Clara County, but Rosen has built his campaign on Carr's missteps and controversial decisions.

Carr, a former judge, has been criticized for intervening on behalf of a campaign contributor's client; for failing to see the potential conflict in her husband's financial involvement with a murder victim's family, and for boycotting a judge who found that a prosecutor committed misconduct. Carr's decision not to charge anyone for the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl at a De Anza College baseball players' house party three years ago also was controversial. The issue resurfaced recently when documents in the girl's civil case against some of the players showed that Carr's office did not test all of the evidence in the criminal case.

"Shameful" Conduct in Brooklyn, New York

2010-06-08T23:53:00.000-04:00

Last month, we posted a breaking news item about alleged prosecutorial misconduct in Brooklyn that was viewed at the time as possibly freeing a murderer.

Tonight, breaking news again. The New York Times reports:

Facing questions about whether a high-ranking prosecutor’s actions during a murder investigation and trial constituted misconduct, the Brooklyn district attorney’s office agreed on Tuesday to allow a man imprisoned in that case to have his murder conviction vacated and his record cleared with the assurance that he will not be retried. The agreement means that the man, Jabbar Collins, who 15 years ago was sentenced to 34 years to life in the murder of a Brooklyn landlord, will be freed later this week — the culmination of years of his own legal efforts to bring light to prosecutorial misconduct that he said deprived him of a fair trial.

The decision also spares officials from the Brooklyn district attorney’s office — most notably the hard-charging prosecutor who oversaw the case, Michael F. Vecchione [PICTURED]— from being compelled to testify about the allegations of misconduct during a habeas corpus hearing that was set to resume this week. The deal amounted to a rare and embarrassing admission by the Brooklyn district attorney’s office — which had initially insisted that Mr. Collins be retried — that the case had been mishandled. Judge Dora L. Irizarry, of the United States District Court in Brooklyn, lamented that in agreeing to free Mr. Collins, the district attorney’s office had avoided a hearing that would have offered greater transparency into the case’s “troubling history.” “It is indeed beyond disappointing, it is really sad that the district attorney’s office persists in standing firm and saying that it did nothing wrong here,” the judge said. She described the handling of the case by the district attorney’s office as “shameful.”

Rove Racket Victim Sues Ex-U.S. Attorney in Mississippi

2010-06-07T13:41:00.000-04:00

Former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz, Jr. and his wife are suing former U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton of the Southern District of Mississippi for invasion of privacy and last month they won a major decision in the case.

Lampton became a high priest in the Rove Republican Racket after he had targeted and prosecuted Diaz not once but twice, and lost both times. Diaz, a prominent Democrat, has since sought justice against Lampton personal vendetta against him.

Coincidentally, Lampton was going to be fired by the Bush administration in 2005 but saved his scalp when he started targeting and prosecuting Democrats.

In this case, after losing both trials, Lampton foolishly handed over Diaz's confidential and personal income taxes to a state commission, where Lampton's cousin worked.

The Sun Herald reports:

Dunn Lampton’s former position as a U.S. attorney does not give him immunity from a lawsuit in which former state Supreme Court Judge Oliver Diaz Jr. and his wife, Jennifer, accuse Lampton of invading their privacy and disclosing confidential information, a federal judge has ruled. “The times that someone has been allowed to sue a U.S. attorney in the history of the United States are extremely rare, and this is one of them,” Diaz said Thursday. Dunn Lampton had asked that the lawsuit against him be thrown out because federal prosecutors have immunity from prosecution. U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan denied his request. Jordan found a criminal investigation of Diaz had ended, and Lampton was acting outside the scope of his prosecutor’s job, when the alleged misdeeds occurred.

[After losing his criminal case against Diaz,] Lampton then filed a complaint against Diaz with the state’s Judicial Performance Commission. The Diazes allege he gave the commission confidential tax records the U.S. Attorney’s Office had secured during the criminal investigation. Leslie Lampton, Dunn Lampton’s cousin, served on the commission and was involved in the investigation. When the Diazes learned the commission had their tax records, they requested the documents be returned. Commission attorney Darlene Ballard instead sent the records back to Lampton. The commission complaint against the Diazes was dismissed in December 2008.

“In the present case, (Dunn) Lampton provided the tax records to the commission after Diaz was acquitted,” Jordan wrote in his order. “The prosecution was over; the conduct was neither part of his prosecutorial function nor part of his role as an advocate.”

Shocking Choking Chicago Public Defender

2010-06-04T10:22:00.001-04:00

We end the week with a unbelievable but true story that happened yesterday in Chicago.

From the ABA Journal:

An Illinois prosecutor was hospitalized today after an assistant public defender allegedly choked him in a court hallway in Chicago following a courtroom dispute over setting a hearing date in a post-conviction murder case. Police said an unidentified assistant Cook County public defender put a 50-year-old Cook County prosecutor into a "choking headlock" this morning at the criminal courthouse at 26th and California, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. "He had his hands wrapped around his throat and was just kind of riding him down the wall," an unidentified source told the Chicago Tribune.

Another unidentified source said the public defender "just lost it and shoved him against the wall" and put his stunned opposing counsel into a headlock after the prosecutor responded unsympathetically to the public defender's complaint about a status date, the Tribune says. An unidentified bystander told the Sun-Times the public defender said he was sick of being mocked by the prosecutor. The public defender, who sources said handles appellate matters, is being held as a suspect in a misdemeanor simple battery case, the Sun-Times states. Accounts differ concerning how seriously the unidentified prosecutor might be injured; however, it appears that the prosecutor may have been taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital simply for observation.One of two Cook County sheriff's deputies who broke up the fight in the courthouse's first-floor main hallway sustained a minor back injury, the Tribune reports.

Choreographed Political Show in Orange County

2010-06-03T22:21:00.001-04:00

In March, we reported about David R. Hunt (pictured), the City Attorney from Newport Beach, California, suspected at the time of beating his wife.

Now comes word that the agent of the Rove Republican Racket, in the heart of Republicanville, is off the hook.

In a choreographed effort that only Republicans could pull off, the Orange County prosecutors declined to prosecute citing "lack of evidence" while the local Newport Beach City Council "unanimously" reinstated Mr. Hunt.

So much for his wife's bump on her head!

The Daily Pilot reports:

Two months after placing him on paid administrative leave following his arrest on suspicion of felony spousal abuse, the Newport Beach City Council voted 6 to 0 Wednesday to allow City Atty. David Hunt to immediately return to his job. In addition, the Orange County district attorney's office announced the same day that it has decided not to file charges against him. I'm obviously pleased by the decision, but I'm also thankful and grateful for the objective analysis of the council and thorough investigation by the D.A.," Hunt said by phone Wednesday afternoon. "My family and I agree with the decision that this crime was not committed and none of us wanted to see a conviction."

Mississippi Judge Gives Rove Racket the Finger

2010-06-02T07:59:00.001-04:00

The Rove Republican Racket is stronger than ever in Mississippi. And they are embittered as ever.

Last week, Judge Larry Buffington, a Democrat aligned with former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz, Jr., bluntly told the Racket and its goons to "move on," politely giving them the finger.

Readers may recall that former Justice Oliver Diaz, Jr. was a siting judge who was dragged through the Mississippi mud and brought to trial twice by the Rove Republican Racket. Diaz was acquitted twice. Sadly, he lost re-election after the Racket smeared his good name.

Last year, Buffington helped Diaz get a low-paying job that will help Diaz qualify for a state pension. He was a year short of qualifying.

The Racket went after Buffington, leaking the appointment. Buffington tried to find out who leaked the information, issuing subpoenas, and a Republican stooge filed a complaint since it was beyond Buffington's authority to do so.

At the end, Buffington was slapped on the hand and will probably be fined $100. The Jackson Clarion Ledger reports:

The Commission on Judicial Performance said Thursday it found Buffington lacked authority to command Supervisors Pete Lowery and Randy Moore to appear before him to answer questions about who leaked to the media his appointment of a former state justice as a Simpson County Youth Court public defender. "Judge Buffington admitted that he had failed to comply with the law when issuing the subpoenas, but did not care," the commission report said. The commission is recommending to the state Supreme Court that Buffington be assessed $100 court cost with the reprimand.The state's highest court has ultimate say on punishment for judges. Reached Thursday evening via phone, Buffington said of the commission's recommendation: "It's fair. It's time to conclude this and move on." In January 2009, Buffington ordered the Simpson County Board of Supervisors to hire Oliver Diaz Jr. as a Youth Court public defender at $400 a month, plus state retirement.

Raising the White Flag in California

2010-06-01T07:51:00.000-04:00

We hope all our readers had a great Memorial Day Weekend. We were at Dewey Beach, the nation's summer capital, when this news broke on Saturday.

The Rove Republican Racket raised a white flag on a story we've been following since last year.

The Associated Press reports:

Federal prosecutors said Friday they won't appeal the dismissal of criminal charges against the founders of high-tech chipmaker Broadcom, ending an embarrassing chapter for the government during which a judge blasted prosecutors for "shameful" misconduct and a lack of evidence. The government decided not to appeal the cases against Henry T. Nicholas III and Henry Samueli, U.S. attorney's spokesman Thom Mrozek said. Prosecutors also withdrew their appeal of U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney's dismissal of former Broadcom human resources director Nancy Tullos' guilty plea to obstruction of justice. The announcement wipes away the last vestiges of a massive and high-profile criminal and civil prosecution of Broadcom's top leadership on allegations of stock option backdating that fell apart under judicial scrutiny.

Six Months in Jail for Prosecutorial Sex

2010-05-28T02:16:00.004-04:00

Last November, we wrote about Carl Gabrielse (pictured), the former Holland, Michigan City Attorney who reduced a drunk driving charge of a female defendant in exchange for sex in a courthouse jury room.

A right-wing, Republican and conservative part of Michigan, some of Gabrielse's staunch supporters took offense at the time that we suggested that he could have eventually become a great Republican U.S. Attorney.

He's now a convicted felon, like many Rove Republicans should be.

