All Entries in the "Crime, Legal Issues" Category

Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, White House Shooting Suspect, Charged With Attempting To Assassinate Obama

An Idaho man accused of firing two shots at the White House last week has been charged with attempting to assassinate President Barack Obama or his staff.

Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, made his first court appearance before a federal magistrate in Pittsburgh on Thursday, one day after he was arrested at a western Pennsylvania hotel. He will be taken back from a federal court in Pittsburgh to face the charges in Washington, D.C.

Ortega will remain in federal custody at least until a magistrate in Washington can determine if he should remain jailed until his trial on the charge, which carries up to life in prison.

Full Story Here: Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, White House Shooting Suspect, Charged With Attempting To Assassinate Obama.

New judge assigned in Penn State sex abuse case

A new judge was assigned Wednesday to handle the child sex abuse charges against former Penn State football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, whose televised defense earlier this week drew a rebuke from a lawyer for one of his accusers.

The change removed a State College judge with ties to a charity founded by Sandusky for at-risk children, The Second Mile.

Harrisburg attorney Ben Andreozzi said he represents a client who will testify against Sandusky, who is accused of abusing eight boys, some on campus, over 15 years.

Full Story Here: New judge assigned in Penn State sex abuse case.

Federal judge rules against city in ‘Occupy’ lawsuit

Protestors in the “Occupy Fort Myers” encampment in Centennial Park in Fort Myers will be allowed to stay after a late-night ruling in federal court.

Judge John Steele granted a preliminary injunction against the the City of Fort Myers, saying it is likely the city violated the First Amendment by requiring protestors to have a permit and kicking them out of the park.

“They’re on our side,” said Occupy protester Jeremy Walker.

About a dozen tents were set up at the park as of midday Wednesday, and people have been staying in the park 24 hours a day – sometimes sleeping there – during the protest.

Full Story Here: Federal judge rules against city in ‘Occupy’ lawsuit – NBC-2.com WBBH News for Fort Myers, Cape Coral & Naples, Florida.

Police Being Sued for Violent Crackdown on Occupy Oakland

The suit is an attempt to compel Oakland police to follow their own crowd control guidelines.

The National Lawyers Guild and the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California filed suit on Monday against the Oakland Police Department, and any local agencies assisting them, for its widespread use of excessive force against Occupy Oakland protesters on October 25 and during the night of November 2.

That OPD has shown contempt for the rule of law in its violent crackdowns on dissent, and departed dramatically from what the department itself views as best practices for balancing public safety and free speech, is evident from the nature of the lawsuit: the civil rights attorneys are trying to compel OPD to follow its own crowd-control policy.

“Generally, the issue with excessive force cases is whether the force applied was reasonable under the circumstances,” Linda Lye, an ACLU staff attorney on the case told AlterNet. “And law enforcement will often argue, ‘well, we needed to apply the force in a given circumstance because it was necessary to achieve our legitimate law enforcement goals.’ Here, when OPD is systematically violating specific provisions in its own crowd control policy, there can be no argument that they need to do this, because the guildelines already represent what OPD thinks is reasonable in these circumstances.” She added: “It’s outrageous.”

Full Story Here: Police Being Sued for Violent Crackdown on Occupy Oakland | Civil Liberties | AlterNet.

Mississippi Woman Receives Three Year Prison Sentence For Feeding Her Family

Last week, a federal court in Mississippi sentenced a key figure in a $3 million mortgage fraud scheme to two and a half years in federal prison. Just a few days earlier, however, a Mississippi federal judge imposed a significantly harsher sentence on a woman who lied on her benefits applications in order to receive just $4,367 in food stamps to help feed her family:

[I]n moments of desperation, a lie can seem like the only option. Anita McLemore, a Mississippi mother of two, faced one of those unfortunate moments when filling out her application for food stamps — and now she’ll pay the price, by spending three years of her life behind bars in federal prison.

Thanks to a federal ban on food stamps for people with felony drug convictions, people like McLemore are out of luck when it comes to getting assistance with putting food on their tables. Though states can opt out of the ban, those that don’t (like Mississippi) deny food stamps even to individuals who have already served their sentences or overcome previous addictions. It’s true that McLemore’s past isn’t perfect — she has four felony drug convictions and one misdemeanor, which place her firmly in the category of people the federal government has declared unfit to receive public benefits. Hence, faced with the prospect of being unable to feed her family, McLemore lied on her application.

Full Story Here: Mississippi Woman Receives Three Year Prison Sentence For Feeding Her Family | ThinkProgress.

Papantonio: Sandusky and Friends Continue Sex Abuse Cover Up

Mike Papantonio appears on The Ed Show on MSNBC to discuss the many failings in Pennsylvania that led to numerous rapes at Penn State.

Full Story Here: Papantonio: Sandusky and Friends Continue Sex Abuse Cover Up – Pt. 2 – YouTube.

Mom, Kicked Out Of Courtroom For Breastfeeding

Apparently, feeding your child is something to be ashamed of — at least according to one district court judge. Michigan resident and mother of a 5-month-old baby, Natalie Hegedus, was reportedly “called out” for breastfeeding in front of an entire courtroom, leaving her humiliated and in tears.

Writing on the community forum, BabyCenter, after the incident, Hegedus said she only brought her son to court in the first place because he had an ear infection. As they were waiting to be called, he got hungry — and so naturally, she decided to feed him. Hegedus says her breasts were fully covered and she was sitting at the back of the courtroom.

When the court bailiff noticed what she was doing, WoodTV reports that he wrote a note to the judge about it. Hegedus was called up, and the judge asked her whether she believed it was appropriate to be breastfeeding in court. She shared her response with WoodTV:

Full Story Here: Natalie Hegedus, Mom, Kicked Out Of Courtroom For Breastfeeding.

