This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Legal

  • Synagogue mass shooting in Pittsburgh

    pittsburg shooting

    There has been a mass shooting at a synagogue in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh.

    There are eleven dead and six injured, including four LEOs, and the shooter is in custody.

    Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said police were dispatched to Tree of Life Synagogue at 9:55 a.m. after receiving calls that there was an active-shooter situation at the scene, in the city’s predominantly Jewish Squirrel Hill neighborhood.

    Law enforcement officials identified the suspect in the shooting as Robert Bowers, 48.

    The FBI special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh office, Bob Jones, said that it was the most “horrific crime scene” he’s witnessed in his 22 year-career with the bureau. Jones said that the victims were targeted “simply because of their faith” but that Bowers’ full motive was unknown.

    Bowers is said to have shouted that “all Jews must die” as he sprayed bullets, according to KDKA-TV. The attack took place during a baby naming ceremony on Shabbat, what is traditionally the busiest of days for synagogues.

    Just reported, he used an AR-15 in his attack on essentially a gun-free zone. He surrendered to LEOs only after he was shot several times; the only saving grace is no children were among the victims. Thoughts and prayers to the victims of this horrific attack, and standing by for the ghouls to start their inevitable dance in the blood of the innocents.

    View the entire article at Legal Insurrection

  • Charged with war crimes and stuck in the brig, a Navy SEAL vows to fight on

    gallagherSpecial Operations Chief Edward “Eddie” Gallagher, a highly decorated Navy SEAL, is fighting murder charges tied to the death of an Islamic State operative in Iraq. He says he’s innocent and will battle authorities to clear his name. (photos provided)

    Charged earlier this month with multiple war crimes in connection with the 2017 stabbing death of a detainee in Iraq, Special Operations Chief Edward “Eddie” Gallagher vows to fight for his freedom.

    The 19-year Navy veteran has hired two high-powered criminal defense attorneys who specialize in military law — Colby Vokey of Dallas and Phillip Stackhouse of San Diego — and he’s exploring a civil rights lawsuit against Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents for alleged misconduct linked to his Sept. 11 arrest and detention in San Diego’s Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar.

    An Article 32 hearing with a special military judge sent from Florida will begin to sift through the evidence against Gallagher on Nov. 14 in San Diego, according to Stackhouse.

    The judge will then recommend which charges should be forwarded or withdrawn by an admiral who could convene a general court-martial. Gallagher has been accused of murder, aggravated assault, obstruction of justice and professional misconduct.

    “While the burden is very, very low to send the charges to court, Chief Gallagher will, like he has on every combat deployment, fight. Fight to clear his name, fight for justice, and fight to expose the lies that are being made against him,” said Stackhouse in a written statement emailed to Navy Times.

    Multiple criminal defense attorneys, senior military commanders in the Navy and several special warfare units told Navy Times that the ongoing war crimes probe isn’t focused solely on Gallagher but includes more than a dozen SEALs who also deployed between 2017 and early 2018 near what then was Islamic State-held Mosul, Iraq.

    NCIS agents are not only probing a number of serious allegations involving the death of the detainee, but also images that allegedly depict SEALs posing with the body. They’re also exploring concerns about how Naval Special Warfare Group 1 officers and senior enlisted leaders handled the initial reports about war crimes and the internal investigation that followed in their wake, they say.

    But the central question in Gallagher’s case is whether he and other SEALs rendered first aid to the wounded Islamic State fighter or if they executed him.

    Because the military judge has sealed most evidence in the case and has placed a gag order on all parties, Stackhouse said he can’t address specific allegations or delve into most details of the NCIS probe.

    “But what we’ve learned in our independent investigation into these allegations is that a crime simply didn’t happen,” he said.

    Gallagher’s spouse, Andrea, states:

    “These allegations are malicious and shameless, and I do know that my husband didn’t do what’s alleged, and I’ll stand by him and I do know he can be exonerated of those prices. His household, pals, SEALs and former Marines and his scout sniper colleagues all stand beside Eddie. Eddie is a hero, and we’re patiently awaiting the restoration of his good identify and repute.”

    NIS lost credibility with their mishandling of the investigation of the turret disaster onboard USS Iowa. Is this another NIS witch hunt?