Last month, disgraced Gabrielse was sentenced to six-months in jail. The Holland Sentinel reported:

Former deputy city attorney Carl Gabrielse broke more than one vow when he sexually assaulted a woman in a Holland District Court bathroom last November, an Ottawa County judge said.... “I’m sure you know your biggest crime was the violation of your oath to your wife, your oath to your profession and your oath to your employer,” Judge Calvin Bosman said at Gabrielse’s sentencing Monday. Gabrielse, 31, was sentenced to six months in jail and ordered to undergo sex therapy at his sentencing in Ottawa County Circuit Court Monday. He’ll also serve up to a year of probation.The former deputy city attorney admitted to offering a plea deal to a 21-year-old woman in exchange for sex last November. The woman reported that Gabrielse sexually assaulted her. Police wired her with a microphone and recorded several conversations in which Gabrielse attempted to make further plans for sex with the woman, according to a personal-protection order she filed.

The assaulted woman had her original drunk driving case reduced this month after cooperating with authorities. The Holland Sentinel reported:

The victim of an assault by former Holland deputy city attorney Carl Gabrielse was sentenced to nine months of probation and a $750 fine for her own drunken driving charge. The 22-year-old woman pleaded guilty to a count of driving while impaired on Wednesday in Hudsonville District Court. She was sentenced immediately. She is also required to abstain from alcohol during her probation. The woman was originally charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, but the charge was reduced to driving while impaired due to her cooperation with police in the Gabrielse investigation. She reported that Gabrielse sexually assaulted her after offering a reduced charge in exchange for sex.

Bumbling Brizzi Crashes Golf Cart

2010-05-27T01:10:00.005-04:00

Outgoing Rove Republican District Attorney of Indianapolis, Carl Brizzi,whose not so wise hand-picked successor lost in a recent Republican primary, has another scandal to deal with: crashing a golf cart.

Brizzi, who is linked to Republican Timothy S. Durham accused of swindling $200 million from Ohio retirees, has been repeatedly asked to resign by Republican officials but refuses to do so because he'll lose the pension he will receive if he stays until the end of his term late this year.

The Rove Republican Racket drove real justice off the cliff, but Brizzi drove incompetence to the top of the mountain.

Now he can't control a golf cart.

Local Indianapolis NBC affiliate reports:

Metro Police have issued results of an internal investigation involving Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi's security detail. The investigation resulted in the department suspending one of Brizzi's security officers.When Carl Brizzi goes out in public, he is often protected by off-duty IMPD detectives. That was the case in October 2008, when during a golf fundraiser for Brizzi's campaign, a golf cart driven by Brizzi crashed as he was trying to avoid a collision with a vehicle. A member of his security team also in the cart was injured. But in the police report filed by IMPD supervisor Sgt. Michael Thayer, there was no mention that Brizzi was driving the cart. An IMPD investigation launched by public safety director Frank Straub found that although Thayer later learned Brizzi was indeed behind the wheel, he never amended the report. As a result, Thayer is suspended without pay for one day and has been reassigned within the department.

New York Misconduct may Free Murderer

2010-05-26T09:56:00.002-04:00

Breaking News....In a stunning admission, state prosecutors may be forced to free a murderer in New York because of prosecutorial misconduct.

Local NBC affiliate WNBC reports:

A federal judge moved closer Tuesday to freeing a Brooklyn rabbi's convicted killer after state prosecutors admitted that they had withheld evidence during his 1995 murder trial. Federal Judge Dora Irizarry chided the Brooklyn District Attorney's office and over their objections, ordered a rare evidentiary hearing Wednesday that could free Jabbar Collins, 37, and bar prosecutors from retrying him for the rabbi's slaying. "What is troubling is that back in 2006 the DA's office didn't take that extra step," said the judge, criticizing Brooklyn prosecutors for failing to thoroughly investigate defense claims of prosecutorial misconduct years ago. Prosecutors did admit a crucial mistake: not revealing back in 1995 that a key witness against Collins briefly recanted. He went on to testify against Collins, who was sentenced to 34 years to life in prison for fatally shooting Rabbi Abraham Pollack during a 1995 robbery in Williamsburg.

Another Michigan Militia Member Released

2010-05-25T23:45:00.000-04:00

The government's case against some right-wing political nut balls continues to fall apart. Taking a page from the Rove Republican Racket, the Obama Administration is targeting political opponents, a really unfortunate trend.

Last week, we reported how three members were released.

Now a fourth member, Kristopher Sickles (pictured), has been released and comments made to the media demonstrates that the Obama prosecutors may end up looking as stupid as their Rove colleagues.

The Associated Press reports:

A fourth member of a Midwest militia accused of plotting to overthrow the government was released from jail Wednesday after prosecutors said they were confident that the strict conditions under which he was set free would ensure the public's safety. Kristopher Sickles of Sandusky, Ohio, will be electronically monitored 24 hours a day, like three other members of the Hutaree militia who were released under the same conditions Tuesday.

In a phone interview from jail on April 17, Sickles told The Associated Press that he had "never hurt anyone or taken steps to do so." He said he joined the group to learn how to protect his family. "As far as any specific plan to overthrow the government, I never heard such things," he said. "There was off-color talk, but there was no set plan to overthrow this or take over that."

Alabama Asst. DA Arrested for Extortion

2010-05-24T00:11:00.007-04:00

As the Rove Republican Racket slowly falls apart, followers of the Rove machine in Republican strongholds like Alabama are screwing up.

Last week, Assistant DA Frank Selman Teel of Alabama (pictured) allegedly tried to shake down millions of dollars from a defendant in a civil matter who could have face capital murder charges in a criminal case.

The defendant was involved in a 1995 explosion that killed two men.

A local NBC affiliate from Montgomery reported:

[Alabama] Attorney General Troy King and the Alabama Bureau of Investigation announced Thursday the arrests of an assistant district attorney in Coosa County, Frank Selman Teel, and a Gadsden attorney, Frank Wayne Bailey, for felony charges of extortion, bribery and ethics violations. The two are accused of using the threat of indictment to force the settlement of a civil lawsuit for millions of dollars, and alternatively, offering to try to keep the man from being charged if he did pay the money. Agents of the Attorney General's Office and the ABI arrested the two men late Wednesday night after they accepted a check for $1 million. This morning they were being held in the Etowah County Jail, with bond totaling $10,000 for each defendant.Teel, 59, of Sylacauga, is an assistant district attorney in Coosa County who also practices private law in Rockford. Teel and Bailey, 58, were handling a civil lawsuit against a man who could face capital murder charges. Warrants were issued detailing charges in Etowah County District Court against the defendants.

This is the video report from the same NBC TV station.

California's Conflicting Carr

2010-05-21T01:12:00.026-04:00

The case against the Rove Republican Racket District Attorney of Santa Clara County, California, Dolores Carr (pictured)is gaining momentum. As readers may recall, Carr pushed the nuclear button in legal circles and spearheaded the boycott of a sitting judge after the judge tossed out a case for gross prosecutorial misconduct.

Carr now faces a well-financed competitor who currently serves as a Deputy Prosecutor in her office.

The race has heated up and conflicts and controversy are knocking Carr down.

The San Jose Mercury News reports:

Almost from the start of her administration, Carr has been controversial. Earlier this year, she alienated many in the legal community when she ordered her staff to stop bringing criminal cases before Superior Court Judge Andrea Bryan. Two weeks prior, the judge had angered prosecutors by dismissing a sex molestation case after finding that a prosecutor committed misconduct, including giving false testimony. Some legal experts said the extremely rare blanket boycott could have a chilling effect on judicial oversight of overzealous prosecution.

Carr has apologized repeatedly for her misjudgment regarding her husband's involvement in a high-profile murder case. Carr's husband, former San Jose police Lt. John Carr, was paid $14,000 by an attorney for the slain victim's family, who had filed a separate lawsuit against the bank where he was shot. With that payment, the district attorney in effect was receiving income from an advocate for the victim's family, even as she would ultimately decide whether to seek the death penalty in the criminal case. The case eventually was turned over to the state attorney general to prosecute because of the potential conflict of interest. The money was returned and Carr said her husband would confine his work as a consultant to outside the county. But legal experts said she should have known from the outset that was the only ethical choice.

Morrison's "Mere Pittance"

2010-05-20T00:26:00.000-04:00

We have repeatedly blogged about embattled Acting U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of Indiana Timothy M. Morrison who let his corrupt Republican friends off the hook while sinking Ohio retirees of $200 million in a scheme involving a company called Fair Finance.

On Monday, hundreds of investors (pictured) showed up to a creditors meeting to only hear the worse.

The Rove Republican Racket let this happen and let the masterminds of this swindle walk free.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports:

About 850 people showed up for the first creditors meeting in the bankruptcy case of Fair Finance on Monday, creating the need for two separate programs to address the crowds. The size of the group of mostly older investors surprised attorney Brian Bash, the court-appointed trustee in the bankruptcy case. Bash had reserved the ballroom at the Akron City Centre Hotel, which seats 250 people. Bash said the case may not be resolved for a few years, which drew sighs from the crowd.

Bash said he has recovered about $270,000 from Fair's cash and checking accounts.''Yeah, that's a mere pittance'' of the $200 million in assets, he said. Ultimately, there's only about $67,000 in accounts receivable because there are other loans and accounts involved, he said. Bash told the audiences he does not have access to information for the parent and affiliate companies of Fair Finance and related company Fair Holdings and said it is apparent that a large number of loans or investments from certificate holders were used to give out loans without collecting back from those other companies.

Bash said he has sued to try to include all other companies, including Fair Holdings and an Indianapolis-based company called DC Investments (DCI). Court records have shown that more than 5,300 people and organizations, including churches, bought investment certificates totaling about $200 million from the small investment and loan company founded decades ago in Akron. The Fair family sold the company to Tim Durham and Jim Cochran, two Indiana-based businessmen, in 2002. Most of the certificate holders are in the Greater Akron area.