Scalia and Thomas dine with healthcare law challengers as court takes case

The day the Supreme Court gathered behind closed doors to consider the politically divisive question of whether it would hear a challenge to President Obama’s healthcare law, two of its justices, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, were feted at a dinner sponsored by the law firm that will argue the case before the high court.

The occasion was last Thursday, when all nine justices met for a conference to pore over the petitions for review. One of the cases at issue was a suit brought by 26 states challenging the sweeping healthcare overhaul passed by Congress last year, a law that has been a rallying cry for conservative activists nationwide.

The justices agreed to hear the suit; indeed, a landmark 5 1/2-hour argument is expected in March, and the outcome is likely to further roil the 2012 presidential race, which will be in full swing by the time the court’s decision is released.

Full Story Here: Scalia and Thomas dine with healthcare law challengers as court takes case – latimes.com.

Herman Cain To Women: Think Twice Before You Accuse Me And Be Afraid – Be VERY Afraid!

Clip from November 10, 2011, The Rachel Maddow Show where Rachel highlights the Herman Cain campaign’s efforts to strike fear and intimidate women who might want to legitimately come forward and publicly accuse Squirmin’ Herman of sexual harassment. The clip includes the usual Republican bullies/toadies: Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, etc.

Full Story Here: Maddow: Herman Cain To Women: Think Twice Before You Accuse Me And Be Afraid – Be VERY Afraid! – YouTube.

Why Is the Oakland Police Department Hiding the Truth About Its Violent Crackdown on the Occupy Protests?

Oakland police appear to have violated their own guidelines, and now they’re refusing to release documents to civil rights attorneys as required by law.

After three notably violent crackdowns on protesters in as many weeks, Oakland Police Department officials have refused a request by the ACLU of Northern California to release police reports documenting their use of force as required by law.

“We saw events that we found extremely troubling, and which violated provisions of Oakland’s own crowd control policy,” Linda Lye, a staff attorney with ACLU of Northern California told AlterNet.

After recent police actions in Oakland gained national attention, “there was a lot of lip service paid to transparency and accountability and the public’s interest in monitoring the situation,” she said. “But then OPD proceeded to say that it was invoking one of the statutory exceptions to the Public Records Act for the vast majority of our requests.”

Full Story Here: Why Is the Oakland Police Department Hiding the Truth About Its Violent Crackdown on the Occupy Protests? | Occupy Wall Street | AlterNet.

Obama Health Care Reform Ruling: Appeals Court Upholds Law

A conservative-leaning appeals court panel on Tuesday upheld the constitutionality of President Barack Obama’s health care law, as the Supreme Court prepares to consider this week whether to resolve conflicting rulings over the law’s requirement that all Americans buy health care insurance.

A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a split opinion upholding the lower court’s ruling that found Congress did not overstep its authority in requiring people to have insurance or pay a penalty on their taxes, beginning in 2014. The requirement is the most controversial requirement of Obama’s signature domestic legislative achievement and the focus of conflicting opinions from judges across the country. The Supreme Court could decide as early as Thursday during a closed meeting of the justices whether to accept appeals from some of those earlier rulings.

The suit in Washington was brought by the American Center for Law and Justice, a legal group founded by evangelist Pat Robertson. It claimed that the insurance mandate is unconstitutional because it forces Americans to buy a product for the rest of their lives and that it violates the religious freedom of those who choose not to have insurance because they rely on God to protect them from harm. But the court ruled that Congress had the power to pass the requirement to ensure that all Americans can have health care coverage, even if it infringes on individual liberty.

Full Story Here: Obama Health Care Reform Ruling: Appeals Court Upholds Law.

Inspector General Will Investigate Keystone XL Decision

The State Department’s inspector general will investigate potential conflicts of interest within the Department’s approval process for TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline that would pump oil from the Alberta tar sands in Canada to the Gulf Coast, according to a letter released on Monday.

The investigation could delay the White House’s final decision on the project, which is currently due by the end of the year.

Environmental groups and 14 members of Congress recently requested an investigation into potential conflicts of interest such as TransCanada’s successful recommendation that Cardno Entrix, a massive contracting firm and major client of TransCanada, conduct much of the federally mandated environmental review of the pipeline project.

Full Story Here: Inspector General Will Investigate Keystone XL Decision | Truthout.

Michigan AG sues to shut down 2 abortion clinics

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has filed a lawsuit to close two women’s clinics that provide abortions in Saginaw and the Lansing area.

Schuette’s office filed a complaint Monday in Eaton County Circuit Court seeking to dissolve Health Care Clinic Inc. in Delta Township and Women’s Choice Clinic Inc. in Saginaw. The attorney general’s office says an investigation included evidence of improper medical records disposal at the clinics owned by Richard Remund.

Full Story Here: Metro and State | Michigan AG sues to shut down 2 abortion clinics | The Detroit News.

Papantonio: Voting Machines Still Dangerously Vulnerable to Hackers

After dropping off the front pages of progressive news publications and websites a few years ago, a lot of progressives believed that the problems with electronic voting machines had gone away. Nothing could be further from the truth. And as new investigations have shown, the new supply of voting machines that next year’s presidential election will be using are more flawed than any of the machines we’ve seen in the last decade. Mike Papantonio talks about the latest round of problems with electronic voting with Brad Friedman, founder of The Brad Blog.

Full Story Here: Papantonio: Voting Machines Still Dangerously Vulnerable to Hackers – YouTube.

Mississippi Personhood Bill Could Criminalize Doctors Who Perform An Abortion To Save A Woman’s Life

Physicians and medical associations are now speaking out against Mississippi’s personhood amendment, warning that it is “a dangerous intrusion of criminal law into the provision of medical care.”