    The entire article may be found in The Navy Times

  • Fat Leonard Strikes Again

    Troy AmundsonThen-Cmdr. Troy Amundson, right, speaks with members of the Philippine navy before a closing ceremony for Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training aboard the guided-missile destroyer Halsey in 2010. (Navy)

    Ex-Navy commander pleads guilty in ‘Fat Leonard’ bribery case

    A former U.S. Navy commander has pleaded guilty to bribery and conspiracy in the latest fallout from a corruption case that spanned a decade and involved dozens of Navy officials.
    By: The Associated Press

    SAN DIEGO — A former Navy commander has been sentenced to more than two years in prison after pleading guilty to accepting lavish dinners, drinks and the services of prostitutes in exchange for providing ship schedules to a Malaysian defense contractor at the center of one of the military’s worst corruption scandals.

    A federal judge in San Diego on Friday also ordered Troy Amundson, 51, of Ramsey, Minnesota, to pay a $10,000 fine.

    His lawyers argued that Amundson was not aware the ship schedules were classified, though their client acknowledged that from 2012 to 2013, he took the bribes from Leonard Glenn Francis, nicknamed “Fat Leonard.”

    Authorities say Francis’ company used the information to beat competitors and inflate bills sent to the Navy for services in Asian ports.

    Twenty-one people have pleaded guilty so far.

    Not aware? Every boot at Great Mistakes knows a ship’s movement is classified. It’s drilled in day one, and enthusiastically emphasized throughout boot training. This excuse is ludicrous, and the lawyers should have been laughed out of the courtroom.

    The article may be found here at The Navy Times

  • And It Gets Even More Embarrassing….

     

    Nothing really ever surprises me. Now it appears that Chicago-style voting is moving down to Texas. These putas odiosas were really rather bold about it, too, until they got caught.

    I believe there will be more to come on this issue, but it really is old hat in Chicago. The difference is that you can’t prove those dead voters are really dead until you try to track them down.

    These gals are amateurs. They should have moved to Chicago to learn how to do it right.

    https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/fort-worth/article219920740.html

    Here’s another article on it, with mug shots of these lovely ladies. Put down the  adult beverage first.

    https://empowertexans.com/features/first-arrests-made-in-fort-worth-voter-fraud-ring/

    I don’t see anything in those articles that says they’re going after dead voters, but you never know when that could start, right? If they looked hard enough, there have to be voters from the Spanish-American War that haven’t voted in quite a long time.

    I’m sure there is more to come on this, because the articles indicate that these idiotas mentirosos were part of a voter fraud ring, so stay tuned.

  • Judge Dismisses Stormy Daniels’ Defamation Lawsuit Against Trump

    stormy
    Legal Insurrection reports on Monday, a federal judge dismissed Stormy Daniels’s defamation lawsuit against President Trump. When Trump suggested the porn actress lied about being told to keep quiet about their alleged relationship, Daniels then claimed Trump defamed her.

    Not only was the complaint dismissed, but Daniels was ordered to pay Trump’s legal fees.

    Fox News tweets:

    JUST IN: A judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought by Stormy Daniels against President Trump, rules Daniels is liable for the president’s attorney’s fees.

    And the WaPo chimes in:

    A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit from adult film actress Stormy Daniels that claimed President Trump defamed her when he suggested she had lied about being threatened to keep quiet about their alleged relationship.

    Federal District Judge S. James Otero in Los Angeles had indicated during a late September hearing that he was skeptical of Daniels’s claim on First Amendment grounds. The ruling ordered Daniels, whose given name is Stephanie Clifford, to pay Trump’s legal fees.

    Trump attorney Charles Harder cheered Otero’s decision and said the amount of legal fees owed would be determined later.

    “No amount of spin or commentary by Stormy Daniels or her lawyer, Mr. Avenatti, can truthfully characterize today’s ruling in any way other than total victory for President Trump and total defeat for Stormy Daniels,” Harder said in an emailed statement.

    That makes yet another embarrassing loss for the creepy porn lawyer Michael Avenatti, who was most recently denied an audience with the Senate Judiciary Committee. And it places Trump in the nearly unheard of situation where a hooker pays the John.

  • The Stakes Are Higher Than Ever

    From the Wall Street Journal online last night:

    The Kavanaugh Stakes

    A vote against the judge is a vote for ambush tactics and against due process.  — by Kimberley A. Strassel

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-kavanaugh-stakes-1538088433

    “The Ford-Kavanaugh hearing consumed most of Thursday, and unsurprisingly we learned nothing from the spectacle. Christine Ford remains unable to marshal any evidence for her claim of a sexual assault. Brett Kavanaugh continues to deny the charge adamantly and categorically, and with persuasive emotion.

