Tag: charges

NZ mosque shootings toll rises to 50, families wait to bury their dead

March 16, 2019

By Tom Westbrook and Praveen Menon

CHRISTCHURCH/WELLINGTON (Reuters) – The death toll in the New Zealand mosque shootings rose to 50 on Sunday after police said they found another body at one of the mosques, while authorities worked to formally identify victims and release their bodies to families.

Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant, 28, a suspected white supremacist, was charged with murder on Saturday. Tarrant was remanded without a plea and is due back in court on April 5 where police said he was likely to face further charges.

Friday’s attack, which Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern labeled as terrorism, was the worst ever peacetime mass killing in New Zealand and the country had raised its security threat level to the highest.

Footage of the attack on one of the mosques was broadcast live on Facebook, and a “manifesto” denouncing immigrants as “invaders” was also posted online via links to related social media accounts.

The bodies of the victims had not yet been released to families because investigations were ongoing, but police were working as quickly as they could to do that, Police Commissioner Mike Bush said at a media conference in Wellington.

It is customary in Islam to bury the dead within the 24 hours.

“We have to be absolutely clear on cause of death and confirm their identity before that can happen. But we are so aware of the cultural and religious needs, so we are doing that as quickly and sensitively as possible,” Bush said.

Bush said the body of the 50th victim was found at the Al Noor mosque, where more than 40 people died after a gunman entered and shot randomly at people with a semi-automatic rifle with high-capacity magazines, before traveling to a second mosque.

“As of last night we were able to take all of the victims from both of those scenes. In doing so we were able to locate a further victim,” he said.

Thirty-six people were still in Christchurch Hospital, with 11 being treated in intensive care, and one child moved to dedicated children’s hospital in Auckland.

At a roadblock outside the Al Noor mosque on Sunday, about 40 people were standing in silence near scores of bunches of flowers. Police with gloves and metal detectors combed the street and footpath.

HERO HAILED

One man at the second mosque in the suburb of Linwood was hailed for distracting and confronting the shooter, preventing further deaths.

Abdul Aziz, 48, told local media he heard shooting and ran outside the mosque, shouting at the gunman and drawing him away from the building, the Newshub website reported.

Aziz, originally from Afghanistan, said he picked up one of the gunman’s discarded weapons and threatened the man, who drove off.

Police then rammed the gunman’s vehicle and arrested him.

“Those two police officers acted with absolute courage,” Bush said. “They have prevented further deaths and risked their own lives to do so.”

Church services for victims of the attack were held around the country, including at Christchurch’s “Cardboard Cathedral”, a temporary structure built after much of the central city was destroyed in a 2011 earthquake.

The majority of victims were migrants or refugees from countries such as Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Somalia and Afghanistan. Muslims account for just over 1 percent of New Zealand’s population.

Pakistan’s High Commissioner said six citizens had been killed and three were missing.

GUN REFORM

Bush said police did not believe that three other people arrested on Friday were involved in the attack. Two men faced charges unrelated or “tangential” to the attack, while a woman had been released, he said.

Tarrant did not have a criminal history and was not on any watchlists in New Zealand or Australia.

In a manifesto circulating online, Tarrant described himself as “Just a ordinary White man, 28 years old” who used the spoils of cryptocurrency trading to finance extensive travels through Europe from 2016-2018.

Ardern said Tarrant was a licensed gun owner who allegedly used five weapons, including two semi-automatic weapons and two shotguns, which had been modified.

“I can tell you one thing right now, our gun laws will change,” Ardern told reporters on Saturday, saying a ban on semi-automatic weapons would be considered.

New Zealand has in the past tried to tighten firearm laws, but a strong gun lobby and culture of hunting has stymied such efforts.

There are an estimated 1.5 million firearms in New Zealand, which has a population of only 5 million, but the country has had low levels of gun violence.

New Zealand shootings: https://tmsnrt.rs/2TEun3P

(Reporting by Praveen Menon and Tom Westbrook; Additional reporting by Charlotte Greenfield and John Mair; Editing by Lincoln Feast)

Spiritual leader of alleged New York sex cult hit with child porn charges

Keith Raniere was already facing allegations that he coerced women to have sex with him and brand his initials into their flesh.

Image: Keith Raniere, second from right, leader of the secretive group NXIVM, attends a court hearing on April 13, 2018, in the Brooklyn borough of New York.

Source: NBC NEWS

The spiritual leader of an alleged New York sex cult was hit with child pornography charges Wednesday, escalating a case that already featured allegations of female “slaves” forced into having his initials branded onto their flesh.

The additional charges against Keith Raniere, 58, were revealed hours after Nancy Salzman, the co-founder of the Albany-based group known as NXIVM, pleaded guilty to a charge of racketeering conspiracy.

Federal prosecutors said in court papers that Raniere, who was known inside the organization as “Vanguard,” engaged in relationships with two underage girls, including a 15-year-old.

The government has images of the 15-year-old, “constituting child pornography, that were created and possessed by Raniere and electronic communications between the victim and Raniere reflecting their sexual relationship and indicating that it began when she was fifteen years old,” prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn said in court papers filed Tuesday.

Raniere’s lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, disputed the new charges in a sharply worded statement.

“These eleventh hour charges three weeks before the trial begins serve only to taint the jury panel,” Agnifilo said. “Had they been legitimate, the government would have brought these charges a year ago.”

Earlier Wednesday, Salzman, 65, admitted to committing racketeering offenses, including stealing the identities of some critics of the group, while working as the president of NXIVM.

Image: Nancy Salzman exits court following a hearing at the United States Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn on July 25, 2018.
Nancy Salzman exits court following a hearing at the United States Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn on July 25, 2018.Brendan McDermid / Reuters file

Salzman, who was known to her followers as “Prefect,” faces 33 to 41 months in prison. Her sentencing is set for July 10.

“I did things I knew were wrong and justified it was for the greater good,” Salzman said in a hushed voice during a hearing at Brooklyn Federal Court. “Some of what I did was not just wrong but criminal. If I could do it all over, I would, but I cannot.”

Salzman, Raniere and four other members, including “Smallville” actress Allison Mack and Seagram’s liquor heiress Clare Bronfman, were indicted last July for their roles in running the controversial group. Salzman’s 43-year-old daughter, Lauren, was also ensnared in the case.

Image: Allison Mack
Allison Mack is escorted away from federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday.Frank Franklin II / AP

Supporters say it was a self-help group committed to changing the world. Prosecutors describe it as a criminal enterprise built around a pyramid scheme designed to enrich the top officials and supply the leader with a stable of sex “slaves.”