Michigan Militia Case Collapsing

2010-05-19T01:02:00.002-04:00

The reality that federal prosecutors do not have a solid case against the so-called Michigan Militia is strongly emerging. Yesterday, three of the nine suspects (pictured) who were tossed in jail because of their outrageous political views were released from prison.

Taking a page from the Rove Republican Racket, Obama's U.S. Attorney in Michigan went after some politically incorrect, right-wing nut balls who espouse some hateful and paranoid free speech.

As we reported earlier this month, the U.S. Attorneys involved in the case against the Michigan Militia were scrambling after a judge found no solid evidence against the suspects. She ordered the suspects released. At the last minute, the U.S. Attorney's Office appealed the decision and was granted a stay.

The Associated Press reported yesterday afternoon:

Three of nine members of a Midwestern militia who are accused of conspiring to overthrow the government likely will be released from jail Tuesday until trial, a defense attorney said. Prosecutors notified attorneys for Tina Stone, David Stone Jr., and Jacob Ward that they intended to withdraw their opposition to a judge's order releasing the three, lawyer Michael Rataj said "I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. They want to let her out," said Rataj, who represents Tina Stone. "Why they approached me and lawyers for two other defendants, I don't know." The three were to appear Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Detroit, said Rod Hansen, a spokesman for the court.

Cleaning Up New Orleans

2010-05-18T12:16:00.000-04:00

We're not talking about the aftermath of Katrina or the BP oil spill. We're talking about the corrupt New Orleans Police Department that has been under fire for over a decade.

The Rove Republican Racket did nothing to the detriment of minorities and low-income neighborhoods. Just look at the photo of New Orleans cops roughing up a housing activist.

The Rove-Bush-Cheney Administration looked the other way and let the abuses continue, especially after the left over mess of Katrina.

Now U.S. Attorney general Eric Holder, the Obama Administration and the local Mayor have taken charge. NPR reports:

Federal prosecutors announced Monday that they are reviewing the long-troubled New Orleans Police Department.The move comes after Mayor Mitch Landrieu asked the Justice Department to intervene earlier this month, saying the city's police force needed nothing less than a complete transformation. Assistant U.S. Attorney General Tom Perez said the investigation will include lawyers and nonlawyers with broad experience in police issues.The Justice Department's civil rights unit will investigate whether the police engaged in a pattern and practice of discrimination.

"The investigation will examine allegations of excessive force, unconstitutional searches and seizures, racial profiling, failures to provide adequate police services to particular neighborhoods, and related misconduct," Perez said in a letter to Landrieu that was released Monday.

The arrangements have prompted new training requirements and rules that govern when officers can use firearms. The fresh oversight comes as prosecutors continue to explore the shooting deaths of unarmed people on a New Orleans bridge in 2005, shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck the city. Four officers have pleaded guilty this year in connection with the incident.

$200 Million Up in Smoke

2010-05-17T11:13:00.001-04:00

The failure of Acting U.S. Attorney of Southern District of Indiana Timothy M. Morrison to hold and seize the assets of suspected and alleged financial scheme operator Timothy S. Durham last November will go down as the dumbest "help my friend" move by the Rove Republican Racket ever.

Durham, once one of the top donors to the Republican Party and Governor of Indiana, built a fleet of luxury cars and million-dollar mansions on the back of Ohio retirees who gave millions to Durham and his Indianapolis cronies through his investment firm Fair Finance, based near Akron, Ohio.

Tragically, now auditors have confirmed: $200 million has gone up in smoke in personal loans to Durham, James Cochran, who was arrested for allegedly beating up his wife, and others involved in this scheme.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports last Friday:

The investigation into Fair Finance Co. has found assets of $20.9 million and liabilities of more than $220.3 million, according to bankruptcy court documents filed Thursday. More than 5,300 people and organizations that bought uninsured investment certificates from the Akron loan company are owed nearly $218.5 million of the $220.3 million. While the documents list assets of $20.9 million, other assets are probably out there and listed as ''unknown,'' Fair Finance's court-appointed trustee, Brian Bash, said Thursday. The largest identified asset -valued at more than $17.8 million- was a fully owned subsidiary of Fair Finance called Fair Facility I LLC. (Fair Facility was created to purchase receivables from Fair Finance.) The ''unknown'' assets include more than $200 million in so-called related party loans Fair Finance made to businesses owned or controlled by Fair Finance's owners, Timothy Durham and James Cochran, to the two individuals and others as well, the documents show.

Falsifying Feds

2010-05-13T18:41:00.001-04:00

The case against the federal prosecutors who engaged in prosecutorial misconduct in the wrongful prosecution of former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens (pictured) took a escalating step up against the feds.

As you may recall, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who was "horrified" by the misconduct, vacated the conviction and strongly denounced the withholding of evidence from Steven's attorneys by federal prosecutors.

The Rove Republican Racket took a severe beating and today it got uglier.

Main Justice reports today:

A special prosecutor sorting through the wreckage of the case against former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens is investigating whether Justice Department lawyers pressured an FBI agent to falsify a summary of his notes from an interview with a government witness, according to people briefed on the matter.The prosecutor, Henry Schuelke III, is examining a discrepancy, which has not been previously disclosed, in two sets of an FBI agent’s notes from an interview with Robert “Rocky” Williams, who helped with renovations to the Alaska Republican’s home, the people said. Schuelke is said to have found differences between the agent’s handwritten notes of the interview and a typewritten summary of the same notes, known in the FBI as a Form 302. Schuelke has focused on whether two Assistant U.S. Attorneys in Alaska, Joseph Bottini and James Goeke, pressed the agent to change Williams’ statements in order to bolster the government’s case, according to those knowledgeable about the inquiry.

Rove Protege Faces Primary Challenger in Arkansas

2010-05-12T16:52:00.001-04:00

Rove Republican Racket's anointed chosen son, Tim Griffin, Karl Rove's former hatchet man who looked for dirt on political opponents and discouraged minorities from voting during the Rove-Bush-Cheney Administration, was once viewed as a shoe in for the race for the Republican nomination of the Second Congressional District in Arkansas.

Karl Rove fired the local U.S. Attorney in Little Rock in 2006 to make way for young Griffin but he was never confirmed by the U.S. Senate and resigned months into his new assignment.

However, in his race to be a congressman, Griffin now faces some local grown, down to earth competition, Scott Wallace (pictured). Even though Griffin has tried to cut his ties with Rove, voters and disgruntled Republicans aren't buying it.

The Arkansas Times opines:

Wallace has the support of a few prominent Arkansas Republicans, including Mike Huckabee, Gay White and John Paul Hammerschmidt, and his own insistence that he's more of an Arkansan than Griffin, whom he calls a Washington insider. It seems hardly a full quiver, but he may not need many arrows. “You have a choice between a Washington, D.C., insider and a hometown businessman who's created hundreds of jobs for Arkansans and been serving his community for a quarter of a century,” Wallace says. “He is the hand-picked establishment candidate, but we've done two different polls and we're leading in both.” Wallace also has a better chance to defeat the Democratic nominee in November, he says. “We don't have the D.C. baggage my opponent has. We won't have to deal with the issues the national Democratic Party is going to raise against him.”

GOP Shaken Up after Sexual Bondage Expenditure

2010-05-11T09:05:00.014-04:00

A story that has been in the news has been the fallout by top Republican donors against the lavish spending of the Republican National Committee.

The Rove Republican Racket perfected the ability to engage in wasteful spending. So much for "fiscal responsibility" during the Rove-Bush-Cheney years.

The final straw broke in March when reports came out about a top RNC consultant who bought drinks and appetizers at a lesbian-theme bondage club had submitted the expenditures to the RNC. So much for the Republicans' "traditional family values" so hyped during the Rove-Bush-Cheney years.

The Los Angeles Times reported this on Sunday:

The Republican National Committee's ouster Friday of two top finance officials marks an attempt to rebound from a string of reports on lavish spending, including a $1,946.25 expenditure at a lesbian-theme bondage club in Los Angeles. RNC Chief of Staff Michael Leavitt announced the reorganization of the finance department late Friday in an e-mail to committee members. RNC Chairman Michael Steele asked for resignations from finance director Rob Bickhart and his deputy, Debbie LeHardy, "to improve on our strong fundraising numbers" and to "help us to provide the necessary resources to defeat Democrats across the country," the e-mail said.

Looks like Steele is "cracking the whip" and playing "dominatrix" over the situation!

Federal Prosecutors are "Sore Losers"

2010-05-10T20:05:00.003-04:00

Some members of the Obama DOJ team are acting like the Rove Republican Racket and have now begun to target right-wing fringe groups because of the hate-speech and anti-government views these groups espouse. Freedom of speech, no matter how politically deplorable, is not a crime.

As we reported last week, the U.S. Attorneys involved in the case against the Michigan Militia were scrambling after a judge found no solid evidence against the suspects. She ordered the suspects released.

At the last minute, the U.S. Attorney's Office appealed the decision and was granted a stay. The nine militia members are still being held in custody.

The Detroit Free Press reports:

Prosecutors immediately asked for -- and got -- a stay until they could get permission to appeal, which happened Wednesday. But [the judge] dissolved the stay late Wednesday, saying the government had failed to change her mind. The defendants were on the verge of being released Thursday morning when prosecutors informed defense lawyers that they had obtained a temporary stay from the Court of Appeals. Defense attorney Mark Satawa, who represents suspect Michael Meeks, said he still expects to prevail."It's unfortunate that the government is such sore losers," Satawa said. "They're only delaying the inevitable."

U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts in Detroit had thoroughly reviewed the evidence against the members and concluded they were neither a danger to the community nor a flight risk and could be freed with more than two dozen bond restrictions, including house arrest, electronic monitoring and curfews.Among other things, federal prosecutors and an FBI agent who was called to testify last week during detention hearings, "could not provide any differentiation between the conduct" of the nine indicted Hutaree members and the 25 unindicted members.