Specifically, by criminalizing abortion, the measure could “criminalize routine medical practice that intentionally or not terminates a pregnancy” because, according to the measure, any fertilized egg — regardless of if and where it implants — could be considered a “person.” And because the measure has no exceptions for health of the mother (let alone rape or incest), Mississippi physicians are worried that termination of such a life-threatening pregnancy could still be considered a form of homicide:

[Mississippi Medical Association President Dr. Tom] Joiner and other opponents of Initiative 26 are concerned that by attempting to criminalize abortion, the initiative will criminalize routine medical practice that intentionally or not terminates a pregnancy. There is no mention in the initiative of an exception for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, nor for the health of the mother, as in the case of life-threatening conditions such as ectopic or molar pregnancies. (In an ectopic pregnancy the fertilized egg implants outside the uterus, most often in the fallopian tube; in a molar pregnancy the fertilized egg becomes an abnormal growth such as a tumor rather than a fetus.)

Full Story Here: Mississippi Personhood Bill Could Criminalize Doctors Who Perform An Abortion To Save A Woman’s Life | ThinkProgress.

The Justice Department reconsiders, now says it’s not really OK to lie to reporters

The Justice Department has gotten the message from journalists, interest groups and government watchdogs and has decided to withdraw its proposal to allow federal agencies to lie to people seeking sensitive documents under the Freedom of Information Act.

Currently, if a requested document is so sensitive that it would be dangerous to acknowledge its very existence, the government is allowed to tell you that it can neither confirm nor deny whether there is such a document.

Last month, the Justice Department proposed a rule revision that would let government agencies tell requesters there is no such document — even if there is. According to the proposal, which was retrieved by the nonprofit investigative project ProPublica, agencies would be allowed to “respond to the request as if the excluded records did not exist.”

Full Story Here: Open Channel – US reconsiders, now says it’s not really OK to lie to reporters.

Allied Home Mortgage Faces Multi-Billion Dollar Lawsuit From Government

The government sued Allied Home Mortgage Capital Corp and two top executives for at least $2.5 billion, accusing the company of fraud for misleading the government into believing its loans qualified for federal insurance, causing losses.

The civil fraud lawsuit seeks triple damages under the federal False Claims Act against Allied, Chief Executive Jim Hodge and Executive Vice President Jeanne Stell.

It contends that the poor quality of Allied mortgages insured by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) caused nearly one in three loans to default, causing more than $834 million of insurance claims.

Full Story Here: Allied Home Mortgage Faces Multi-Billion Dollar Lawsuit From Government.

Smithfield, North Carolina Police May Ignore ’911′ Calls If Not Provided More Gas Money

In one North Carolina town, some residents may not get an answer to their 911 calls because the police are running out of gas money.

In a town council meeting Tuesday night, Smithfield, North Carolina Police Chief Michael Scott will ask officials to let him use $30,000 meant for office supplies to buy gas for patrol cars, the Raleigh News and Observer reports. If he doesn’t get the money, Smith said the police force may stop responding to some 911 calls and investigating misdemeanors because he’s already cut patrols.

Smithfield isn’t the only town looking for ways to cut costs to contend with budget woes. High unemployment and a struggling housing market have pushed more than half of U.S. cities to cut staff, boost fees or cancel infrastructure projects, according to the National League of Cities. The situation has gotten so dire that deep state and local budget cuts may be slowing U.S. economic growth, according to The Associated Press.

City officials in Allen Park, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, announced Tuesday that they would lay off more than 30 police officers, firefighters and city workers, the Detroit Free Press reports. In Santa Ana, California a budget analysis found that the city may need to take steps including closing some fire stations at night to close a projected $30 million budget gap, according to Voice of OC.

Full Story Here: Smithfield, North Carolina Police May Ignore ’911′ Calls If Not Provided More Gas Money.

Hartmann: It’s time to Occupy the Courts

With Occupy Wall Street in full swing – it’s time to begin a new occupation…of our nation’s court system. Today we learned that corporations are spending millions and millions of dollars meddling in judicial elections around the nation. In fact – a new report by the Brennan Center for Justice, the NYU School of Law, and other independent judicial watchdogs – finds that just three corporate lobbyist groups – the Ohio Chamber of Commerce – the Business Council of Alabama – and the Illinois Civil Justice League – have outspent the ENTIRE labor movement in judicial elections around the nation. Those groups alone spent over $3 million last year making sure that corporate-friendly justices find their way onto benches everywhere. There’s long been a debate over what kind of judge is best – one elected by the people as most state judges are – or one appointed by the President as most federal judges are. But the truth is – now that corporations are allowed to spend unlimited amounts in our elections – both types of judges have been corrupted – transformed from professional jurists into corporate shills.

Full Story Here: Hartmann: It’s time to Occupy the Courts – YouTube.

Federal judge orders TN to stop arresting Occupy Nashville protesters for curfew violation

A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order today requiring the state to stop enforcing a hastily drawn up policy that set a curfew for gatherings at Legislative Plaza and resulted in about 50 arrests of Occupy Nashville protesters.

Local attorneys and the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee filed a lawsuit this morning against Gov. Bill Haslam and other state officials and requested a temporary restraining order to prevent any further arrests. U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger granted the request. The state did not object to the restraining order and agreed to work out its differences with protesters.

After tolerating the protest for three weeks, Haslam approved a crackdown on demonstrators last week, citing safety and sanitation concerns at the plaza. The state instituted a new use policy for Legislative Plaza that included a curfew and permit requirements.

Full Story Here: Federal judge orders TN to stop arresting Occupy Nashville protesters for curfew violation | The Tennessean | tennessean.com.

Judge blocks restrictions on ‘Occupy Nashville’ protest

A federal judge Monday afternoon ordered Tennessee to stop enforcing new rules that restricted “Occupy Nashville” demonstrators’ ability to protest in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee (ACLU-TN).