Members paid thousands of dollars for NXIVM-sponsored classes promising personal and professional development. Prosecutors say the courses forced many into debt, drawing them into a multilevel marketing scheme that rewarded the recruitment of others with payments and increased status.

The group was led by Raniere, a self-described ethicist who prosecutors say used the organization to satisfy his sexual appetite.

Raniere is accused of creating a secret society within NXIVM that coerced women into having sex with him and having his initials branded on the skin below their hips.

The secret group was called DOS, an acronym for “Dominus Obsequious Sororium,” which translates to “Lord/Master of the Obedient Female Companions,” according to court papers.

Prosecutors say DOS masters groomed their slaves for sex with Raniere and forced them to turn over “collateral” — sexually explicit photos and damaging secrets — that would be made public if they ever disclosed the existence of the secret society.

Raniere denies that NXIVM was a cult or pyramid scheme and says any sexual relationships were consensual. He has pleaded not guilty to racketeering, trafficking and conspiracy charges.

Mack, 36, who prosecutors say recruited “slaves” for Raniere, pleaded not guilty to several charges including sex trafficking conspiracy, racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud.

Bronfman, 40, who prosecutors say helped bankroll the organization and is paying the legal fees for her co-defendants, pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit identity theft and other charges.

A trial is scheduled for mid-April.

 

Advantage Lithium replaces CEO in wake of college admissions scandal

March 14, 2019

By Ernest Scheyder and Cassandra Garrison

(Reuters) – Advantage Lithium Corp said on Thursday it has temporarily replaced Chief Executive David Sidoo as he battles U.S. fraud charges connected to a sweeping college admissions scandal.

The company has named board member Callum Grant, an engineer by training, as interim president and said it would move forward with plans to develop an Argentine lithium deposit.

Sidoo also stepped down as president and CEO of Vancouver-based East West Petroleum on Thursday.

Sidoo, 59, was arrested last Friday and charged with conspiracy to commit fraud for allegedly paying $200,000 to the scam’s accused mastermind, William “Rick” Singer, to arrange for people to take the SAT admissions test for his two sons, according to U.S. court documents reviewed by Reuters.

Sidoo plans to travel to a Massachusetts court to face the charges, according to his attorney, Richard Schonfeld, who requested that “people don’t rush to judgment in the meantime.”

Lithium is a key ingredient in electric vehicle batteries and a plethora of smaller miners have launched projects in recent years to supply the white metal to Tesla Inc, Volkswagen AG and other automakers.

Ford Motor Co, the second-largest U.S. automaker, said earlier this week it was considering inking supply deals with a lithium producer.

Canada-based Advantage Lithium has undertaken a series of engineering studies necessary to move forward on development of its Cauchari lithium deposit, though it has yet to say when the project could come online.

Sidoo had been actively meeting with investors, analysts, regulators and others to promote the company. It was not immediately clear how his exit would affect development plans.

“All plans are the same to put Advantage into production at some point,” spokesman Max Sali told Reuters on Thursday.

Orocobre, Advantage Lithium’s largest shareholder, acknowledged Sidoo’s temporary leave of absence in a statement.

The company’s Argentine project is located near similar projects run by Lithium Americas Corp and Orocobre.

(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder and Cassandra Garrison; Additional reporting by Nia Williams and Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; editing by Richard Chang)

Tipster Behind College-Admission Scam Revealed; Mickelson Admits He Used Service

New details have emerged on how prosecutors helped uncover what is being called the “largest college admissions scam ever”. In addition, new celebrity names, including golfer Phil Mickelson, are being added to the list of those who used the service involved in brokering bribes to prestigious universities like Yale and Stanford. 

The scam was uncovered due to a tip that was given to the SEC by Morrie Tobin, a Los Angeles financial executive who was being charged for a financial pump and dump scheme at the time. Tobin “was being investigated in a securities fraud case,” when he tipped off the government, seeking leniency, according to a new report by the Wall Street Journal.

<!–[if IE 9]><![endif]–>

Tobin is a Yale alumnus, who said that the school’s women’s soccer coach had sought out a bribe in order to get his daughter into the school. As a result of the tip, regulators were able to uncover the massive scandal. Tobin is awaiting sentencing in his securities fraud case that he signed a plea deal for last November. 

Tobin reportedly wore a wire to help catch Rudy Meredith, Yale’s Women’s Soccer coach. He met with Meredith in a hotel room in Boston during April 2018, where the coach said he could get Tobin’s daughter on the team for $450,000. Meredith also helped another California family’s daughter make the team after he was paid $400,000, according to the report.

Separately, golfer Phil Mickelson admitted he had used the bribery company to “guide [him] through the college admission process” in a Tweet. His name was not part of the case, and a Bloomberg article notes that he was one of the legitimate clients of the company in question. 

In addition, Bill McGlashan, co-founder and managing partner at TPG Growth, has resigned from his position after being arrested in conjunction with the scandal. McGlashan spent $250,000 on “illegal schemes to get his son admitted to college” according to reports. 

The Wrap reported that he was involved in:

…hiring a proctor to improve his son’s answers on the ACT test before they were submitted and “conspiring to bribe” USC senior associate athletic director Donna Heimel “to facilitate his son’s admission to USC as a recruited athlete.” He even created a fake profile of his lacrosse-playing son as a football kicker as part of the scheme, court documents say.

Earlier on Thursday we reported that the universities involved were now facing class action lawsuits from their students. Last night, we also reported on major tax implications that could be waiting for the parents involved – including potential civil tax fraud penalties and interest charges on any bribe amounts they wrote off. 

Meredith also reportedly worked with William Rick Singer, the man at the center of the scheme. Yesterday morning, we unveiled that William Rick Singer was revealed as the man who brokered and facilitated many of the bribes. 

Singer is called a “self described serial entrepreneur” who appeared to have found his niche in helping young people get into college. He was the founder of the Edge College & Career Network, the institution that helped broker bribes between the uber-wealthy and prestigious colleges. According to the company’s website, his goal was to “help alleviate the anxiety of getting into college” because he “has seen first hand the stress that the college admissions and athletics recruiting process can put on a family.”

Following charges, Singer pled guilty to racketeering, money laundering, conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of justice. He is looking at between 15 and 19 1/2 years in prison for his crimes. Our original take on the scandal can be read here. 

IT’S OFFICIAL: Robert Mueller’s ‘Witch Hunt’ Already Financed for Next Six Months (Details)

Are you tired of the Robert Mueller-led Russia “witch hunt” against President Trump?

Well, too bad!