Z Upset in Michigan City, Indiana

2010-05-07T21:54:00.004-04:00

Last month, on Tax Day, we wrote about a nasty Democratic primary fight for prosecutor in LaPorte County, Indiana that included racial mudslinging.

The campaign of Bob "Z" Szilagyi (pictured) had taken a page from the Karl Rove political playbook: tar and feather your political opponents.

And this past Tuesday, there was an unexpected upset caused by a mere 400 votes.

The Herald Argus reports:

Pulling off an upset in Tuesday’s primary election, challenger Bob Szilagyi edged out incumbent La Porte County Prosecutor Rob Beckman to win the Democratic nomination.With his victory, Szilagyi beat the three-term incumbent who was first elected in 1998. The race was one of the more controversial county-wide contests. During the campaign, Szilagyi worked to define his opponent as too hot-tempered to be prosecutor. He cited an instance where Beckman went on a profanity-laced tirade against a Michigan City police officer and another in which Beckman used racially charged language during a 2003 court case.

Who said smears and mudslinging don't work? Ask Karl, or better yet, contact Z.

Won't Let it Die in California

2010-05-06T04:43:00.005-04:00

The Rove Republican Racket won't let it die.

The charges against executives of Broadcom were tossed out by a federal judge in December. As we reported then, federal prosecutors had leaked information to the media, which led to the stunning acquittal of the charges against Henry Samueli, the co-founder of Broadcom. A few day later, charges against other Broadcom executives were dropped due to a "shameful" campaign by federal prosecutors to intimidate witnesses and obtain unjustified convictions.

The federal prosecutors were slammed hard, but yet the Rove Republicans won't let it die.

City News Service reports this week:

Federal prosecutors have asked to extend the deadline for a decision whether to appeal the dismissal of stock-option backdating cases against Broadcom co-founders Henry Nicholas III and Henry Samueli, a U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman said today. The prosecutors filed their motion Friday to move the deadline for filing an appeal from May 10 to about June 10, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Mrozek said he did not know if the motion was granted.

We think this is an excellent example of federal prosecutors who envy the successful. What a waste of taxpayer's money.

Unwise Wyser Loses

2010-05-05T16:27:00.004-04:00

Last week, after posting a story about embattled Marion County District Attorney candidate David Wyser, (pictured upside down like his political campaign) an anonymous critic labeled our post as "Blah blah blah blah" in the comments section.

Wyser, a Rove Republican Racket follower who at one time was a sure thing and only candidate in the Republican primary, was whooped at the election polls yesterday.

Wyser's opponent, Lee Buckingham, entered the race near the qualification deadline. In our previous post, we mentioned how Wyser had threatened Buckingham the day before the deadline to drop out of the race.

Wyser wanted it all and now he has rocks.

The Indianapolis Star reports:

David Wyser, chief trial deputy in the Marion County office, lost to Lee Buckingham, a man who joined the Hamilton County prosecutor's race with only a few months to go and no campaign finances to compete with Wyser's six-figure war chest. Buckingham took about 54 percent of the vote in one of the area's most hotly contested Republican primaries and is in line to win the office in heavily Republican Hamilton County. The race was close until the final votes were tallied. Wyser blamed news coverage for his defeat. He was unopposed until media reports scrutinized a campaign contribution he received -- and eventually returned -- from the father of a convicted murderer whose sentence he modified. He lost some support and acquired an opponent after those reports.

Wyser now sounds like he's saying "blah, blah, blah, blah."

Wyser lost because he was a political idiot who tried to intimidate his opponents. Wyser lost because like a political idiot he took pay to play money from "Daddy" of a murderer.Wyser lost because he is what is wrong with the Rove Republican Racket: it's everyone's fault but mine.

Money can't buy you love, David.

Federal Prosecutors "Scrambling" in Michigan Militia Case

2010-05-04T18:44:00.001-04:00

Breaking News... The Rove Republican Racket perfected the arrest of people for the crime of being politically incorrect, especially if you were a Democrat.

Now right-wing nuts are being targeted.

Although their "extremist" free speech is full of hate, racism, and right-wing paranoia, the Michigan Militia appears to have been railroaded as well. And guess who's in the center of this mess? The FBI.

The Associated Press reports as of an hour or so ago:

DETROIT — Federal authorities touted the arrests of nine members of a Michigan militia as a pre-emptive strike against homegrown terrorists, declaring at an initial court hearing that the suspects with "dark hearts and evil intent" wanted to go to war against the government. Five weeks later, prosecutors are scrambling to regroup after a judge questioned the strength of their evidence by ordering the so-called rebels released until trial and saying they had a right to "engage in hate-filled, venomous speech." "The government is falling short," said David Griem, a former federal prosecutor who's not involved in the case. "The message that's been sent to the community is there are problems with this case." During two days of hearings last week before U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts, prosecutors tried to show how dangerous they perceived the Hutaree militia to be by playing secretly recorded conversations. Those talks, however, revealed no specific plot. Under questioning by defense attorneys, the FBI's lead agent on the case seemed unprepared. Roberts ordered the nine released from jail under very strict conditions, including electronic tethers and curfews.

Morrison's Tax Evader

2010-05-03T12:41:00.004-04:00

Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana Timothy M. Morrison will be remembered for eternity for helping his Republican friend, Timothy S. Durham (pictured), keep his cash and assets while Ohio retirees lost millions in an alleged Ponzi scheme spearheaded by Durham and friends.

One retiree Ohio even died in December from the stress of losing her life savings. Durham was a major contributor to Republican causes in Indiana.

Durham, who allegedly fled to California, now owes a big property tax bill.

A local Indianapolis television station reports:

Tim Durham lives in a $3.5 million waterfront mansion and collects classic cars, but the embattled Indianapolis businessman is nearly $50,000 behind on his property taxes, records show.According to records from the Hamilton County Treasurer's Office, Durham hasn't paid property taxes for the past 18 months, 6News' Jack Rinehart reported.The May tax bill on his Geist Reservoir estate is $21,980, added to delinquent taxes of $47,641, makes the total due May 10 $69,621.

Former FBI Agent Goes Down

2010-04-30T11:21:00.002-04:00

Because of the Rove Republican Racket's domination of the U.S. Department of Justice, many U.S. Attorneys targeted political opponents. Sadly, many political opponents were tossed in jail because of making false or inaccurate statements to investigators. Many investigators were agents of the FBI.

Can we really trust these federal agents?

We have reported about the dishonest DEA agent from Boston to the dishonest FBI agent in Orange County, California.

This week comes the case of the worst former FBI agent ever.

From the Los Angeles Times:

A former FBI agent convicted of planning an invasion-style robbery of what he thought was a drug stash house containing a half-million dollars in cash was sentenced to 30 years in prison Monday by a federal judge in Santa Ana. Ex-agent Vo Duong Tran, 42, and his accomplice, Yu Sung Park, 36, were arrested in possession of bulletproof vests, a machine gun, other weapons, silencers and hundreds of rounds of ammunition that they intended to use to rob the supposed drug house in Fountain Valley, a jury found. In reality, the "stash house" did not exist. It was created as part of a law enforcement sting operation. During the probe, Tran and Park were secretly recorded planning the details of the would-be caper with an undercover federal agent and an informant. Tran and Park told the agent and informant to use one of the drug dealers inside the house as a "human shield" to clear the location and to shoot anyone who did not follow instructions.

Whale, It's Over

2010-04-29T22:56:00.004-04:00

The once to be, ego driven, high publicity prosecution by U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte, Jr. against the Sushi restaurant that served sei whale in Southern California has finally ended.

With a large ego in play, Birotte was hoping to obtain national prominence and celebrity status with the case, but his ego was harpooned when the Hump Restaurant quickly admitted its guilt publicly and closed its doors last month.

As we said in March, all that was left in this silly media show was a press release. Today was the day. Local Los Angeles ABC affiliate reports:

Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles are asking a judge to dismiss criminal charges against a restaurant accused of serving whale meat to its customers. The U.S. Attorney's office is asking that charges be dismissed against Typhoon Restaurant Inc., the parent company of The Hump, and one of the now-closed eatery's former chefs, Kiyoshiro Yamamoto.

Rove Republican Pleads Guilty

2010-04-28T07:52:00.005-04:00

As the walls come tumbling down on the eight years of the political control of the U.S. Department of Justice, the Rove Republican Racket is getting a taste of justice.

Meet Scott Bloch (pictured), a top lieutenant in the Rove-Bush-Cheney Administration who spearheaded the U.S. Department of Justice's Task Force for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. According to the Main Justice blog, Bloch later headed U.S. Office of Special Counsel, an agency that protects federal government whistleblowers and gives advice related to the Hatch Act, which regulates the political activities of federal employees.

Yesterday, Bloch plead guilty to charges of obstructing justice. The Washington Post reports:

The government's former top protector of whistle-blowers has pleaded guilty to withholding information from Congress about his decision to have several government computers wiped clean of information. Scott Bloch, the ex-head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel during much of the administration of President George W. Bush, faces a maximum yearlong prison term following Tuesday's plea before a federal magistrate. Bloch came under heavy criticism shortly after taking office in 2004, in part for closing hundreds of whistle-blower cases allegedly without investigating them. In 2008, the FBI raided Bloch's office and home amid allegations that he destroyed evidence and potentially lied to Congress during an Office of Personnel Management investigation of his conduct.

Republican Threats Confirmed in Indianapolis

2010-04-27T10:07:00.018-04:00

A wonderful political news report from Indiana: the local Rove Republican Racket is imploding and the arrogant prosecutor to be, one David Wyser (pictured, with eye modification to reflect his intelligence) has proven he is not one bit wiser than his predecessor.

The campaign to replace Carl Brizzi, the embattled District Attorney of Hamilton County in Indianapolis, Indiana, has caused a huge Republican primary fight.

And the accusations of hardball threats by the once front-runner is gaining steam. Wyser even acknowledges threatening an opponent. What an IDIOT! But then again, what else would you expect from the followers of Karl Rove?

