Jury selection is supposed to start Sept 23, and the trial could be finished by some time in late October.
Is this special treatment because Uncle Ted is a Senator?
Just wondering.
Category: Justice
Hamdan Sentenced to 66 Months, Gets Credit for 61, Out in 5
The prosecutors were asking for 30 years to life, but it’s pretty clear that Hamdan was just some poor schmuck who chauffeured bin Laden because he needed a job:
The sentence was a stunning rebuke to prosecutors who had insisted on a prison term of at least 30 years and portrayed Hamdan throughout the trial as a hardened al-Qaeda warrior. The jury of six military officers convicted him Wednesday of supporting al-Qaeda by driving and guarding bin Laden and ferrying weapons for the terror group, but he was acquitted of terror conspiracy.
Of course, in a civilian court, much of the evidence that got him that sentence would not have been even have been admissible.
I’m not sure when he is technically due to finish his sentence, but for his sake, I hope that it is after January 20, 2009, because I would expect retribution from Bush and His Evil Minions™.
DoJ Subpoenas Bush Admin Vote Suppression Specialists
I would note that the DoJ having to subpoena former DoJ lawers, even political appointees, is almost unheard of, but it’s pretty clear that former Civil Rights Division* head Bradley Schlozman, and Hans “der Novotenfuhrer” von Spakovsky, former counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights are under some serious legal jeopardy, with credible allegations of perjury before Congress, and also appeared to be hip deep in the hiring scandal.
Dudes, bring your toothbrushes.
*Who says that irony is dead?
Justice Department Extends US Attorney Probe to White House
It appears that DOJ investigators are now investigating to see if senior White House officials were involved in the false and misleading information provided to Congress.
So, anyone want to take up a pool as to how many Bushies will be pardoned between election day and Jan 20?
I’ll put down an saw buck on, “All of them.”
Bin Laden’s Driver Convicted of Being…A Driver
He was convicted of “offering material support” by being a driver.
The Judge seems to be remarkably fair, which surprises me:
As the subsequent sentencing hearing began, the judge called Hamdan “a small player” and refused to let the government call an FBI agent to testify about retrieving bodies from the World Trade Center after the September 11 attacks.
The judge, Navy Capt. Keith Allred, said the testimony was irrelevant since Hamdan had been cleared of conspiring with al Qaeda to carry out any attacks.
While Hamdan was convicted on five counts of providing material support for terrorism, the judge said the charges duplicated each other and ordered that he be sentenced only for one count, which he summarized as “driving Mr. bin Laden around Afghanistan.”
Matt Bors put it best.
Link to cartoonist.
Michael Hirsh notes that this verdict is a loss for Bush. Among other things, it’s likely to be overturned on appeal, because the tribunals were only given authority to prosecute war crimes, and “material support” is not a war crime.
What’s more, the Judge pretty much said with his instructions, and his sentencing actions, that the Bush administration’s definition of terrorist is a 6 pounds of manure in a 5 pound bag.
You Know that the ISI will be There
Pakistan is demanding consular access to Aafia Siddiqui, who is accused of trying to murder US personnel at an Afghan police station.
While it’s clear that this is their right under international treaty, my guess is that at least one of the people sent to deal with her will be an agent of the ISI, the notorious Pakistani intelligence organization, which has been linked to support for al Queida and Taliban activities, most recently the bombing of an Indian mission in Pakistan.
They will want to ensure that she knows nothing, or will say nothing, regarding any ISI involvement in her activities.
Latest Bizarre Ruling in Wecht Case Overturned
U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab had ruled, after a mistrial was declared in the politically motivated prosecution of Cyril Wecht, that the names of the jurors names were to be kept secret from the press, though political hack US Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan sent FBI agents out to intimidate them.
Well, the appeals court just overturned that, saying, that their identification was a, “well-established part of American judicial tradition.”
Background here. Short story: there were allegations that Wecht used office staff and equipment for his private practice, including 24 counts involving the amount of $3.06 (no, I’m not screwing up the decimals).
Judge Removed from ‘Jena 6’ Cases
Thank goodness. Judge Mauffrey has given every indication that he had pre-judged the case.
The court of appeals has apparently had enough of him.
Zimbabwe Update
Well, we now have a report that Zimbabwe: Robert Mugabe offered Morgan Tsvangirai the vice presidency, a position with no powers, in negotiations….What I expected.
It’s no surprise then that there are reports that the negotiations are deadlocked, though talks are supposed Zimbabwe’s crisis talks to resume Sunday.
One interesting development is that Botswana is threatening to boycott of the summit of the next Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit if Mugabe is allowed to attend, which indicates, I think, some level of dissatisfaction with Thabo Mbeki’s mediation efforts.
An unfortunate development is that Mugabe is considering stopping a court action on disputed parliamentary seats:
Fearing an imminent court defeat that would further increase MDC’s parliamentary majority Robert Mugabe’s military junta is considering a law forbidding the courts to invalidate his defeated Zanu (PF) party’s victories in 60 constituencies facing legal challenges, official sources say.
The MDC is challenging the results of the March 29 elections in 60 constituencies, where they say electoral fraud, violence and intimidation of voters compromised the returns.
These are not the actions of a man, or a party, willing to negotiate in good faith.
One final note, they have dropped 10 zeros off the currency, meaning that a 10 billion Zimbabwean dollar is now 1 new Zimbabwean dollar, to deal with inflation, but with inflation running at something like 15,000,000%, it will not help for long.
This may finally be what takes Mugabe and his cronies down.