It looks like the investigation may wind up going through September – despite new Attorney General Bill Barr saying it would soon come to an end.

Deal with it, you proud American, you!

Here are the details…

From Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the team he assembled to investigate U.S. President Donald Trump and his associates have been funded through the end of September 2019, three U.S. officials said on Monday, an indication that the probe has funding to keep it going for months if need be.

The operations and funding of Mueller’s office were not addressed in the budget requests for the next government fiscal year issued by the White House and Justice Department on Monday because Mueller’s office is financed by the U.S. Treasury under special regulations issued by the Justice Department, the officials said.

“The Special Counsel is funded by the Independent Counsel appropriation, a permanent indefinite appropriation established in the Department’s 1988 Appropriations Act,” a Justice Department spokesman said.

There has been increased speculation in recent weeks that Mueller’s team is close to winding up its work and is likely to deliver a report summarizing its findings to Attorney General William Barr any day or week now. Mueller’s office has not commented on the news reports suggesting an imminent release.

SPECIAL OFFER: Free Trump 2020 Hat While Supplies Last

Lynne Patton, who works under Ben Carson at HUD, revealed the real reason President Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, turned on his boss.

Apparently, Mueller threatened to toss Cohen’s wife in prison – for 30 years.

Patton wrote in a Facebook post:

URGENT POLL: Does Trump have your vote in 2020?

What many of you may not be aware of is the fact that I can personally confirm that the ONLY reason Michael Cohen “turned on” the President of the United States is because Mueller threatened to throw his wife in jail for up to 30 years. Period. She is the co-guarantor of a $20M personal loan that Mueller discovered Michael secured back in 2015 by falsely inflating the value of his taxi medallions – effectively making her part & parcel to the federal charge of “Making False Statements to a Financial Institution,” to which Cohen ultimately plead guilty. This is also the reason why Cohen’s longtime taxi medallion partner, Evgeny “Gene” Freidman, was granted immunity.

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) was forced to make clear that he has “nieces and nephews who are people of color.”

This happened because Democrat Rep Rashida Tlaib of Michigan called Meadows “racist” for bringing a black woman, Lynne Patton, to speak in favor of President Trump at Cohen’s testimony before Congress.

Meadows was not pleased. Not one bit.

WATCH:

The black woman to whom Tlaib is referring is Lynne Patton

 

More on the Cohen hearing, per Fox News:

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen exploded Wednesday when House Oversight and Reform Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, accused him of having “non-existent” remorse over charges of bank fraud, to which he had pleaded guilty.

“Shame on you Mr. Jordan, that’s not what I said,” he said to Jordan.

The exchange came after Cohen, who was testifying on Capitol Hill, was grilled by Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., about the charges of bank fraud that were part of the financial crimes to which he pled guilty in August.

In December, Trump went after Cohen pretty hard – calling for prison time:

“Michael Cohen asks judge for no Prison Time.” You mean he can do all of the TERRIBLE, unrelated to Trump, things having to do with fraud, big loans, Taxis, etc., and not serve a long prison term? He makes up stories to get a GREAT & ALREADY reduced deal for himself, and get…..

 

 

‘Massively incorrect’: Point-by-point rebuttal to Michael Mann’s Newsweek smear of Trump, Greenpeace co-founder Dr. Moore & Princeton’s Dr. Happer


‘Massively incorrect’: Point-by-point rebuttal to Michael Mann’s Newsweek smear of Trump, Greenpeace co-founder Dr. Moore & Princeton’s Dr. Happer

Michael Mann claim: “Patrick Moore, who falsely claims to be a co-founder of Greenpeace…”

Climate Depot response: WRONG Professor Mann! Greenpeace’s own history has featured Moore as one of its “founders”! Do some basic research Prof. Mann before you try to smear. See: BUSTED: GREENPEACE’S OWN WEBSITE LISTED PATRICK MOORE AS ONE OF ‘THE FOUNDERS OF GREENPEACE’ – MOORE CALLS OUT HIS FORMER GROUP FOR ‘HISTORICAL REVISIONISM’ 

#

Michael Mann claim: “As to the quality of Happer’s climate science, well that’s hard to speak to because he doesn’t actually do any climate science, and never has.”

Climate Depot response: Mann is massively incorrect on this key point. Claiming Dr. Happer “doesn’t actually do any climate science, and never has” is an outrageous distortion of science and Mann should retract this claim. Former Harvard Physicist Dr. Lubos Motl responds to such charges about Dr. Will Happer: “When it comes to the main physical effect that is supposed to drive “climate change”, he’s not only an expert. He’s one of the world’s leading experts.”

‘Massively incorrect’: Point-by-point rebuttal to Michael Mann’s Newsweek smear of Trump, Greenpeace co-founder Dr. Moore & Princeton’s Dr. Happer


‘Massively incorrect’: Point-by-point rebuttal to Michael Mann’s Newsweek smear of Trump, Greenpeace co-founder Dr. Moore & Princeton’s Dr. Happer

Michael Mann claim: “Patrick Moore, who falsely claims to be a co-founder of Greenpeace…”

Climate Depot response: WRONG Professor Mann! Greenpeace’s own history has featured Moore as one of its “founders”! Do some basic research Prof. Mann before you try to smear. See: BUSTED: GREENPEACE’S OWN WEBSITE LISTED PATRICK MOORE AS ONE OF ‘THE FOUNDERS OF GREENPEACE’ – MOORE CALLS OUT HIS FORMER GROUP FOR ‘HISTORICAL REVISIONISM’ 

#

Michael Mann claim: “As to the quality of Happer’s climate science, well that’s hard to speak to because he doesn’t actually do any climate science, and never has.”

Climate Depot response: Mann is massively incorrect on this key point. Claiming Dr. Happer “doesn’t actually do any climate science, and never has” is an outrageous distortion of science and Mann should retract this claim. Former Harvard Physicist Dr. Lubos Motl responds to such charges about Dr. Will Happer: “When it comes to the main physical effect that is supposed to drive “climate change”, he’s not only an expert. He’s one of the world’s leading experts.”

Empire actor Smollett due in court Thursday over Chicago ‘hate crime’

March 14, 2019

CHICAGO (Reuters) – “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett is due to appear in court in Chicago on Thursday to face charges in a 16-count indictment accusing him of falsely reporting to police that he was the victim of a hate-crime assault.

In an indictment returned by a grand jury last Thursday, Smollett, 36, who is black, openly gay and plays a gay musician on Fox’s hip-hop drama, was charged with 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct alleging he gave false accounts of an attack on him to police investigators.