The Indianapolis FOX Affiliate reports:

The race to become the Republican nominee for prosecutor in Hamilton County has been marked with trash talk and warnings of payback according to opponents of the former frontrunner. Marion County Chief Trial Deputy David Wyser was the odds-on favorite. He had approximately $150,000 in campaign donations and the endorsement of nearly every important Republican in the county just north of Indianapolis until scandals about his boss, Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi, broke in late January. Wyser's involvement in the controversial sentence modification of a convicted killer, along with campaign donations he accepted from the woman's millionaire father, encouraged opponents to consider challenging him."I had concerns, and a number of people had concerns," said Lee Buckingham, a veteran Deputy Prosecutor who eventually entered the race.

"The day after Fox59 News' story broke about the Willoughby case, we thought he had to be stopped," said Westfield attorney Tim Stoesz. Stoesz considered whether his brother Steven should enter the race. The Stoesz candidacy never got off the ground, in part, due to pressure brought by a Wyser supporter and indications of payback. "It was a specific statement as to what would happen to Steven as a criminal defense attorney in Hamilton County if Mr. Wyser was elected," said Stoesz. "Negative thing."

Wyser told Fox 59 News he never authorized that supporter to make that threat toward the Stoesz campaign. Buckingham told Fox59 News that the day before the deadline to drop out of the race and leave Wyser uncontested, Wyser called him with a warning, "that if I remained as his opponent I would be gone. Anyone from my office who decided to run -- they better take their best shot because if he wins, they'd be gone because they're political opponents."

Wyser told Fox59 News that he told Buckingham his days at the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office would be numbered because "that is the way it works" and "why would he want to work for me?" The charges of hardball politics come at a time when Wyser is under increasing scrutiny for his role as Carl Brizzi's second-in-command. Wyser admitted to Hamilton County Republicans that he faces a disciplinary complaint for his role in approving the sentence modification of Paula Willoughby. Willhoughby was convicted of killing her husband after her father, Harrison Epperly, donated $2,500 to Wyser's campaign in May of 2009. Willoughby was released later that summer. Wyser returned the money in January of this year.

Reforming Rove's Torture Chambers

2010-04-26T19:47:00.001-04:00

The Rove Republican Racket stronghold of the U.S. Department of Justice became notorious because of the political firings of nine U.S. Attorneys in 2006.

Among those to be fired by Karl Rove and company was former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias of New Mexico. Last August, The New York Times wrote that there was strong evidence of a DOJ firing scandal involving Karl Rove, and the "most disturbing revelations" were in regards to the firing of Iglesias.

In September, Iglesias called for major reforms in the U.S. Department of Justice including appointing U.S. Attorneys for six year terms.

Now, Iglesias has been called to duty: investigating the insidious torture of a Canadian citizen at Guantanamo. The Miami Herald Reports:

For hearings on whether U.S. forces tortured confessions out of a Canadian teenager accused of killing an American soldier in Afghanistan, the Pentagon Monday unveiled a new face to advocate military commissions: Fired former Bush-era prosecutor David Iglesias, a key figure in the so-called Attorney-Gate scandal. He was mobilized last year to the war court as a U.S. Navy Reserves captain. Iglesias, a Panama-born Republican, served as George W. Bush's U.S. attorney for New Mexico during the Justice Departments of both John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales. Monday, Capt. Iglesias was part of a Pentagon prosecution team going to Guantánamo for up to two weeks of hearings on which, if any, of Omar Khadr's confessions cannot be presented to a jury at his summertime trial.

Utterly Looted and Bled Dry

2010-04-22T01:55:00.001-04:00

The political friends of embattled Acting U.S. Attorney Timothy M. Morrison of the Southern District of Indiana are accused of looting Fair Finance Company, according to a bankruptcy trustee who filed suit to recover some of the funds last week.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports:

Fair Finance's court-appointed trustee, Brian Bash .... believes Fair Finance was bled dry by large insider loans. ''At the time of the purchase in 2002, the debtor [Fair Finance] was a strong, viable, reputable company. By 2009, the debtor had been utterly looted through insider loans, resulting in the shutdown of the debtor's business after the FBI raid,'' the lawsuit says.

Fair Finance was run by Timothy S. Durham, a top Rove Republican donor in Indianapolis. Morrison allowed Durham to keep his cash and assets last November after an FBI raid.

Morrison also allowed Durham's partner, James Cochran,to hold an estate sale. Cochran was recently charged with domestic violence against his wife.

Ohio residents were duped into buying investment certificates in the alleged Ponzi scheme and have lost over $200 million in the alleged fraud.

Senior Federal Attorney Convicted of Bribery

2010-04-21T11:26:00.001-04:00

In recent weeks, we have written about lying judges, disbarred prosecutors, disgraced FBI agents and other scoundrels of the Rove Republican Racket.

But yesterday, a jury in Southern California convicted one of the most despicable dregs of humanity, a Senior Attorney with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, for taking bribes and preying on immigrants.

The San Bernardino Sun reports:

A federal jury today convicted a ... senior attorney with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of taking bribes from immigrants seeking documentation to remain in the U.S. Constantine Peter Kallas, 39, who joined the federal agency in June 1998 as its assistant chief counsel, faces a maximum of 256 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on Aug. 9. Kallas has been in a federal jail since August 2008. He was arrested in June that year during a federal sting operation at San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino near Highland, where he took a $20,000 bribe from an immigrant in exchange for helping the immigrant obtain residency and get a deportation order quashed, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Raymond O. Aghaian. In November 2009, Kallas's 41-year-old wife and co-conspirator, Maria Kallas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, defrauding the U.S. and bribery. She is scheduled for sentencing in June and faces at least 25 years in federal prison, Aghaian said.

Don't Leave Home Without It

2010-04-20T23:58:00.013-04:00

Breaking News from Florida

Members of the Rove Republican Racket in the Sunshine State aren't sleeping well tonight, especially Marco Rubio (pictured), the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.

The Miami Herald reports tonight:

Federal law enforcement agencies have launched a criminal investigation into the use of American Express cards issued by the Republican Party of Florida to elected officials and staff, according to sources familiar with the probe. The U.S. attorney's office in Tallahassee, the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service are all involved in the probe, which grew out of the state investigation into former House Speaker Ray Sansom. He was indicted on criminal charges that he stashed $6 million in the state budget for an airplane hangar for a friend and campaign donor.

In the federal case, Sansom and others could be charged with making false statements on their tax returns and tax evasion. Coming in a high-stakes election year, the investigation could expose the inner-workings of a party that has dominated state government and raked in millions of dollars from lobbyists and special interests.

Meanwhile, in a separate inquiry, the IRS is also looking at the tax records of at least three former party credit card holders -- former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, ex-state party chairman Jim Greer and ex-party executive director Delmar Johnson -- to determine whether they misused their party credit cards for personal expenses, according to a source familiar with the preliminary inquiry.The IRS opened the so-called ``primary'' investigation into Rubio, the leading Republican candidate for Florida's open U.S. Senate seat, and the two state GOP ex-officials to see if there's enough evidence to support a full-fledged criminal probe, according to a source familiar with the IRS examination.

Another Louisiana Prosecutor Permanently Disbarred

2010-04-19T00:01:00.003-04:00

Last February, we wrote about an arrogant former New Orleans prosecutor who had his law license stripped from him and he was permanently disbarred from practicing law.

Well, it's deja vu all over again! The New Orleans Times Picayune reported Saturday:

A former Jefferson Parish prosecutor who once ran for a state judgeship has been permanently barred from practicing law in Louisiana by the state Supreme Court. Richard Bates "knowingly and intentionally violated duties owed to his clients, the public, the legal system and the legal profession," the court wrote in 28-page decision released Friday.

Bates, whose wrongful actions are not tied to his four years as a prosecutor in the late 1990s, could not be reached for comment. Justices suspended him from practicing law two years ago and took his law license this week. The court spelled out 30 cases of professional misconduct and noted that Bates failed to account for or refund to his clients $51,525 in unearned fees. "He has abandoned his law practice and appears to have no intention of ever providing refunds of the unearned fees," the court wrote.

Karl Rove is "No Conservative"

2010-04-16T01:58:00.005-04:00

Two political veterans from the Reagan Era, wrote a bold op-ed in last Sunday's Washington Post calling Karl Rove "no conservative."

In their blistering attack of Karl Rove's recently published memoir, Craig Shirley and Donald Devine rip Karl Rove for what they see as a betrayal: the irresponsible fiscal policies, big government programs, and out-of-this-world spending of the Bush-Cheney Administration.

These former Reagan Administration advisors write:

Rove [in his book] concedes that Bush "went deep into Democratic territory to show how government can use the tools of capitalism to soften its rough justice" -- an admission that neglects state, local and individual alternatives to creating a just society, and that confirms our worst fears about hyphenated conservatism.

The so-called "hyphenated conservatism" also led to a new trend under Rove-Bush-Cheney: the rise of criminal prosecutions of political opponents and incarceration of prominent Democrats.

Rove and friends took over the U.S. Department of Justice to make it an arm of the Republican Party. Many of the 93 U.S. Attorneys from coast to coast went after Democrats for political reasons.

This was unheard of in the era of Ronald Reagan.

Racial Mudslinging in Michigan City, Indiana

2010-04-15T13:24:00.002-04:00

The Rove Republican Racket does not own or have exclusivity to destroying the reputations of Democrats.

In some cases, a few Democrats have taken a page from the playbook of Karl Rove and the Republicans.

In LaPorte County, Indiana, a nasty, Democratic primary fight for county prosecutor has led to some heated mudslinging. Rob Beckman (pictured) has been the local prosecutor since 1998 and now words he used in the courtroom are being thrown back at him.

The Herald Angus reports:

Prosecuting Attorney Rob Beckman attempted to appeal to the racial bias of a white jury when he called a black defense witness a “big, black buck” during a 2003 murder trial, La Porte prosecuting attorney hopeful Bob Szilagyi claims. “It’s completely inappropriate, just another instance of his temperament not being right for the job,” said Szilagyi, who is challenging Beckman in the May 4 Democratic primary. He issued a press release on the comment this week.