“The state cannot arbitrarily create restrictive policies just because it does not like how people are using a public space,” said ACLU-TN Legal Director Tricia Herzfeld. “Today’s decision is the first step in restoring demonstrators’ free speech rights.”

The protesters had been camped at Legislative Plaza in downtown Nashville to protest the economic and political consolidation of power since October 9.

Full Story Here: Judge blocks restrictions on ‘Occupy Nashville’ protest | The Raw Story.

Supreme Court Looks At Plea Bargain Advice: How Much Bad Lawyering Is Allowed?

When Anthony Cooper shot a fleeing woman in the thigh and buttocks back in 2003, his lawyer advised him to reject the prosecution’s deal because those below-the-waist wounds would shield him from any suggestion he tried to kill her. The advice was absurd.

The question before the Supreme Court on Monday morning was whether it was absurd enough to violate Cooper’s Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel.

The facts of Lafler v. Cooper are straightforward enough: Michigan prosecutors offered Cooper a lower sentence in exchange for his pleading guilty to assault with intent to murder. His lawyer told him to reject the deal, and he did. At trial, Cooper was convicted and received a stiffer sentence than the one initially offered by prosecutors.

Full Story Here: Supreme Court Looks At Plea Bargain Advice: How Much Bad Lawyering Is Allowed?.

ES&S Attempts to Block PA County’s Independent Audit of Failed Touch-Screens

After no objections previously, the nation’s largest e-voting company attempts to kibosh computer scientists’ forensic examination in Venango County, PA…

Despite failing to object for months prior, the nation’s largest electronic voting system vendor, ES&S, is now attempting to stop a landmark independent examination of their e-voting systems in a Pennsylvania county dead in its tracks.

An October letter from the company, obtained by The BRAD BLOG, charges that Venango County, PA, is in violation of their contract agreements with the Omaha-based e-voting Goliath, even as two volunteer Carnegie Mellon computer scientists are in the midst of a forensic audit of the county’s May 17 primary election. The county’s investigation comes on the heels of apparent failures of the ES&S iVotronic touch-screen voting system during their recent primary and several other recent elections in Venango.

Full Story Here: The BRAD BLOG : EXCLUSIVE: ES&S Attempts to Block PA County’s Independent Audit of Failed Touch-Screens.

Prosecutions going up for war zone crime

A Marine in Iraq sent home $43,000 in stolen cash by hiding it in a footlocker among American flags. A soldier shipped thousands more concealed in a toy stuffed animal, and an embassy employee tricked the State Department into wiring $240,000 into his foreign bank account.

As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down, the number of people indicted and convicted by the U.S. for bribery, theft and other reconstruction-related crimes in both countries is rapidly rising, according to two government reports released Sunday.

“This is a boom industry for us,” Stuart Bowen, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, or SIGIR, said in an interview.

“Investigators and auditors had a productive quarter,” said a report on the theft of Afghanistan aid by Steven Trent, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR. The report covered August through October.

Full Story Here: Excite News – Reports: Prosecutions going up for war zone crime.

Goldman Sachs Sued By Hedge Fund For Knowingly Selling Toxic Mortgage-Backed Investments

A new lawsuit accuses Goldman Sachs of purposely unloading $93 million in mortgage-backed securities it knew to be junk onto a client, then betting against those same securities in the lead-up to the financial crisis.

Basis Yield Alpha Fund, an Australian hedge fund, filed the lawsuit against Goldman Sachs on Thursday, asking for more than $1 billion in damages. The lawsuit alleges that Goldman Sachs overcharged for two sets of mortgage-backed securities that it sold to Basis; lied about the securities’ expected performance; did not provide timely, accurate information about the securities’ true value; and failed to disclose that the firm was actively betting against the securities at the time of the transaction — all which the hedge fund says contributed to its collapse.

“They were lying to clients in order to get junk off their books,” said Eric Lewis, the Washington-based attorney who is leading the Basis Fund’s lawsuit against Goldman. “They were basically selling a time bomb … and what they sold blew up in our face, but what they couldn’t sell blew up in their face.”

Full Story Here: Goldman Sachs Sued By Hedge Fund For Knowingly Selling Toxic Mortgage-Backed Investments.

Goldman Sachs Rajat Gupta Indicted

Rajat Gupta, a former director at Goldman Sachs and Procter & Gamble, is being indicted on insider trading, U.S. Prosecutors announced today. The indictment was expected after Gupta’s name came up in the trial against Raj Rajaratnam, who was recently sentenced for insider trading. CNBC reports.

“It is a lot of things that we already knew, now that this indictment has been unsealed against Rajat Gupta. One count of conspiracy, five counts of securities fraud, facing a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy count and 20 years on each of the fraud counts.”

The prosecution says Gupta called Rajaratnam with privileged information likely to impact stock prices: information that Rajaratnam then traded on, reaping illicit gains. But that could become difficult to prove, as The New York Times reports:

Full Story Here: Rajat Gupta Indicted.

The Patriot Act, 10 Years Later

This week marks 10 years since the Patriot Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush. The ACLU is hosting a blog series that will address some of the sweeping changes to surveillance laws over the past decade. To learn more about the Patriot Act, visit www.aclu.org/patriot.

This Wednesday will mark 10 years since the Patriot Act was enacted. Pushed through Congress without debate, the massive surveillance bill was hastily passed just 45 days after 9/11, and was the first of many changes to surveillance laws over the past decade that made it easier for the government to spy on innocent Americans.