Each count carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

Smollett was previously charged last month with felony disorderly conduct for making a false report after he told police he was attacked in January by masked supporters of President Donald Trump who beat him, slung a noose round his neck and poured a liquid chemical on him while shouting racist and homophobic slurs.

Detectives investigated the incident as a hate crime but local news outlets cited police sources saying it was believed to be a hoax.

The Chicago Police Department is investigating how information about the alleged attack was anonymously leaked to journalists.

Fox cut Smollett’s character in “Empire” after he was arrested.

Smollett wrote a $3,500 check to two brothers and gave them $100 to buy the rope, ski masks, gloves and red baseball caps used in the supposed Jan. 29 attack, according to prosecutors.

Police said Smollett hoped the incident would advance his career and secure him a higher salary.

Police initially arrested the brothers on Feb. 13, after they were recognized from surveillance footage from near the scene of the alleged attack. One had appeared with Smollett on “Empire,” police and their lawyer said. Prosecutors said one had supplied Smollett with “designer drugs” in the past.

The brothers confessed to the plot, police said. They became cooperating witnesses and were released without charges.

After the alleged attack, Smollett received support on social media, including from celebrities and Democratic presidential candidates. Others were skeptical of the incident, which Smollett said occurred at around 2 a.m. on a city street during one of the coldest weeks in recent history.

In a “Good Morning America” interview last month, Smollett said he was angry some people questioned his story and suggested racial bias may be behind the disbelief.

(Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Rand Paul: ‘FBI Mistress’ Lisa Page Confirmed ‘Fake Russia Investigation’

Rand Paul: 'FBI Mistress' Lisa Page Confirmed 'Fake Russia Investigation'

Fired FBI lawyer Lisa Page confirmed in recently released transcripts that the Russia investigation was “fake” and “anti-Trump insurance policy” against the president, according to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).

“This deserves more attention! FBI Mistress, Lisa Page, confirmed to House Judiciary, there was an anti-Trump Insurance Policy and it’s the fake Russian investigation!” Paul tweeted Wednesday.

“She admits there was almost no evidence on collusion, yet they continued with WITCH HUNT!”

Transcripts of Page’s closed-door testimony to a joint congressional task force last year were released on Tuesday, and members of Congress are just beginning to learn of some stunning key facts.

For example, Page revealed that the FBI was indeed inclined to indict Hillary Clinton with “gross negligence” over the handling of her secret servers, but the Department of Justice ordered the Bureau not to pursue charges.

This is consistent with 2016 reports that former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who headed the DOJ, may have struck a deal with Hillary’s husband Bill Clinton in a secret tarmac meeting just days before former FBI Director James Comey announced his decision not to charge her.

Additionally, Page claims her lover, FBI special agent Peter Strzok helped launch the investigation with impeachment of Trump and a promotion for himself as the end goal.

Strzok was hesitant to enter Special Counsel Mueller’s probe because he worried it may not end with impeachment, which could have hampered his “long-term prospects,” Page said.

She said Strzok told her, “If this is going to fizzle out and be nothing, then I shouldn’t sort of sacrifice my sort of long-term career prospects. If it’s going to end in impeachment, that’s kind of a big deal. I mean, put aside who it is, put aside how we feel about it. You know, that’s monumental.”

   

Left-wing elite privilege? FBI arrests dozens of elitists, including Hollywood actresses, in college admissions scandal

(Natural News) Maybe the reason why we hear white liberals talk so much about “white privilege” is because it is so much a part of their lives, as evidenced by dozens of FBI arrests on Tuesday. The bureau announced charges against scores of well-to-do people including famous actresses Felicity Huffman (“Desperate Housewives”) and Lori Loughlin…

Jussie Smollett Indicted on 16 Felony Charges

Authorities claim the two attackers, who are black, have confessed to their role in the hoax after Smollett paid them $3,500 to stage the incident. Smollett may also face federal charges for mail fraud on allegations that he mailed a hate speech letter to himself.

Malaysia frees Indonesian woman accused of Kim Jong Nam’s VX murder

March 11, 2019

By Rozanna Latiff

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – An Indonesian woman accused in the 2017 chemical poison murder of the North Korean leader’s half-brother was freed on Monday after a Malaysian court dropped a murder charge in a case that drew suspicions of being a political assassination.

As the court announced its decision, Siti Aisyah, 26, turned to her Vietnamese co-defendant, Doan Thi Huong, 30, in the dock and the two women, who had been facing the death penalty together, embraced in tears.

They had been accused of poisoning Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with liquid VX, a banned chemical weapon, at Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017.

Following the dramatic decision to release Siti Aisyah, a defense lawyer asked for an adjournment in the case against Huong in order to submit a request that charges be dropped against her too.

Defense lawyers have maintained that the women were pawns in an assassination orchestrated by North Korean agents.

Interpol had issued a red notice for four North Koreans who were identified as suspects by Malaysian police and had left the country hours after the murder.

During the trial, the court was shown CCTV footage of two women allegedly assaulting Kim Jong Nam while he prepared to check in for a flight.

Siti Aisyah, who had worked as a masseuse at a hotel in the Malaysian capital, and Huong, who described herself as an actress, had maintained that they believed they had been hired to participate in a reality TV prank show.

Once the court released her, Siti Aisyah, wearing a black traditional Malay dress and headscarf, was rushed to the Indonesian embassy, where she spoke briefly with journalists.

“I feel so happy. I did not expect that today I would be released,” Siti Aisyah said, adding that she was healthy and had been treated well in prison.

Prosecutors told the court that they had been instructed to withdraw the charge against Siti Aisyah. No reason was given.

While the court discharged Siti Aisyah from the case, it rejected her lawyer’s request for a full acquittal, as it said that the trial had already established a prima facie case and she could be recalled if fresh evidence emerged.

The defense had disputed whether the CCTV footage was clear enough to identify the Indonesian woman as an assailant, or establish what she had done to the victim.

Gooi Soon Seng, Siti Aisyah’s lawyer, said his client was “a scapegoat”.

“I still believe that North Korea had something to do with it,” Gooi said.

Kim Jong Nam had lived in exile in Macau for several years before the killing, having fled his homeland after his half-brother became North Korea’s leader in 2011 following their father’s death.

Some South Korean lawmakers said the North Korean regime had ordered the assassination of Kim Jong Nam, who had been critical of his family’s dynastic rule. Pyongyang has denied the accusation.

NOT OVER YET FOR HUONG

Left to stand trial by herself after Siti Aisyah’s release, Huong was still sobbing as she prepared to take the stand on Monday at the start of her defense. But the court agreed to resume proceedings on Thursday instead, pending a reply from the attorney-general to the request that charges against her also be withdrawn.