Beckman countered that this was merely another attempt at “character assassination” from his opponent. “I would assume if such a statement were made, there would have been justification for it, some background to it,” Beckman said. “If it was truly inflammatory, the man’s conviction would have been reversed on appeal.”

According to court transcripts, Beckman made the statement during closing arguments for the October 2003 trial of James N. Smith, a Michigan City man who was convicted of shooting and killing his neighbor Lenny Bradley. The comment pertained to a man, referred to only as Howell in the transcript, who the defense used as a witness supporting Smith’s claim that another man shot Bradley. Smith was originally sentenced to 80 years in prison for the crime, but the sentence was reduced to 73 years on appeal.

Corruption on Cape Cod?

2010-04-14T01:46:00.002-04:00

A two-term Rove Republican District Attorney in Massachusetts is allegedly being investigated for being involved with an illegal sports betting corruption ring that has hit top political circles in Boston.

District Attorney Michael D. O'Keefe (pictured) denies any wrongdoing and released a statement yesterday countering the media leak.

The Boston Globe reports:

A federal grand jury is investigating allegations of public corruption against Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael D. O’Keefe that resulted from a wiretap of an alleged bookmaking operation more than a year ago, according to several people with direct knowledge of the investigation. Authorities are looking into whether O’Keefe protected alleged bookmakers operating on the Cape and gave favorable treatment to the grandson of one of them in an unrelated criminal case, said the sources, who insisted on anonymity because grand jury investigations are confidential. The full scope of the grand jury investigation is unclear, and there is no indication it will result in criminal charges against O’Keefe or anyone else. A number of witnesses have testified before the panel in Worcester in recent months, including a state judge on the Cape.

Judicial Misconduct: 949 Phone Calls with Prosecutor

2010-04-13T06:50:00.002-04:00

Who says judges and prosecutors don't conspire together or have ex parte communications? The Rove Republican Racket perfected that practice.

Now, a local judge (pictured) in Broward County Florida is in hot water for describing her relationship with a prosecutor as less than close.

The Sun Sentinel reports:

[Judge Ana] Gardiner is accused of failing to disclose that she had a "close personal relationship" with then-prosecutor Howard Scheinberg while he was prosecuting a death penalty case that she was presiding over. She is also accused of displaying a "lack of candor" when the [Judicial Qualifications Commission] questioned her about their relationship in 2008. Gardiner said they had a social relationship. Phone records later obtained by the commission showed the two exchanged 949 phone calls and 471 text messages in a 155-day period during Omar Loureiro's first-degree murder trial.

Loureiro conviction was tossed out and a retrial ordered.

Probing Morrison's Investments

2010-04-12T17:50:00.001-04:00

Meet Carl Brizzi (pictured), the top prosecutor and Rove Republican Racket member of Marion County, Indiana.

A staunch Republican in Indianapolis political circles, Brizzi, who is not seeking re-election, was asked to resign last Wednesday by the head of the local Republican Party and a Republican candidate seeking Brizzi's open seat.

Why? The Indianapolis Star reports:

Trouble had been brewing for six months. Questions about his connections to [alleged Ponzi scheme operator] Timothy Durham, a friend and campaign fundraiser under federal investigation for fraud, led to scrutiny of Brizzi's own investments. Then he belatedly returned campaign donations to the father of a convicted killer who won an early release last year with his office's consent. Lately, Brizzi has defended a no-jail plea deal -- and the return of $10,000 in seized money -- to a drug defendant whose attorney was also Brizzi's partner in a real estate deal. He has denied any impropriety.

Brizzi and his federal counterpart, Acting U.S. Attorney Timothy M. Morrison, have unscrupulously helped their Republican friend who allegedly defrauded hundreds of Ohio retirees.

Now its time for U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to probe Morrison's investments and see if they are tied in anyway to Durham.

It makes no sense why Morrison let Durham keep all his cash and assets and let an alleged wife beater and Durham co-conspirator hold an estate sale while Ohio retirees screamed for justice.

Federal Prosecutors "Reach Too Far"

2010-04-09T00:11:00.002-04:00

In a unanimous decision, a federal court of appeals rejected the Rove Republican Racket's attempts to reinstate criminal charges against a former corporate financial officer of Bristol-Myers Squibb, a large pharmaceutical company based in New Jersey.

In this case, the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey kept changing, or "morphing," the arguments and theories of their case. The case was narrowed and evidence tossed out. The Rove-Bush-Cheney U.S. Department of Justice appealed the decision in 2008.

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday:

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals [yesterday] rejected the Justice Department’s attempt to reinstate part of its prosecution of Frederick Schiff, former chief financial officer at Bristol-Myers Squibb, the large pharmaceuticals company.

The Third Circuit, in a unanimous decision, wrote in a 59-page opinion that prosecutors overreached in part of their case. Prosecutors from the New Jersey U.S. attorney’s office argued that Schiff had a duty to disclose an inventory-related issue in regulatory filings, such as the 10-K or 10-Q, because he had “a general fiduciary obligation of ‘high corporate executives’ to the company’s shareholders” under Rule 10b-5 of the Securities and Exchange Act.

The Third Circuit stated: “This argument reaches too far.”

In 2005 Schiff was indicted with another former executive on securities-fraud charges for their role in the company’s use of incentives to get wholesalers to buy more products than needed. The practice, known as “channel stuffing,” inflated sales by $2.5 billion and earnings by $900 million from 1999 to 2001, the government alleged.

In 2008 the trial judge, Faith Hochberg, whittled down the case against Schiff by preventing prosecutors from introducing certain evidence and arguments because their legal theories had continued to “morph” until the eve of the trial.

Tea Party Dawson

2010-04-08T03:02:00.004-04:00

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Dawson, the dishonest former federal prosecutor from Mississippi who obtained a secret six-month (book writing?) contract from his former boss days after retiring in January of 2009, has gone stupid.

From prosecuting prominent Democrats, to having book writing discussions with a right-wing blogger while STILL SERVING as a federal prosecutor, to hiding his secret contract during live on-the-air radio interviews, Dawson is not the brightest fellow.

But now he's a founding member of the Oxford, Mississippi chapter of the Tea Party, according to a detailed posting on the blog North Mississippi Commentor. Even the Main Justice blog picked up the story.

We always knew that Dawson was a member of the Rove Republican Racket and that innocent Democrats were targeted, prosecuted and tossed in jail. But now Dawson has exhibited his true political underwear: he's a right-wing kook.

With a pile of boxes of unsold books in storage, Dawson's book about the prosecution of two Democrats, which we call "Flop of Tort," has sold miserably.

Maybe Dawson can sell them at bargain prices to his fellow right-wingers of the Tea Party brigades or better yet, dump them in the harbor like tea from the East Indies.

Million-Dollar Bingo Jackpot

2010-04-07T02:34:00.001-04:00

Almost exactly a year ago, with the aftermath of the prosecutorial misconduct case against former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, we introduced our readers to Brenda K. Morris (pictured) , a Rove Republican Racket federal prosecutor in the U.S. Department of Justice, who was one of the six prosecutors accused of withholding evidence in the Stevens case.

Our post was about how Morris had to settle another prosecutorial misconduct case for $1.34 million and appeared to have had a pattern of engaging in cases shrouded with controversy or misconduct.

Now Morris has reappeared in another case shadowed with controversy and misconduct. Main Justice reports:

The lead prosecutor in the government’s botched case against former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens has resurfaced in a controversial federal corruption investigation in the Middle District of Alabama.

Brenda Morris, a veteran trial lawyer in the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, was among a group of federal law enforcement officials who met with Alabama legislators on April 1 to inform them of the probe, which is related to a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would legalize electronic bingo.

The investigation has inflamed tensions between state Democrats and Republican-appointed U.S. Attorney Leura Canary, who prosecuted former Gov. Don Siegelman (D) and whose husband has close ties to Republican Gov. Bob Riley, who strongly opposes the amendment. Canary’s office and the Public Integrity Section are jointly investigating bingo proponents’ quest for votes in support of the amendment, which the state Senate passed on March 30.

The state House of Representatives has yet to vote. Alabama Democrats sent a letter to Lanny Breuer, the head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, charging that the “unprecedented” disclosure of the investigation was meant to have a “chilling effect” on state legislators who otherwise might have voted for the amendment.

Who said Democrats weren't still being targeted?

Morrison's Wife Beater

2010-04-06T01:44:00.013-04:00

Embattled Acting U.S. Attorney of Southern Indiana Timothy M. Morrison has even more problems after politically helping his unscrupulous Republican friends.

Last November, Morrison let his Republican pal Timothy S. Durham, the alleged mastermind of an alleged Ponzi scheme that duped Ohio retirees, keep all his cash and assets. Durham was one of the highest donors to Republican campaigns in Indiana. Durham has since moved to California.

To add insult to injury, last January, Morrison let Durham's alleged co-conspirator and partner, James F. Cochran (pictured) conduct an estate sale in Florida even though a Congressman and investors pleaded with Morrison to block the sale.

Now Cochran has returned the favor in the most embarrassing way. Independent Station Channel 6 of Indianapolis reports:

The business partner of embattled investment manager Tim Durham is accused of hitting his wife and son during a domestic dispute. James F. Cochran, 54, was arrested at the family's McCordsville home [last month] on preliminary charges of battery resulting in bodily injury and domestic battery.Susan Cochran told police that she and her husband were arguing when he grabbed her by the arms and threw her into a wall, causing her to hit her head.The couple's son, James R. Cochran, 21, said he came into the room to try and protect his mother, and that his father pushed him and punched him in the eye, telling him "I'm going to [expletive] kill you." James F. Cochran, who appeared to have a cut to the face in his mug shot, denied that any assault took place, and told police that he tripped and fell.

Tripped and fell? Please!

As the world crumbles around them, Jimmy appears to have resorted to violence against those closest to him: his family. Yet, Morrison continues to let these "esteemed" pals run free.