Since the Patriot Act was first enacted, lawmakers have authorized extension after extension, refusing to make any meaningful changes to the law. This is despite the fact that — according to Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) — there are two versions of the Patriot Act: one that the public sees, and a secret interpretation that the government keeps to itself. Senator Wyden has stated, “When the American people find out how their government has secretly interpreted the Patriot Act, they will be stunned and they will be angry.” Furthermore, since its passage, the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General has repeatedly found widespread blatant abuse of the statute. Yet, earlier this year, Congress passed a four-year extension of expiring Patriot Act provisions, which are now set to expire on June 1, 2015.

Full Story Here: The Patriot Act, 10 Years Later » Blog of Rights: Official Blog of the American Civil Liberties Union.

How the Legal System Favors the 1 Percent

Wall Street tycoons have destroyed the economic security of millions of people around the world—yet they haven’t faced the slightest legal repercussions.

—By Glenn Greenwald

As intense protests spawned by Occupy Wall Street continue to grow, it is worth asking: Why now? The answer is not obvious. After all, severe income and wealth inequality have long plagued the United States. In fact, it could reasonably be claimed that this form of inequality is part of the design of the American founding—indeed, an integral part of it.

Income inequality has worsened over the past several years and is at its highest level since the Great Depression. This is not, however, a new trend. Income inequality has been growing at rapid rates for three decades. As journalist Tim Noah described the process:

“During the late 1980s and the late 1990s, the United States experienced two unprecedentedly long periods of sustained economic growth—the ‘seven fat years’ and the ‘long boom.’ Yet from 1980 to 2005, more than 80 percent of total increase in Americans’ income went to the top 1 percent. Economic growth was more sluggish in the aughts, but the decade saw productivity increase by about 20 percent. Yet virtually none of the increase translated into wage growth at middle and lower incomes, an outcome that left many economists scratching their heads.”

Full Story Here: How the Legal System Favors the 1 Percent | Mother Jones.

Former Goldman Sachs Director, Expected To Face Criminal Charges: Source

Rajat Gupta, Former Goldman Sachs Director, Expected To Face Criminal Charges: Source.

Under pressure to make arrests, police and troopers DON’T!

In a tense battle of wills, state troopers and Albany police held off making arrests of dozens of protesters near the Capitol over the weekend even as Albany’s mayor, under pressure from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration, had urged his police chief to enforce a city curfew.

The situation intensified late Friday evening when Jennings, who has cultivated a strong relationship with Cuomo, directed his department to arrest protesters who refused to leave the city-owned portion of a large park that’s across Washington Avenue from the Capitol and City Hall.

At the Capitol, in anticipation of possibly dozens of arrests, a State Police civil disturbance unit was quietly activated, according to officials briefed on the matter but not authorized to comment publicly. But as the curfew neared, the group of protesters estimated at several hundred moved across an invisible line in the park from state land onto city property.

Full Story Here: Under pressure to make arrests, police and troopers push back – Times Union.

Important! Newt is right about the Supreme Court

 Thom Hartmann :-:

On this, Gingrich agrees with former President Thomas Jefferson – and most of the other founders of this country. Let’s break it down.

First, Newt’s assertion that the Congress can pass laws that limit the powers and behavior of the Supreme Court. The Constitution, in Section Two of Article Three which establishes the Judiciary, does give Congress the power to define and limit what the Supreme Court can and can’t do. Here’s the exact language, “The Supreme Court shall have appelate jurisdiction both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.” Yes, that’s what the Constitution says – in plain black and white. If Congress disagrees with – for example – the Citizens United decision, or the Bush v. Gore meeting – they can simply pass a law that says that the Supreme Court has overstepped its authority and that’s the end of that.

Why, you may ask, did the Founders write it this way?

The answer is really simple. They wanted the greatest power to be closest to the people – and Congress is up for election every two years. It’s the body in our representative democratic republic that is closest to the people. It’s where they wanted most of the power, which is why it’s defined in Article One of the Constitution – the first among equals. As Thomas Jefferson wrote in an 1820 letter to Mr. Jarvis, who thought Supreme Court justices should have the power to strike down laws, ”You seem to consider the judges the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions; a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy….The Constitution has erected no such single tribunal… I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society, but the people themselves.

Full Story Here: OpEdNews – Article: Thom Hartmann: Important! Newt is right about the Supreme Court.

Five Candidates for the Corporate Death Penalty

One of the most famous signs to come out of Occupy Wall Street stated simply: “I will believe corporations are people when Texas executes one.”

That was sort of a joke.

But in fact, for the benefit of real live human beings, some corporations ought to be executed.

My guess is that most of the occupiers at Wall Street would be in favor of the corporate death penalty.

Some – like Richard Grossman – would criminalize the corporate form.

But if you want to take the incremental approach, here’s my list of five candidates for the corporate death penalty.

Full Story Here: Single Payer Action.

Federal judge throws out 3 charges in Danziger Bridge case

Four of the defendants convicted in August in the Danziger Bridge police shootings and a subsequent cover-up got a small measure of relief from a federal judge this morning.

U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt, who presided over the six-week trial, threw out convictions on three of the 25 counts at issue in the case, saying the government failed to meet its burden of proof for certain defendants on those specific counts. A jury in August returned convictions on all 25 counts, although none of the officers was charged in all counts.

Engelhardt’s 13-page ruling was perhaps most notable for the tart language the judge used at times in criticizing the federal government’s witnesses and its lawyers.

It’s not clear how the ruling will affect sentencing for the five officers, which is set for Dec. 14. The effect is likely to be minimal, because the charges on the most serious counts remain in force. But lawyers for the convicted officers hailed the tossed charges as a rare bit of good news for their camp.

Full Story Here: Federal judge throws out 3 charges in Danziger Bridge case | NOLA.com.

Another Corporate Thief Gets Off the Hook — 5 Reasons to be Outraged at the SEC’s Ruling on Citigroup’s Scams

The President says he understands the frustration behind the Occupy Wall Street movement. That’s nice. But the anger will keep growing as long as the government keeps handing out free passes instead of perp walks to bankers at serial corporate criminals like Citigroup.