“Where is the principle of equality? Both of them were charged on the same evidence, the defense was called on fairly the same grounds,” said Salim Bashir, one of Huong’s lawyers.

“Until today, we do not know what were the exceptional circumstances that were needed for the attorney-general to review the charge against Siti Aisyah. The prosecution never advanced a single ground for the withdrawal.”

Although the two women were being tried together, the cases against them were separate, and the court had asked the Indonesian woman to present her defense first.

Siti Aisyah’s trial was suspended in December as her lawyers argued with prosecutors over access to statements made by seven witnesses.

Prosecutor Muhammad Iskandar Ahmad told Reuters the decision to withdraw the charge against her was made based on “several representations”, without elaborating.

Siti Aisyah flew back to Jakarta on Monday, accompanied by Indonesian Law Minister Yasonna H. Laoly.

Laoly said Siti Aisyah’s release, after over two years in prison, was the result of high-level diplomacy by his government, including meetings with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and the attorney-general.

“After studying the case thoroughly, we sent letters to the Attorney-General of Malaysia and met with him and Prime Minister Mahathir last August,” Laoly told reporters with Siti Aisyah shortly after landing in Jakarta.

Laoly had written to Malaysia’s attorney-general, laying the blame on North Korea.

“Miss Aisyah was deceived and had no awareness whatsoever that she was being used as an intelligence tool of North Korea,” he wrote.

(Additional reporting by Agustinus Beo Da Costa in JAKARTA; writing by Joseph Sipalan; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Nick Macfie)

Mueller Report Goes on Pre-Sale as Vendors, Readers Await Release

robert-mueller-trump

Source: Kristina Wong

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report has not yet been released, and perhaps not even finalized, but it is already on sale at least two major online retailers.

Amazon has listed a paperback version of The Mueller Report: The Final Report of the Special Counsel into Donald Trump, Russia, and Collusion for release on March 26, 2019.

Mueller is listed as the book’s co-author along with the Special Counsel’s Office U.S. Department of Justice. Its introduction would be written by famed lawyer and Harvard Professor Alan Dershowitz, who has spoken in defense of President Trump in numerous interviews and criticized the Mueller investigation.

The publisher listed is Skyhorse, and the length is 960 pages.

Skyhorse’s version is also available on Barnes & Noble, for $9.40 for a paperback, and listed as a “Best Seller.”

There is also a Washington Post version, listed on Amazon for $10.50 for the paperback version, to be published by Scribner.

It is not yet clear whether, when, or how much of Mueller’s report may actually be released.

According to special counsel guidelines, Mueller would submit to Attorney General William Barr a summary of his investigation, and whether he is recommending charges, or why he declined to recommend charges. It would then be up to Barr on how much to release.

Democrats have already vowed to get that report, and Republicans are also in favor of having it released to the public.

Skyhorse project editor Nick Magliato told the New York Times that they do not know when the report will be released, and that March 26 is just a “placeholder” date. Magliato said the page count is a “complete guess.”

He said Skyhorse initially thought the report would come this week, giving them time to read, typeset, and print a hard copy of the book by March 26.

If Barr decides not to release the report, Magliato said, “Then we don’t publish it, unfortunately.” Orders would be canceled, and payments refunded, he told the Times. He said Mueller would not profit from the book’s sales.

Scribner’s publicity director Brian Belfiglio also said he settled on the March 26 date as a placeholder.

Jussie Smollett update: ‘Empire’ actor indicted on 16 felony counts by grand jury

CHICAGO (WLS) — A Cook County grand jury has returned a 16-count indictment against “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett, according to court records.

The Cook county State’s Attorney’s Office confirmed the indictment, which they said was returned by a grand jury on Thursday.

Smollett was originally charged with one felony count of disorderly conduct for filing a false police report by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office on Feb. 20.

There have been dozens of twists and turns since “Empire” start Jussie Smollett reported being attacked. Here are some key moments from the start of this story.

Now the grand jury has returned 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct for filing a false police report.

The TV actor claimed he was the victim of a vicious hate crime in the Streeterville neighborhood on Jan. 29. He said two men physically attacked him while yelling racist and homophobic slurs, threw a chemical liquid on him and looped a rope around his neck.

The grand jury returned two separate sets of charges. The first set are related to what Smollett told officers about the alleged attack, including that the attackers called him racial and homophobic slurs, struck him with their hands, put a noose around his neck, and poured some sort of chemical substance on him.

The second set of charges are related to the second interview Smollett had with police about the alleged attack later that day.

A charge of felony disorderly conduct for filing a false police report carries a possible sentence of probation to three years. Smollett already pleaded not guilty to the first disorderly conduct charge. He was taken into custody and posted $100,000 bond to be freed.

Experts believe it is likely he will strike a plea deal and potentially not spend time in prison.

Two days after the alleged attack, Chicago police released surveillance images of two people they said they considered persons of interest in the attack.

But the investigation turned on Smollett. He’s now accused of allegedly orchestrating the attack with the Osundairo brothers, who he knew. One brother was an extra on “Empire” and the other was Smollett’s personal trainer.

Smollett had also reported a threatening letter sent to him on the “Empire” set containing a white powder, a week before the alleged attack. The letter is currently in the FBI crime lab for analysis, sources said, and experts believe Smollett could face federal charges for allegedly sending the letter.

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said the actor initially faked a letter using racist and homophobic language. When that didn’t get attention, Johnson said, Smollett paid two brothers $3,500 via personal check to stage the attack, because he was “dissatisfied with his salary.”

Actor Jussie Smollett indicted on 16 counts by grand jury

March 8, 2019

By Suzannah Gonzales

CHICAGO (Reuters) – A grand jury in Chicago has returned a 16-count felony indictment against television actor Jussie Smollett, accusing him of falsely reporting to police that he was the victim of a hate-crime assault, according to court documents on Friday.

Smollett, who is black and openly gay and plays a gay character on the Fox network hip-hop drama “Empire,” was charged last month in a single-count criminal complaint with lying to police about a supposed racist and homophobic attack by supporters of President Donald Trump.

Neither Smollett’s attorney nor his spokeswoman could immediately be reached for comment on the latest charges.

At the time he was initially charged, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said that Smollett had paid two brothers $35,000 to stage an assault on him in a hoax orchestrated to somehow further his acting career.

Smollett, 36, was arrested and later released on $100,000 bond two weeks ago in connection with the initial charge against him.