Alaska Six Probe Wrapping Up

2010-04-05T13:21:00.001-04:00

The Rove Republican Racket's prosecutorial misconduct derailed their case against former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, "horrified" by the misconduct, vacated the conviction and withdrew the charges last year.

Now the probe of the six Justice Department attorneys involved in the fiasco is wrapping up. Main Justice reports:

The special prosecutor investigating the Justice Department lawyers involved in the government’s case against former Sen. Ted Stevens (R- Alaska) has completed interviews, signaling that the yearlong probe is nearing its conclusion, said two people familiar with the matter.Meanwhile, the Justice Department’s ethics unit is close to finishing a separate investigation of the six lawyers, which will culminate in a report on whether their failure to turn over critical evidence to Stevens’ defense team amounted to professional misconduct, the people said. Special prosecutor Henry Schuelke III, whose investigation began in April 2009, is expected to make his recommendation first. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, who presided over the Stevens trial, tapped Schuelke to determine whether department lawyers sought to conceal the evidence in violation of criminal contempt statutes or whether they withheld it by mistake.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-02T08:06:00.002-04:00

To our readers, wishing you and your families a Happy Easter!

Political Manipulation at the Highest Level of Government

2010-04-01T07:38:00.003-04:00

The Miami Herald had an interesting story Tuesday about how government operatives smeared, spied-on, and then manipulated government Inspector General reports about a fellow government agent for political purposes.

What is bothersome is that this occurred at the highest level of government involving the U.S. Department of State, the CIA and the DEA.

Later, Karl Rove and his henchmen became great manipulators of the U.S. Department of Justice. They successfully targeted, prosecuted and incarcerated Democrats and others who didn't toe the political line.

Who says it cannot be done? Who says Big Brother can't mess with you? Who dismisses the fact that the Rove Republican Racket operated viciously from California to Maine?

Read this, drink your coffee, and think twice, three times about it.

An unhappy federal judge on Tuesday approved a $3 million settlement with a former narcotics officer who said the CIA spied on him overseas. The approved settlement caps a 16-year fight for former Drug Enforcement Administration agent Richard A. Horn and California attorney Brian Leighton. It also leaves the judge grumbling over how the government handled the long-secret case. It does not appear that any government officials have been held accountable for this loss to the taxpayer," U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth wrote. "This is troubling." Driving his point home, Lamberth further noted that "there is disturbing evidence in a sealed motion that misconduct occurred in the Inspector General offices at both the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency." After noting that the case "has already consumed too much time and too many resources for everyone concerned," however, Lamberth agreed to drop potential disciplinary proceedings against CIA officials. He'll formally do so once he has been assured that the allegations have been referred to congressional intelligence committees and the inspector general offices.

Read the full story here.

Victory in Arenas Case

2010-03-31T07:22:00.010-04:00

In a stinging rebuke of the Rove Republican Racket, a federal judge in Washington, DC sentenced NBA Wizards star Gilbert Arenas to 30-days in a half-way house last Friday for bringing firearms across state lines and into the District of Columbia.

Last week, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh arrogantly sought a six-month prison term for Arenas. Kavanaugh asked for the stiff sentence in part because Arenas was famous and wealthy.

The judge ignored the request and simply slapped Arenas on the wrist for what really was a non-crime, a joke gone too far.

To add insult to injury, the NBA reaffirmed their support of Arenas. The Associated Press reported Saturday:

A day after Gilbert Arenas was sentenced to 30 days in a halfway house for bringing guns into the locker room, Wizards team president Ernie Grunfeld reaffirmed that the All-Star guard will be back with Washington next season. Grunfeld told reporters before the team's game against Utah on Saturday that the Wizards did not plan to void Arenas' contract. Grunfeld says, "I think people forget that he's still one of the best players in this league."

Rogue FBI Agent Acted as "Collector"

2010-03-30T13:08:00.001-04:00

Two weeks ago, we reported about how another disgraced FBI agent who lied and accessed government computers was forced to resign and was facing criminal charges in Santa Ana, California.

Now the Orange County Register reports what he actually did and for whom:

An FBI agent who has since resigned threatened to initiate a federal investigation into an individual who owed his friend money, according to court records. Peter H. Norell Jr. agreed to plead guilty March 7 to a misdemeanor count of illegally accessing a government agency computer three times in August and September 2005, according to a plea agreement filed Friday. The criminal activity started in Norell's office on Aug. 23, 2005, when he intentionally used an FBI computer to search for information about a person (identified as only "T.S.") who owed a debt to his friend, according to the filing. The agent again accessed the computer on Aug. 29 and Sept. 2 to get information about the individual, and then confronted him at his home on Sept. 16, 2005, according to the filing. "Although Norell never intended to and never did initiate a legitimate FBI investigation into T.S., Norell threatened to initiate an FBI investigation into T.S. if T.S. did not repay the debt,'' according to the plea agreement. Norell also threatened "T.S." in multiple phone calls, the filing says, and "T.S." eventually paid a portion of the debt to Norell's friend.

Transparent Flops

2010-03-29T16:58:00.001-04:00

As we wrote earlier this year, right-wing blogger Alan Lange and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Dawson of Mississippi (pictured) have written a flop of a book called "Kings of Tort."

The book is a collection of "inside" knowledge about the political prosecution of a Democratic fundraiser, Paul Minor, and the set-up and prosecution of a Democratic booster and famed-trial lawyer, Dickie Scruggs, by agents of the Rove Republican Racket.

Last week, supposedly these "co-authors" had a book signing in Jackson, Mississippi with yet another dismal showing.

With boxes and boxes of books still to be sold, we won't be surprised if you'll find copies selling for $2.99 in a year or so.

On the eve of their book signing fiasco, Lange boasted on his right-wing blog about winning a court ruling in Mississippi that opens sealed documents in a court case involving the embattled State Attorney General of Mississippi and State Farm Insurance. Lange relishes about how the media won and there would be more government transparency.

Maybe Lange can get his co-author to demonstrate some transparency about his secret government (book writing?) contract and the use of federal employees to research the book. Maybe Lange and Dawson can be more transparent about when they actually met, planned, outlined, and started writing their flop of a book.

Our strong guess is they won't and Dawson, like his "Flop of Tort," will become more irrelevant as the days go by.

Louisiana Losers

2010-03-25T23:02:00.004-04:00

The Rove Republican Racket created an atmosphere that verdicts and prosecutions were infallible. Those that were simply accused of wrongdoing by the Republicans had their reputations run over like a runaway Toyota.

Now comes an interesting news story out of Louisiana. Demonstrating absolute intolerance to the fact they lost in the lower and appeals court, the District Attorney of the New Orleans Parish has gone all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to defend his "infallible" prosecutors.

Reason Magazine reports:

[The U.S.] Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to a $14 million award that a wrongly convicted Louisiana man won after serving 18 years in prison, 14 of them in solitary confinement on death row. New Orleans prosecutors who tried John Thompson for armed robbery in 1985 failed to turn over blood evidence that would have exonerated him. Then they used the robbery conviction to prevent Thompson from taking the stand in his murder trial and to obtain a death sentence (by noting that he had already been sentenced to 50 years without parole for the armed robbery). After an investigator working for Thompson’s attorneys discovered the blood evidence in 1999, Thompson received a new trial on the murder charge and was acquitted. A federal jury concluded that the district attorney's office was liable because it failed to properly train its prosecutors, who should have known they were constitutionally obligated to share exculpatory evidence with the defense. A 5th Circuit panel unanimously upheld (PDF) the verdict on appeal, and the full court split evenly on the question, allowing the jury's decision to stand. Asking the Supreme Court to review the case, New Orleans Parish District Attorney Harry Connick Sr. argued that his office should not be held responsible for depriving Thompson of his right to due process because Thompson had not shown a pattern of misconduct or demonstrated a direct connection between a lack of training and the error that led to his conviction.

Wife Beating Republican Prosecutor?

2010-03-24T13:50:00.002-04:00

Orange County, California is the bastion of Republican politics in the Golden State. Newport Beach is a key city in the county where the wealthy and the beautiful live.

Now scandal has hit the Newport Beach City Attorney, a loyal member of the Rove Republican Racket. The Los Angeles Times reports:

Newport Beach City Atty. David R. Hunt will go on voluntary administrative leave a little more than one week after he was arrested on suspicion of felony spousal abuse. Hunt, 52, was arguing with his son at his Santa Ana home on March 14 when his wife intervened and Hunt struck her, causing her to hit a table and then the floor, police said. The 49-year-old woman had a cut on her arm and a large bump on the back of her head, police said. She was taken to a hospital for treatment. In a recording of the 911 call, one of Hunt’s sons can be heard telling a dispatcher “my dad just went crazy, he pushed my mom down and started going after my brother.”

When the Joke Goes Too Far

2010-03-23T14:46:00.002-04:00

NBA Wizard players Javaris Crittenton and Gilbert Arenas (pictured) were clowning around after arguing about a card game and talking dirt to each other.At one point they said they'd shoot each other. As a joke, before practice, Arenas laid out some of his guns on the locker bench in front of Crittenton's locker and left a note to pick one.

At the end of it all, the Wizards and Arenas reported the incident because Arenas had brought his weapons across the stateline from Virginia to Washington, D.C. Charges were filed and Arenas plead guilty.

Today, The Washington Post reports:

In a scathing 61-page memo, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh wrote that his office is seeking jail time primarily because Arenas initially provided inconsistent stories about why he had the guns in the locker room and that he never showed any remorse for his actions.

"The defendant's conduct since the time of the incident establishes that he has shown little genuine remorse for anything other than how this incident may affect his career," Kavanaugh wrote.

"If any other individual without fame, power and the wealth of this defendant, brought four firearms into the District for the purpose of a similar confrontation," the prosecutor wrote, "the government would seek their incarceration and the court would almost certainly give it."

Kavanaugh and the U.S. government have taken this joke too far; they look more ridiculous than the silly antics of some wealthy and spoiled NBA players.