The Administration is finally talking the talk, but without criminal investigations it’s not walking the walk. It’s still not too late. While the SEC’s latest deal should outrage you, the Administration can makes things right with two decisive actions.

Get-Out-of-Jail Free Card

The SEC announced Wednesday that Citigroup agreed to pay $285 million to settle charges that it misled (synonyms for that word include deceived; lied to; tricked and defrauded) investors in a mortgage securities deal, telling them it was a good investment when it knew otherwise and was secretly betting it would fail.

Full Story Here: Another Corporate Thief Gets Off the Hook — 5 Reasons to be Outraged at the SEC’s Ruling on Citigroup’s Scams | Occupy Wall Street | AlterNet.

Max Keiser: ‘US bankers stole billions’

After nearly one month of “Occupy Wall Street” protests the campaign against corporate greed, social inequality and the banking industry has gone global.

Full Story Here: Max Keiser: ‘US bankers stole billions’ – YouTube.

Over 1,000 Americans Have Been Arrested Protesting Wall Street, While Bankers Have Dodged Major Prosecutions

One of the major complaints made against the financial sector by demonstrators who began their occupation of Wall Street one month ago today is that there have been few major prosecutions of banking executives and other financial actors for financial frauds and other crimes related to the economic crisis. The handful of serious enforcement actions that have been made include an 11-year sentence against Goldman executive Raj Rajaratnam for insider trading and the conviction of the chairman of Florida-based mortgage-lender firm Taylor, Bean & Whitaker for $3 billion in fraud. Major players at the upper echelon of most banks remain untouched for their role in the crisis.

Yet while state and federal law enforcement officials — with a handful of exceptions, like New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman — have largely strayed away from major lawsuits prosecutions in the financial sector, thousands of Americans have faced arrest for misdemeanors — including simply staying in a public park overnight — they committed while protesting Wall Street and corporate greed. ThinkProgress has assembled a short summary of just some of the well over a thousand arrests that have taken place across the country during occupations and other protest actions over just the past month:

Full Story Here: Over 1,000 Americans Have Been Arrested Protesting Wall Street, While Bankers Have Dodged Major Prosecutions | ThinkProgress.

Matt Taibbi: Break Up the ‘Too-Big-to-Fail’ Financial Behemoths that Destroyed the Economy

Taibbi and Keith Olbermann discuss whether it’s possible to break apart “too-big-to-fail” institutions.

Video at link:

Taibbi: First of all, nobody asked my advice on any of this and they’re doing great without the advice of people like me. But …

Olbermann: It’s a democracy, everybody has a voice, take your platform.

Taibbi: Everybody has a voice. But there are a lot of people who have been following this whole issue of Wall Street corruption for years. There’s a small community of those people and we’ve been talking amongst each other for the past few weeks — trying to think about, what would the demands be? What would a good demand be if it came time to make one?

And the one thing everybody can agree on is that you have to break up the too-big-to-fail companies. You gotta go in and get rid of those companies because they’re above the law and above the market. They have the implicit support of the United States government, which is a disastrous, deadly situation for everybody. So that’s thing one, and that’s something they could actually get to –

Olbermann: How?

Full Story Here: Matt Taibbi: Break Up the ‘Too-Big-to-Fail’ Financial Behemoths that Destroyed the Economy | Economy | AlterNet.

Did Tenet Fail to Share Information That Could Have Prevented the 9/11 Attacks? Insiders Voice Doubts About the CIA’s 9/11 story

Former FBI agents say the agency’s bin Laden unit misled them about two hijackers.

A growing number of former government insiders — all responsible officials who served in a number of federal posts — are now on record as doubting ex-CIA director George Tenet’s account of events leading up to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Among them are several special agents of the FBI, the former counterterrorism head in the Clinton and Bush administrations, and the chairman of the 9/11 Commission, who told us the CIA chief had been “obviously not forthcoming” in his testimony and had misled the commissioners.

These doubts about the CIA first emerged among a group of 9/11 victims’ families whose struggle to force the government to investigate the causes of the attacks, we chronicled in our 2006 documentary film “Press for Truth.” At that time, we thought we were done with the subject. But tantalizing information unearthed by the 9/11 Commission’s final report and spotted by the families (Chapter 6, footnote 44) raised a question too important to be put aside:

Did Tenet fail to share intelligence with the White House and the FBI in 2000 and 2001 that could have prevented the attacks? Specifically, did a group in the CIA’s al-Qaida office engage in a domestic covert action operation involving two of the 9/11 hijackers, that — however legitimate the agency’s goals may have been — hindered the type of intelligence-sharing that could have prevented the attacks? And if not, then what would explain seemingly inexplicable actions by CIA employees?

Full Story Here: Did Tenet Fail to Share Information That Could Have Prevented the 9/11 Attacks? Insiders Voice Doubts About the CIA’s 9/11 story | World | AlterNet.

We fabricated drug charges against innocent people to meet arrest quotas, former detective testifies

A former NYPD narcotics detective snared in a corruption scandal testified it was common practice to fabricate drug charges against innocent people to meet arrest quotas.

The bombshell testimony from Stephen Anderson is the first public account of the twisted culture behind the false arrests in the Brooklyn South and Queens narc squads, which led to the arrests of eight cops and a massive shakeup.

Anderson, testifying under a cooperation agreement with prosecutors, was busted for planting cocaine, a practice known as “flaking,” on four men in a Queens bar in 2008 to help out fellow cop Henry Tavarez, whose buy-and-bust activity had been low.

Full Story Here: We fabricated drug charges against innocent people to meet arrest quotas, former detective testifies.