The indictment, returned by a grand jury on Thursday, charges Smollett with 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct alleging that he gave false accounts of an attack on him to police investigators. A copy of the document was furnished to Reuters by a Cook County Circuit Court clerk.

According to previous police recitations of Smollett’s story, he reported that two masked men approached him on a darkened street Jan. 29 shouting racial and homophobic slurs, struck him in the face, doused him with an “unknown chemical substance” and wrapped a rope around his neck before they fled.

Smollett also told police, according to authorities, that the attackers had yelled, “This is MAGA country,” referring to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan. Smollett took himself to a hospital but was not seriously hurt, police had said.

News of the purported assault spread quickly on social media, with many expressing outrage while others suggested the story was fabricated even as Chicago police insisted their detectives were treating the matter seriously.

His attorneys last month said they were conducting a thorough investigation for the purposes of mounting a defense of the actor.

Smollett himself, according to reports in media citing unnamed sources, apologized last month to the cast and crew on the set of “Empire” but maintained his innocence.

(Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago; Additional reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee and Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Writing by Steve Gorman; editing by Leslie Adler and James Dalgleish)

Ex-NY Official And Wife Convicted In Multimillion-Dollar Bribery Case Involving De Blasio Fundraiser

A former top Long Island elected official was convicted on Friday of taking bribes in exchange for steering million of dollars in taxpayer-funded loans to a local restaurateur and major fundraiser for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, according to Reuters, citing federal prosecutors.

<!–[if IE 9]><![endif]–>

Former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano (R) was found guilty by a federal court juriy in Central Islip, New York, of bribery, honest services fraud, obstruction of justice and conspiracy charges, according to UL Attorney Richard Donoghue’s office.

Mangano’s wife, Linda, was convicted of obstruction of justice and making false statements to federal agents. 

Mangano – whose most serious charges carry up to 20 years in prison, was the top elected official in uber-wealthy Nassau County. He did not seek reelection after his term expired in 2017. 

Prosecutors had charged Mangano and John Venditto, a former town supervisor of Oyster Bay, Long Island, with accepting bribes and kickbacks from restaurateur Harendra Singh in exchange for favorable treatment, including government contracts and loans. They said the bribes included a no-show job for Linda Mangano.

Singh was separately charged in 2015, pleaded guilty and testified at the trial. He was a major fundraiser for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who was also investigated for possible corruption by state and federal authorities but ultimately not charged. De Blasio has denied wrongdoing.

Nassau County’s finances have been in disarray for years and are subject to a state-operated oversight board. –Reuters

The Manganos, both 56, previously stood trial last May resulting in a hung jury, while Venditto (R) was cleared of related charges in the same trial. 

Venditto resigned as Oyster Bay town supervisor in 2017. 

Grand Jury Slaps Jussie Smollett With 16 Felony Counts In Hate-Crime Hoax

Jussie Smollett has bigger issues than just an untreated drug problem and a single count of felony disorderly conduct for filing a false police report.

A Cook County, IL grand jury has just returned a 16-count true bill of charges against the Empire star in connection with a hate crime hoax he allegedly staged in late January, as first reported by CWB Chicago and confirmed by CBS 2. The new charges each carry a potential sentence up to four years in prison if convicted, according to CWB. 

<!–[if IE 9]><![endif]–>

Smollett was charged in February with a single count of felony disorderly conduct for filing a false police report, however today’s announcement puts him in significantly greater legal jeopardy. 

The grand jury’s true bill states that Smollett lied about the attack to two separate police officers–the beat cop who took his initial report and a detective who conducted a follow-up interview the same day.

In one set of charges, the grand jury found that Smollet filed a false police report around 2 a.m. on Jan. 29th in which he told an officer that he was attacked near 341 East Lower North Water Street by two unknown men who were dressed in black and one of whom wore a ski mask. The jury further found that Smollett told the original officer that the attackers called him racial and homophobic slurs and struck him in the face with their hands. The police report connected to these charges also indicate that Smollett claimed that a noose had been placed around his neck and a “chemical” had been poured on him.

The second set of charges returned by the grand jury involves Smollett’s alleged false reporting of the incident to a police detective later the same day. Additional details that Smollett apparently included in the second interview include: the men approached him from behind, Smollett fought back, and all three men fell to the ground where Smollett said he was kicked in the back and felt someone pulling on his neck. During this interview, Smollett also told the officer that one offender was a white male wearing a black mask with an open area around the eyes that exposed the attacker’s skin, the grand jury found. –CWB Chicago

The actor claimed last month that he was the victim of a predawn hate crime on January 29 in which two men assaulted him while he was on his way home after buying a sandwich; hurling racial and antigay slurs at him, dousing him in a liquid, placing a noose around his neck (which he was still wearing when police arrived later that morning), and punching him in the face. 

<!–[if IE 9]><![endif]–>

The incident sparked national outrage – with the left-leaning mainstream media and prominent Democrats uncritically supporting Smollett’s version of events; holding it up as a prime example of violent Donald Trump supporters. 

The two suspects in the case, Nigerian-American brothers Ola and Abel Osundario – one of whom has been an extra on Empire, told police that Smollett paid them a combined $3,500 to stage the “attack,” and that the three of them had practiced it beforehand. They also said that Smollett was involved in creating a racist letter containing a white substance that was sent to the actor on the Chicago set of Empire.

<!–[if IE 9]><![endif]–>

When the letter failed to achieve the desired level of national outrage, the Osundario brothers say Smollett concocted the hate-crime.

The Bloody Sunday Massacre (1972) in Northern Ireland: Comments by “Toxic Clown Boris” Johnson

The toxic clown Boris Johnson has told the Daily Telegraph that “it feels sickening” that charges might be brought against some of the paratroopers who killed or wounded 28 unarmed people in Derry on Bloody Sunday in 1972. He’s become …

The post The Bloody Sunday Massacre (1972) in Northern Ireland: Comments by “Toxic Clown Boris” Johnson appeared first on Global Research.

Judge Rejects “Excessive” Mueller Recommendation and Sentences Manafort to 47 Months in Prison

None of the charges against Manafort involved allegations of collusion with the Russian government, but are instead related to his lobbying work for the Ukrainian government.

Paul Manafort Sentenced To 47 Months In Prison

Update 2: In a terse statement delivered outside the courthouse, Manafort’s defense lawyers reiterated that “there is absolutely no evidence that Paul Manafort was involved with any collusion with any government official from Russia.”

Already, the resistance is furious.