Maybe the problem here is the criminalization of taking firearms across statelines. It may be stupid. It maybe wrong. But it shouldn't be a felony.

Kavanaugh shows bias and prosecutorial stupidity, arrogantly saying Arenas should spend three months in jail because he happens to be wealthy and famous.

Single-Minded Ferocity

2010-03-22T12:51:00.002-04:00

The political boycott of Rove Republican Racket member Dolores Carr, the elected District Attorney of Santa Clara, California (pictured), against Judge Andrea Y. Bryan is capturing national media.

We reported in January how Carr had provoked a political nuclear strike: a formal boycott of Judge Bryan as political retaliation. Judge Bryan accused one of Carr's deputy prosecutors of lying and engaging in "outrageous" prosecutorial misconduct when she dismissed a major criminal case.

Following on our lead, The New York Times is writing about the situation and the severe implications it could have on the independence of the judiciary.

Every Wednesday, prosecutors in Santa Clara County take part in a weekly ritual: as the new judges’ calendar goes online, they begin signing affidavit after affidavit to block cases from going before Judge Andrea Bryan. Since January, more than 100 cases originally assigned to Judge Bryan have been transferred to other judges in the San Jose courthouse at the request of the district attorney’s office.

While there had been earlier friction between Judge Bryan and Ms. Carr, the catalyst for the boycott came in January when Judge Bryan freed a convicted child molester. She ruled that a deputy district attorney on the case had lied about evidence and committed other “outrageous” acts of misconduct.

In practice, a request for a judge to recuse herself is rare; it is almost never approached with the kind of single-minded ferocity seen in San Jose. There the effort has complicated the daily routine of administering justice and raised concerns that the prosecutor is exercising undue influence to sway judicial decisions.

“If this is taken to its logical conclusion, you are talking about criminal defendants’ appearing before the judge chosen by the D.A,” said James Sample, a professor at the Hofstra Law School and the co-author of a 2008 report on recusal reform from New York University's School of Law. “It’s turning the scalpel of recusal into a chain saw to undermine judicial independence.”

Harpooning the Media Show

2010-03-21T15:36:00.001-04:00

The drama and sensational prosecution of a sushi restaurant that served whale in Santa Monica, California has been harpooned.

Obama-appointed U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte, Jr. who sought the national spotlight and boosted his ego on the Sei Whale controversy is now walking on worn out soles and a semi-deflated ego.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

A Santa Monica sushi restaurant facing federal charges for serving endangered whale meat appears set to close its doors Saturday, according to a statement posted to The Hump's website Friday which called the decision a "self-imposed punishment."

"The Hump hopes that by closing its doors, it will help bring awareness to the detrimental effect that illegal whaling has on the preservation of our ocean ecosystems and species," read the statement on the restaurant's longstanding website.

All that is left is a simple press release about what plea bargain and fine is dealt out. The media show is dead, suffering a quick and bloody death.

Witch Hunts by Federal Prosecutors

2010-03-18T19:02:00.002-04:00

The Rove Republican Racket received some visible black-eyes in their stock-option backdating cases.

At the end of last year, a U.S. District judge tossed out a high-profile corporate backdating case because federal prosecutors were accused of prosecutorial misconduct which including leaking grand jury testimony and intimidating plaintiffs.

In another backdating case, Greg Reyes, former CEO of Silicon Valley's Brocade, was targeted and convicted by members of the Rove Republican Racket in 2007 for stock-option backdating. Reyes appealed the ten count verdict due to prosecutorial misconduct. This past summer, the appeals court threw out the convictions due to deliberate prosecutorial misconduct.

Greg Reyes is back in court this week and Therese Poletti of MarketWatch has opined brilliantly:

U.S. attorney Adam Reeves, one of the prosecutors trying to put Reyes in federal prison for stock options backdating, allowed what seemed like a major gaffe, when one of his witnesses agreed that there was no "look-back pricing" (one of the more horrendous legal euphemisms for backdating) at another Silicon Valley company where he worked....Are the prosecutors over-aggressive or just having a hard time keeping their facts straight dealing with arcane accounting issues? Prosecutorial misconduct played a role in the first criminal trial against Reyes, which wound up being overturned by an appellate court.

Some executives in Silicon Valley decried these cases as witch hunts by prosecutors looking for political gain. The relentless focus on a few executives like Reyes in criminal actions, while others were charged only by the SEC with no threat of prison, has seemed unjust. During the Reyes trial, prosecutors did not produce witnesses or shareholders to testify to any kind of Enron-like harm.

Still, mistakes and minor slip-ups by seemingly over-zealous prosecutors may add more fuel to the debate over whether these cases should ever have been tried as criminal.

Again, we stress the fact although backdating may be wrong, unethical, or even an accounting error, some prosecutors have stretched the law to make it criminal.

Happy Birthday!

2010-03-17T15:10:00.000-04:00

Today marks one year birthday of our blog. We wish to thank our readers for their support.

Spread the word on St. Patrick's Day!

Too Much Power with Laws in Shambles

2010-03-17T15:06:00.001-04:00

Breaking News...The Rove Republican Racket received a stinging rebuke today by former U.S Attorney General Dick Thornburgh (pictured), a Republican who called into question the stretching of laws and the demand to criminalize all wrongful behavior by businesses.

Thornburgh said that the civil liberties of businesses were being trampled on by federal prosecutors who have too much power with loosely interpreted laws. Main Justice reports:

Former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh said Wednesday that overreaching prosecutorial methods and the rapid expansion of criminal laws are threatening the civil liberties of U.S. businesses.“The present criminal laws, in my view, are in a shambles,” Thornburgh told a news conference at the Washington Legal Foundation. “It’s compounded by the wide latitude given to prosecutors.”

Thornburgh, who served as Attorney General from 1988-91 under both presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush....said that the shadow of the financial crisis had made efforts to protect businesses’ civil rights a difficult proposition.“This is not a particularly good season for businesses to be seeking relief from criminal prosecution,” he said. “But that’s not what this effort is about, it’s on the periphery, dealing with things that should not be treated as crimes. Corrupt businesses deserve to have the book thrown at them, but that’s not what this is about. It’s a nuanced point, but one that we need to make.”

Big Brother and Twitter

2010-03-16T18:39:00.005-04:00

The Rove Republican Racket successfully targeted, prosecuted, and incarcerated Democrats and other politicians by stretching the law.

In some case, the victims of the Rove Racket had done something stupid or unethical, but not criminal. In many cases, it wasn't a crime, just stupidity.

Now it has been revealed that federal agents are using Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks to target U.S.citizens, guilty or innocent.

These social networks are not the center of criminal activity. They are the center of political activity, and Uncle Sam is watching you!

The Reno Gazette Journal reports:

U.S. law enforcement agents are following the rest of the Internet world into popular social-networking services, going undercover with false online profiles to communicate with suspects and gather private information, according to an internal Justice Department document that offers a tantalizing glimpse of issues related to privacy and crime-fighting. Think you know who's behind that "friend" request? Think again. Your new "friend" just might be the FBI.

The document, obtained in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, makes clear that U.S. agents are already logging on surreptitiously to exchange messages with suspects, identify a target's friends or relatives and browse private information such as postings, personal photographs and video clips. Among other purposes: Investigators can check suspects' alibis by comparing stories told to police with tweets sent at the same time about their whereabouts. Online photos from a suspicious spending spree — people posing with jewelry, guns or fancy cars — can link suspects or their friends to robberies or burglaries.

A Sad, Sad Day in Santa Ana, California

2010-03-15T22:18:00.006-04:00

Last week, we wrote about a DEA employee in Boston that lied and accessed sensitive criminal information on a DEA computer and then manipulated the data in an attempt to harass an ex-girlfriend. We asked, who says federal agents don't lie?

The Rove Republican Racket succeeded in manipulating the law and targeting the innocent in part with the help of federal agents.

Now comes another tale of inappropriate access of federal computer files from Santa Ana, California. The Orange County Register reports this afternoon:

An FBI agent who used to head the agency's white-collar crime unit in Santa Ana has resigned in the wake of a criminal charge that accuses him of overstepping his authority to illegally get information. Peter H. Norell Jr. pleaded not guilty Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Block to a misdemeanor count of illegally accessing a government agency computer sometime between Aug. 23 and Sept. 2, 2005. Norell faces up to a year in jail and a $100,000 fine if convicted of the charge, which was filed Wednesday.

Norell "did intentionally access a computer of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in excess of his authorization to do so ..." and obtained information from the FBI, according to the information. The filing gave no additional details on the accusation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Finigan declined to comment on the case. During Monday's hearing, FBI agents filled the courtroom in a show of support for Norell. He pleaded not guilty, but is expected to plead guilty at a future date.

After the hearing, Norell declined to comment. His attorney, Thomas S. McConville, said Norell resigned from the FBI, but declined to give any information on the accusation. Norell was with the agency for 14 years, according to FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiler." It's a sad, sad day,'' McConville said. "We'll let this case see its way through the justice system."

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

2010-03-12T09:50:00.017-05:00

Breaking News from The Washington Post....

This news means the Rove Republican Racket will be shaking from their ankles up as true Obama reform arrives.

Justice Department officials have selected a veteran federal prosecutor with experience in death penalty and corruption cases to lead the public integrity section, which has struggled under intense scrutiny after a series of missteps last year.

Jack Smith [pictured], a former longtime assistant U.S. attorney in Brooklyn who is known for his courtroom skills, could join the public integrity unit within several weeks, officials said. For the past few years, Smith has coordinated sensitive investigations of foreign leaders accused of war crimes and genocide in his role as a prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Smith's selection opens a new chapter for the public integrity unit, a special corps of prosecutors who attack corruption in the judiciary, state legislatures and Congress.

Smith's deputy will be Raymond N. Hulser, who has been acting chief for months, since the departure of the previous leader in the aftermath of the abandoned conviction of former senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. dropped the public corruption case against Stevens last year after reviewing irregularities in the way prosecutors shared evidence and witness statements with defense attorneys.