Florida AG Pam Bondi Pressured By Targets Of Investigations To Soften Approach, Critics Say

Last December, when she was still investigating foreclosure fraud as a top lawyer in the Florida attorney general’s office, June Clarkson gave a PowerPoint presentation to a legal association.

Her presentation amounted to an indictment of Lender Processing Services, or LPS, a company near the center of ongoing state investigations into claims that foreclosures have been rushed en masse through the legal machinery, without proper documentation. She flashed images of paperwork on a screen under the heading “forgeries,” asserting that LPS’ former subsidiary, Docx, had produced phony documents to justify unlawful foreclosures.

The legal association later sent Clarkson a thank-you note, calling her tutorial “invaluable.” Word of her presentation reached New York, where a state Supreme Court judge cited it in a harshly-worded ruling that a bank lacked the right to foreclose on a Brooklyn home.

Full Story Here: Florida AG Pam Bondi Pressured By Targets Of Investigations To Soften Approach, Critics Say.

Alabama Law Makes It A Felony For Undocumented Immigrants To Have Water At Their Homes

At least one utility company in Alabama posted a sign informing its customers that a section of Alabama’s extreme anti-immigrant law prohibits them from providing water service to undocumented immigrants. According to the sign at Allgood Water Works in Blount County, Alabama, customers must have “an Alabama driver’s license or an Alabama picture ID card on file” by the date that the immigration law went into effect; otherwise, they risked losing their water service.

Sadly, the picture for Alabama’s immigrants is even grimmer than this sign suggests. Indeed, under one provision of the state’s immigration law, HB 56, it is a felony for an undocumented immigrant to even attempt to do business with Alabama’s state-run water agencies:

An alien not lawfully present in the United States shall not enter into or attempt to enter into a business transaction with the state or a political subdivision of the state and no person shall enter into a business transaction or attempt to enter into a business transaction on behalf of an alien not lawfully present in the United States. [...]

A violation of this section is a Class C felony.

Full Story Here: Alabama Law Makes It A Felony For Undocumented Immigrants To Have Water At Their Homes | ThinkProgress.

Koch Brothers Destroyed By Bloomberg Report

The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur on an investigative piece in Bloomberg on the Koch Brothers.

Full Story Here: Koch Brothers Destroyed By Bloomberg Report – YouTube.

Anatomy of a $30 Billion Medicare Crime

Like all great capers, this $30 billion Medicare crime unfolded in plain sight. A drug rep sat in the doctor’s office, balancing folders on his knees and flipping through the patient files. He wore a starched shirt, navy slacks and a golf tan from that day he’d convinced the doctor-client to participate in his company’s “mini-trial.” The deal was this: if the oncologist would inject his patients with high doses of a poorly tested drug, he could pocket $1,500.

But the doctor was too busy to select patients for this “study.” So, the salesman, Dean McClellan, combed through the confidential patient files himself, searching for a few human guinea pigs to enroll. He found his subjects and, over the ensuing weeks, tracked their reactions to the high doses of the anti-anemia drug Procrit. “Cancer to the brain was worse,” the rep wrote in one patient chart. “But anemia was better.”

Let us count the ways in which this was illegal. First, the payments were bribesused to seduce doctors to pump Procrit doses to levels not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Procrit helps cancer patients produce enough red blood cells so they can avoid blood transfusions and withstand chemotherapy. Yet, some patients in McClellan’s “trials” weren’t undergoing chemo. Many didn’t even know they were being used as guinea pigs. Worse, there was no investigative review board, control group or protocol as there’d be in a bona fide scientific study. If there had been, someone might have noticed that three out of five people were dying in McClellan’s jerry-rigged trials.

Full Story Here: Anatomy of a $30 Billion Medicare Crime | Truthout.

Koch Brothers Flout Law Getting Richer With Secret Iran Sales

In May 2008, a unit of Koch Industries Inc., one of the world’s largest privately held companies, sent Ludmila Egorova-Farines, its newly hired compliance officer and ethics manager, to investigate the management of a subsidiary in Arles in southern France. In less than a week, she discovered that the company had paid bribes to win contracts.

“I uncovered the practices within a few days,” Egorova- Farines says. “They were not hidden at all.”

She immediately notified her supervisors in the U.S. A week later, Wichita, Kansas-based Koch Industries dispatched an investigative team to look into her findings, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its November issue.

Full Story Here: Koch Brothers Flout Law Getting Richer With Secret Iran Sales – Bloomberg.

Health care reform tops Supreme Court docket

Profanity on television, police use of GPS without a warrant, and the status of Jerusalem on passports are grist for the new US Supreme Court session opening Monday, but the main event will be President Barack Obama’s landmark health care reform.

The nine justices on the highest court in the land already have 50 cases on the table for the new session, which runs until the end of June 2012.

The court has dealt with up to 75 cases in past sessions, so the extra space could be interpreted as leaving extra room to tackle the sweeping health care reform that Obama championed and signed into law in early 2010.

Full Story Here: Health care reform tops Supreme Court docket | The Raw Story.

Rachel Maddow Questions Legality Of Anwar al-Awlaki Killing (VIDEO)

Rachel Maddow raised a series of questions about the legality of the killing of the U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki on her Friday show.

Al-Awlaki was killed by a U.S. airstrike on Friday morning. While many lawmakers and pundits celebrated the death, others were troubled by the precedent that might be set by killing an American citizen without any trial or evidence presented against him.

Maddow ran through the long list of operations that al-Awlaki was allegedly involved in. She noted that there were “a lot of ‘allegedlys’” in the list, and that “none of those allegations was ever made in court.” The only due process involved in al-Awlaki’s killing, she says, was that President Obama ordered him to be killed.

Full Story Here: Rachel Maddow Questions Legality Of Anwar al-Awlaki Killing (VIDEO).