Though looking back, that Ellis went easy on Manafort isn’t a huge surprise: After all, this is the same judge who pointed out every flaw in the prosecution’s case during the trial. At the time, the Washington Post even accused him of “extraordinary bias.”

* * *

Update: In a surprise decision that stands as a slap in the face to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, Judge Ellis handed Paul Manafort a surprisingly light sentence of 47 months -or just under four years in prison – rejecting federal sentencing guidelines that recommended Manafort face up to 24 years in prison – a sentence that would have effectively condemned him to die in jail.

Manafort was also fined $50,000 (equivalent to a few of Manafort’s bespoke suits) and ordered to pay restitution of $25 million.

At this rate, Manafort might be out before Mueller finally wraps up his probe.

Early in the trial, Manafort appeared headed for a stiff sentence despite showing up in court in a wheelchair and green prison jumpsuit. Initially, after a lengthy review of Manafort’s charges, Ellis, who presided over Manafort’s August trial, said he would reject his lawyers’ request for leniency and accused the former Trump campaign executive of not being entirely forthcoming with the court about his finances. Furthermore, he refused to give him credit for accepting responsibility for his crimes, and also rejected his lawyers’ argument that the fact that Manafort hadn’t been found complicit in Russian collusion detracted from the charges for which he was convicted.

When it came time for their statement, prosecutors told the judge Manafort offered little meaningful help during his 50 hours of meetings with investigators, and that the main reason he spent so much time with investigators was because he had lied.

But when it came his turn to speak, Manafort sounded genuinely contrite, telling the judge he felt “humiliated and ashamed” for what he’d done, and that the last two years had been “the most difficult years for my family and I.”

“I appreciate the fairness of the trial you conducted,” he said. “My life is professionally and financially in shambles.”

In the first indication that the sentence would be lighter than many had anticipated, the judge told Manafort and the court that he felt the federal sentencing guidelines were too stiff, and that Manafort had led an “otherwise blameless” life.

Ellis recommended that Manafort – who is reportedly suffering from gout and other unspecified health issues – serve his sentence in a Cumberland, Maryland prison camp. He also credited him with nine months already served.

Here’s a play-by-play of the hearing, courtesy of @ShimonPro:

Reporters have been staking out the courthouse all afternoon, and Manafort, or at least his legal team, is expected to give a statement to the press after the sentencing:

Of course, as we noted below, Manafort isn’t out of the woods just yet…he will face a second sentencing in a Washington DC court next week, where Judge Amy Berman Jackson is presiding. In addition to his initial charges, Manafort is expected to answer to allegations that he lied to Mueller about his contacts with a former associate from his consulting work whom investigators purportedly believe was a Russian spy.

* * *

Paul Manafort’s day of reckoning has finally arrived.

Months after Special Counsel Robert Mueller that Manafort had violated his plea agreement with federal prosecutors by allegedly lying about a promise to share campaign info with a purported Russian operative. For his crimes, Mueller insisted that Manafort be sentenced as soon as possible, and after a brief delay, US District Judge T.S. Ellis is expected to hand down Manafort’s sentence on Thursday, possibly delivering what could be an effective life sentence for the former Trump campaign manager. Though Mueller hasn’t recommended a specific sentence, federal guidelines recommend a prison term of between 19.5 and 24 years for Manafort.

The charges for which Manafort will be sentenced on Thursday include eight counts of bank fraud and other crimes for which he was convicted after an August trial, Reuters reported.

<!–[if IE 9]><![endif]–>Manafort

Defense lawyers have asked the judge to sentence Manafort to beetween 4-1/4 and 5-1/4 years in prison, and are expected to tell the judge that their client is remorseful and that the sentencing guidelines cited by prosecutors call for a prison term disproportionate to the offenses committed.

“The Special Counsel’s attempt to vilify Mr. Manafort as a lifelong and irredeemable felon is beyond the pale and grossly overstates the facts before this court,” Manafort’s lawyers wrote in a sentencing memo.

As one Twitter commentator pointed out, should he receive anything close to the maximum sentence, 69-year-old Manafort would very likely die in prison.

The sentencing hearing is set for 3:30 pm ET. Next week, Manafort will face another sentencing in a separate case in Washington on two conspiracy charges to which he pleaded guilty in September as part of his plea with Mueller. He faces a statutory minimum of 10 years in that case, which US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson could potentially stack on top of whatever Mueller receives on Thursday.

Though he cooperated with prosecutors, Manafort has reportedly been holding out hope for a presidential pardon, which President Trump hasn’t ruled out.

Ex-Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort sentenced to 47 months for fraud in Mueller case

Source: CNBC

A federal judge on Thursday sentenced President Donald Trump‘s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort to serve 47 months in prison, a far shorter length of time than prosecutors in the case had argued for.

The decision from federal judge T.S. Ellis in Virginia comes less than a week before Manafort’s second sentencing hearing in another case in Washington, D.C., district court. Both cases were brought on charges lodged by special counsel Robert Mueller in his ongoing probe of Russia’s election meddling and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.

Manafort is expected to serve only 38 more months of the 47-month sentence because of time he has already spent incarcerated. In addition to the sentence, Ellis ordered Manafort to pay a $50,000 fine, the lowest fine provided for by guidelines that recommended a fine between $50,000 and $24 million.

Manafort, seated in a wheelchair and clad in a green prison jumpsuit during the hearing, spoke of the hardship he has faced as a prime figure in the high-profile Mueller investigation.

“The last two years have been the most difficult for my family and I,” Manafort said in his plea for compassion from the judge.

“To say I have been humiliated and ashamed would be a gross understatement,” he said.

Before delivering his sentence, Ellis said that Manafort has “been a good friend to others, a generous person.”

The judge added: “He has lived an otherwise blameless life.”

Manafort had been convicted in the Virginia court last summer on eight counts of bank fraud, tax fraud and failing to file a foreign bank account report. The charges mostly pertained to Manafort’s past work for Ukraine’s Russia-backed president at the time, Viktor Yanukovych.

Manafort was not convicted on 10 other criminal counts in that case, which were deadlocked by the 12-person jury.

Manafort’s lawyer argued in court that the amount of time Manafort spent talking to prosecutors — 50 hours in total — reflects significant cooperation in the government’s investigation.

But Mueller’s team said bluntly that Manafort’s interviews only took so long because he misled them.

“Fifty hours with us was because he lied,” prosecutor Greg Andres told Ellis. “He lied, so it took longer to provide the truth to him.”

Manafort “did not provide valuable information to the special counsel that wasn’t already known,” Andres said.