    Something enormous nonetheless has shifted over the past weeks of political ambushes, ugly threats and gonzo gang-rape claims. In a Monday interview, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski noted: “We are now in a place where it’s not about whether or not Judge Kavanaugh is qualified.” Truer words were never spoken. Republicans are now voting on something very different and monumental—and they need to be clear on the stakes.

    To vote against Judge Kavanaugh is to reject his certain, clear and unequivocal denial that this event ever happened. The logical implication of a “no” vote is that a man with a flawless record of public service lied not only to the public but to his wife, his children and his community. Any Republican who votes against Judge Kavanaugh is implying that he committed perjury in front of the Senate, and should resign or be impeached from his current judicial position, if not charged criminally. As Sen. Lindsey Graham said: “If you vote ‘no,’ you are legitimizing the most despicable thing I have seen in my time in politics.”

    The stakes go beyond Judge Kavanaugh. A “no” vote now equals public approval of every underhanded tactic deployed by the left in recent weeks. It’s a green light to send coat hangers and rape threats to Sen. Susan Collins and her staff. It is a sanction to the mob that drove Sen. Ted Cruz and his wife out of a restaurant. It is an endorsement of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who kept the charge secret for weeks until she could use it to ambush the nominee with last-minute, unverified claims. It’s approval of the release of confidential committee material (hello, Spartacus), the overthrow of regular Senate order, and Twitter rule. It’s authorization for a now thoroughly unprofessional press corps to continue crafting stories that rest on anonymous accusers and that twist innuendo into gang rapes. A vote against Brett Kavanaugh is a vote for Michael Avenatti. No senator can hide from this reality. There is no muddy middle.

    The print edition is available at newsstands this morning. The entire article is worth your time. “Due process”, the element of legal proceedings that protects even the most heinous criminal from the lynch mob, is under severe threat now. Read the article, read it twice, tell others about it.

  • Trailblazing female is getting kicked out for fraternization

    Lance Cpl. Remedios CruzLance Cpl. Remedios Cruz, Marine Aircraft Group 12, recites the Oath of Enlistment after being meritoriously promoted at Anderson AFB, Guam, Dec. 4, 2013. (Lance Cpl. Richard Currier/Marine Corps)

    The Marine Times reports Remedios Cruz, who in 2017 made history when she became one of three females to join 1st Battalion, 8th Marines at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Now she is awaiting separation after pleading guilty to maintaining a romantic relationship with a subordinate.

    Cruz, 26, eventually married the person, who was a lower-ranking Marine in her unit, according The New York Times.

    “The biggest mistakes I’ve made in the infantry were from my personal relationships,” Cruz told the Times. “I really want to move on.”

    The biggest mistake she made was not following regulations.

    The entire article may be viewed Here.

  • Lawsuit by ex-University of Michigan student accused of sexual assault is revived

    UM
    Reuters reports the University of Michigan must face a former male student’s claims that it wrongly refused, at a disciplinary proceeding, to allow him to cross-examine the female student who accused him of sexual misconduct, and other adverse witnesses.

    In a decision on Friday, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court judge’s dismissal of claims by the male student, known as John Doe, that the school violated his due process rights and Title IX, a U.S. law barring gender discrimination by schools that receive federal funds.

    Doe, who left school 13-1/2 credits short of his business degree rather than face expulsion, was accused of having non-consensual sex with a woman at a “Risky Business” themed fraternity party when he was a junior and she a freshman.

    The woman, known as Jane Roe, said she was too drunk to consent, while Doe said she participated willingly.

    Circuit Judge Amul Thapar rejected university claims that cross-examination was not necessary because Doe could review the woman’s statement, had ample opportunity to challenge witnesses’ testimony and confessed in a police interview, a claim the judge said was unproven.

    “Due process requires cross-examination in circumstances like these because it is the greatest legal engine ever invented for uncovering the truth,” Thapar wrote, noting that the school allows cross-examination in all misconduct cases not involving sexual assault.

    In reviving the Title IX claim, Thapar, an appointee of President Donald Trump, said without ruling on the merits that Doe raised a “plausible” claim that the university showed “anti-male” bias in discrediting testimony from his fraternity brothers.

    He said this came against the backdrop of a federal probe into the school’s handling of sexual misconduct claims.

    So the anti-male academics and their kangaroo court got schooled on due process, and equal rights under the law. I highlighted in bold the judge’s pedigree as a Trump appointee for a reason- the more of his judges are on the job, the less the Dems can legislate from the bench.