Karadzic: Holbrooke Promised No War Crimes Trial
Between a Karadzic and Holbrooke, I won’t venture a guess on who to trust, as I’ve never believed that Holbrooke’s casual slip about Valerie Plame was unintentional.
Holbrook could have promised this, or he could have not promised this, or he could have said it in a private moment with no intention of following through with his promise.
I don’t know, but I do not trust Richard Holbrooke.
Trent Lott May Be Involved in Witness Tampering
It’s tied into the Ricky Scruggs case, and a deposition where Zack Scruggs, Lott’s nephew, took the 5th in response to the question, “Has it been your custom and habit in prosecuting litigation to have Senator Lott contact and encourage witnesses to give false information?”.
It’s nice that Scruggs and Lott got along so well…I would have figured some tension, as Scruggs was a big Democratic Party supporter in Mississippi.
Judge: Bush Aids Must Comply with Congressional Subopoenas
It should be noted that U.S. District Judge John Bates is Bush appointee, and generally considered conservative and friendly to executive power, but even he found the broad claims of executive privilege to be unsupportable.
I still say Pelosi should send out the Sergeant at arms and drag these folks off to the Capitol basement jail cell.
I’d Call This Kafkaesque, but the Term Seems Wholly Inadequate
A press release from the ACLU:
Justice Department Asks Intelligence Court To Review New Wiretapping Law In Secret (7/30/2008)
ACLU Says Any Proceedings On New FISA Law Should Be As Transparent As Possible
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.orgWASHINGTON – In a brief filed late yesterday with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), the Bush administration asked that any review of the new warrantless surveillance law be kept secret and that the court refuse to accept legal briefs from anyone other than the Justice Department itself. The government is responding to a motion the American Civil Liberties Union filed earlier this month asking the FISC to ensure that any proceedings relating to the scope, meaning or constitutionality of the FISA Amendments Act (FAA) be open to the public to the extent possible.
The following can be attributed to Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project:
“The government is proposing that the intelligence court should consider the constitutionality of the new surveillance law in proceedings that will be entirely secret. If the government’s request is granted, the court won’t hear arguments from anyone except the government and those arguments will be presented to the court in secret briefs. At the end of the process, the court will issue a ruling that is also secret. The process the government is proposing is completely unacceptable. Especially because the new surveillance law departs so significantly from the standards that have applied to government surveillance for the last 30 years, any proceedings relating to the new law’s constitutionality should be adversarial and as informed and transparent as possible.”
In a separate legal challenge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the ACLU seeks a court ruling declaring that the FAA is unconstitutional and ordering its immediate and permanent halt. Plaintiffs in the case include Amnesty International USA, Human Rights Watch, the Nation and PEN American Center.
(emphasis mine)
I’m Speechless.
Turkey: Ruling Party Not Banned
The Constitutional Court voted in favor of a ban, but only 6-5, one vote short of the 7 required, though they did cut the amount of public funding available to the party.
I would guess that this is a political decision, with the court slapping down the Justice and Development Party (AKP) enough to make them notice, but not creating the furore of a ban.
Lock Rove in the House Basement
There is a cell there, and since Mukasey has said that he refused to enforce contempt citations you can have the Congressional sergeant at arms arrest him and lock himup.
Otherwise, the fact that the House Judiciary Committee vote to hold him in contempt means absolutely nothing.
You have the authority to do so, and it was done as late as 1934.
No Bail for Wilkes
Brent Wilkes, who was convicted of bribing Randy “Duke” Cunningham, has been told that if he has a friend who wishes to post the $1.4 million for bail, his name must be made public.
This person, referred to as a former business associate, whoever he or she is, has made it clear that they would lose their job if their name became public, so I guess he stays in jail pending appeal.
If anyone has an idea who this person is, I want to know.
Ted Stevens Indicted
I’ll avoid the “tubes” and the “incredible hulk” jokes, as most of the ‘net does snark better than me.
In any case, he has been indicted on 7 counts related to concealing income from gifts from lobbyists and their firms, once again proving that it’s the cover-up that will get you.
Interestingly enough, the Republicans in Alaska are so corrupt they don’t have a replacement, with the most likely replacement, Sarah Palin, who is under investigation about misuse of power to get her ex-brother-in-law fired from the State Police.
Also note that the party can replace Stevens up to 48 days before the general election, so he could drop out.
That being said, I’ll enjoy some Schadenfreude, and you can donate to the Democratic challenger, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich at my ActBlue page.
Monica Goodling Thought that Partisan Politics Trumped Anti-Terror Efforts
Which is she passed over an experienced counterterrorism prosecutor because his wife was a Democrat.
Seriously, nothing trumps politics for Bush and His Evil Minions&trade.
Taser Death Heads to Grand Jury
Well it now appears that the Taser murder investigation is heading toward a grand jury (background here).
I do not expect an indictment. This is a dead black man, and the ex-cop who Tasered him 9 times after he was in handcuffs, Scott Nugent, has little to fear from a Louisiana jury.
Even if it goes to trial, you can expect Taser International to supply tens of thousands of dollars in expert testimony to the defendant saying that a Taser can’t kill, because they know what happens if they get tagged with one death.
Department of Justice Broke Law on Hiring
Representatives of Bush and His Evil Minions™ at the Justice Department routinely broke the law in the hiring of career lawyers.
In particular Monica Goodling and Kyle Sampson aggressively selected on the basis of partisan affiliation.
Bush’s butt boy at the DoJ, Michael Mukasey, released a statement that he is, “disturbed” by these developments, but I see no suggestion of actual prosecution.
There can be no greater threat to the nation than when political partisanship is used to corrupt the administration of justice.