In a sentencing memo last week, Manafort’s attorneys argued that Manafort should receive a sentence “substantially below” the 19-to-24-year prison length suggested by federal guidelines. Manafort is a “first-time offender,” they wrote, and noted that he admitted his guilt on separate charges launched by Mueller in Washington, D.C., federal court.

Ellis apparently agreed that the guidelines were too high, calling the calculated range “excessive.”

Still, Ellis said before delivering the sentence that he was “surprised” he did not hear Manafort “express regret” in his remarks.

Manafort’s attorneys also accused the special counsel of attempting to “vilify Mr. Manafort as a lifelong and irredeemable felon,” as well as “spreading misinformation about Mr. Manafort to impugn his character in a manner that this country has not experienced in decades.”

But Mueller countered in a Tuesday night filing that Manafort’s request for leniency should be ignored at his sentencing, arguing that Manafort has not taken responsibility for his crimes. The special counsel also highlighted additional wrongdoing Manafort is alleged to have done since his cases began, including witness tampering and lying to investigators.

While Ellis had often been curt and impatient toward prosecutors during Manafort’s three-week trial, most of his rulings before announcing Manafort’s sentence appeared to favor the government’s position.

Ellis reportedly shot down multiple objections from Manafort’s lawyers regarding a pre-sentence report prepared by federal probation officials. The judge also declined to give Manafort any credit for accepting responsibility for his crimes.

Both the defense and the prosecution agreed to delay a decision about Manafort’s restitution until after his second sentencing in D.C. next week.

Trump has consistently and aggressively denounced the Mueller probe as “illegal” and a “witch hunt” motivated by partisan politics. His fiery criticisms have raised alarm among Mueller’s defenders, who suspect Trump may be considering a pardon for Manafort or other targets of the Russia probe.

“It’s very sad, what happened to Paul,” Trump said of Manafort in November. “I have not offered any pardons,” he said at that time, but added, “I’m not taking anything off the table.”

New York authorities are reportedly prepping charges against Manafort if Trump does pardon his crimes.

U.S. doctor illegally harvested children’s organs for personal “research prospects,” charges lawsuit

(Natural News) A physician from Southern California is the target of a new lawsuit that alleges he’s been illegally harvesting organs and other body parts from deceased children in Texas in order to boost his own personal “research prospects.” While Dr. Evan Matshes is licensed to practice medicine in San Diego where he technically lives,…

Trump campaign ex-chief Manafort faces years in prison in sentencing

March 7, 2019

By Sarah N. Lynch

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort will be sentenced by a U.S. judge in Virginia on Thursday for bank and tax fraud uncovered during Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election.

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis could deliver effectively a life sentence to Manafort, 69, if he follows federal sentencing guidelines cited by prosecutors that call for 19-1/2 to 24 years in prison for the eight charges the veteran Republican political consultant was convicted of by a jury in Alexandria last August.

The sentencing hearing is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. (2030 GMT)

Manafort was convicted after prosecutors accused him of hiding from the U.S. government millions of dollars he earned as a consultant for Ukraine’s former pro-Russia government. After pro-Kremlin Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s ouster, prosecutors said, Manafort lied to banks to secure loans and maintain an opulent lifestyle with luxurious homes, designer suits and even a $15,000 ostrich-skin jacket.

Manafort faces sentencing in a separate case in Washington on March 13 on two conspiracy charges to which he pleaded guilty last September. While he faces a statutory maximum of 10 years in the Washington case, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson potentially could stack that on top of whatever prison time Ellis imposes in Virginia, rather than allowing the sentences to run concurrently.

Jackson on Feb. 13 ruled that Manafort had breached his agreement to cooperate with Mueller’s office by lying to prosecutors about three matters pertinent to the Russia probe including his interactions with a business partner they have said has ties to Russian intelligence. Jackson’s ruling could impact the severity of his sentence in both cases.

Mueller is preparing to submit to U.S. Attorney General William Barr a report on his investigation into whether Trump’s campaign conspired with Russia and whether Trump has unlawfully sought to obstruct the probe. Trump has denied collusion and obstruction. Russia has denied election interference.

Manafort is the only one of the 34 people and three companies charged by Mueller to have gone to trial. Several others including former campaign aides Rick Gates and George Papadopoulos, former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former Trump personal lawyer Michael Cohen have pleaded guilty, while longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone has pleaded not guilty.

Gates, a key witness against Manafort, has yet to be sentenced due to his ongoing cooperation with prosecutors.

STUNNING DOWNFALL

Mueller’s charges led to the stunning downfall of Manafort, a prominent figure in Republican Party circles for decades who also worked as a consultant to such international figures as former Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi, former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and Yanukovych.

Defense lawyers have asked Ellis to sentence Manafort to between 4-1/4 and 5-1/4 years in prison. They are expected to tell the judge Manafort is remorseful and that the sentencing guidelines cited by prosecutors call for a prison term disproportionate to the offenses he committed.

“The Special Counsel’s attempt to vilify Mr. Manafort as a lifelong and irredeemable felon is beyond the pale and grossly overstates the facts before this court,” his lawyers wrote in their sentencing memo.

Prosecutors have not suggested a specific sentence. Mueller’s office, in court filings, said that only Manafort is to blame for his crimes, that he has shown no remorse and that his lies to prosecutors after his guilty plea should be taken into account.

“The defendant blames everyone from the Special Counsel’s Office to his Ukrainian clients for his own criminal choices,” prosecutors wrote.

Manafort will be sentenced by a judge who faced criticism by some in the legal community for making comments during the trial that were widely interpreted as biased against the prosecution. Ellis repeatedly interrupted prosecutors, told them to stop using the word “oligarch” to describe people associated with Manafort because it made him seem “despicable,” and objected to pictures of Manafort’s luxury items they planned to show jurors.

“It isn’t a crime to have a lot of money and be profligate in your spending,” Ellis told prosecutors.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Will Dunham)

Russia-gate Grand Wizard Deceives Audience About Assange

Obsessed Russia-gaters just can’t accept that  the Assange indictment has nothing to do with the 2016 election, writes Caitlin Johnstone.  By Caitlin Johnstone Caitlinjohnstone.com When it was first revealed in November that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is under secret charges by the Trump administration,…

Read more →

US Court Upholds Subpoena of Whistleblower Chelsea Manning

Chelsea Manning yesterday lost the challenge she launched against a subpoena that requires her to be cross-examined by the Grand Jury in the Eastern District of Virginia which was convened in 2010 to decide whether to file charges against WikiLeaks …

The post US Court Upholds Subpoena of Whistleblower Chelsea Manning appeared first on Global Research.

We Are Change TV.US