Iowa District Pays $300K Over Strip Searches

The Atlantic school district has agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a lawsuit filed over student strip searches.

Settlement documents released by the district show the families of three girls will each get $100,000. Other details of the settlement were confidential.

Full Story Here: Iowa District Pays $300K Over Strip Searches | KCRG-TV9 | Cedar Rapids, Iowa News, Sports, and Weather | Local News.

Judge Rules Florida Prison Privatization Unconstitutional

Tallahassee, Florida circuit court judge sided with a union today in ruling that a prison privatization scheme lawmakers included in the state budget violates Florida’s constitution. The Florida Police Benevolent Association, which represents correctional workers in the state, filed a lawsuit saying the method in the which lawmakers planned to privatize 29 prisons in southern Florida violated state law, arguing that it should have been done via a separate law, not through the budget. Tallahassee Judge Jackie Fulford agreed, adding that lawmakers rushed the process:

Full Story Here: Judge Rules Florida Prison Privatization Unconstitutional | ThinkProgress.

How Companies Plunder and Profit from the Nest Eggs of American Workers

What really happened to the retirement benefits of millions of Americans at thousands of companies.

In December 2010, General Electric held its Annual Outlook Investor Meeting at Rockefeller Center in New York City. At the meeting, chief executive Jeffrey Immelt stood on the Saturday Night Live stage and gave the gathered analysts and shareholders a rundown on the global conglomerate’s health. But in contrast to the iconic comedy show that is filmed at Rock Center each week, Immelt’s tone was solemn. Like many other CEOs at large companies, Immelt pointed out that his firm’s pension plan was an ongoing problem. The “pension has been a drag for a decade,” he said, and it would cause the company to lose 13 cents per share the next year. Regretfully, to rein in costs, GE was going to close the pension plan to new employees.

The audience had every reason to believe him. An escalating chorus of bloggers, pundits, talk show hosts, and media stories bemoan the burgeoning pension-and-retirement crisis in America, and GE was just the latest of hundreds of companies, from IBM to Verizon, that have slashed pensions and medical benefits for millions of American retirees. To justify these cuts, companies complain they’re victims of a “perfect storm” of uncontrollable economic forces—an aging workforce, entitled retirees, a stock market debacle, and an outmoded pension system that cripples their chances of competing against pensionless competitors and companies overseas.

Full Story Here: How Companies Plunder and Profit from the Nest Eggs of American Workers | Books | AlterNet.

Koch brothers spooked by forthcoming story

 Anonymous sources try to discredit Bloomberg article on Koch Industries before it’s even published

Here’s a rule of thumb about public relations: When P.R. pros begin furiously spinning a story before it has even come out, there’s a pretty good chance the story is going to be damaging to the reputation of said P.R. pros’ bosses.

And that’s exactly what we’re seeing right now, as an anonymous person or persons in the orbit of the billionaire conservative donors Charles and David Koch try to discredit a forthcoming story in Bloomberg Markets magazine.

Based on the prebuttal items appearing this week in the Washington Examiner, the Daily Caller, and U.S. News and World Report, the Bloomberg story focuses on alleged malfeasance and/or fraud and/or bad behavior by the conglomerate Koch Industries.

Full Story Here: Koch brothers spooked by forthcoming story – Salon.com.

OPS: let’s not forget that these guys pay 2 PR firms to scrub their Wiki references on a daily basis

The due-process-free assassination of U.S. citizens is now reality

Glenn Greenwald :-:

It was first reported in January of last year that the Obama administration had compiled a hit list of American citizens whom the President had ordered assassinated without any due process, and one of those Americans was Anwar al-Awlaki. No effort was made to indict him for any crimes (despite a report last October that the Obama administration was “considering” indicting him). Despite substantial doubt among Yemen experts about whether he even had any operational role in Al Qaeda, no evidence (as opposed to unverified government accusations) was presented of his guilt. When Awlaki’s father sought a court order barring Obama from killing his son, the DOJ argued, among other things, that such decisions were “state secrets” and thus beyond the scrutiny of the courts. He was simply ordered killed by the President: his judge, jury and executioner. When Awlaki’s inclusion on President Obama’s hit list was confirmed, The New York Times noted that “it is extremely rare, if not unprecedented, for an American to be approved for targeted killing.”

After several unsuccessful efforts to assassinate its own citizen, the U.S. succeeded today (and it was the U.S.). It almost certainly was able to find and kill Awlaki with the help of its long-time close friend President Saleh, who took a little time off from murdering his own citizens to help the U.S. murder its. The U.S. thus transformed someone who was, at best, a marginal figure into a martyr, and again showed its true face to the world. The government and media search for The Next bin Laden has undoubtedly already commenced.

Full Story Here: The due-process-free assassination of U.S. citizens is now reality – Salon.com.

California breaks from 50-state probe into mortgage lenders .

California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris will no longer take part in a national foreclosure probe of some of the nation’s biggest banks, which are accused of pervasive misconduct in dealing with troubled homeowners.

Harris removed herself from talks by a coalition of state attorneys general and federal agencies investigating abusive foreclosure practices because the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers were not offering California homeowners relief commensurate to what people in the state had suffered, Harris told The Times on Friday.

The big banks were also demanding to be granted overly broad immunity from legal claims that could potentially derail further investigations into Wall Street’s role in the mortgage meltdown, Harris said.

“It has been a process of negotiating and sitting at a table in good faith, but ultimately I have decided that we have to go our own course and take an independent path. And that decision is because we need to bring relief to Californians that is equal to the pain California experienced, and what is being negotiated now is insufficient,” Harris told The Times in an interview.

Full Story Here: California breaks from 50-state probe into mortgage lenders [Updated] – latimes.com.

OPS: Broke because the negotiations are heading towards another capitulation to banking interests. Good for California!

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is out of order for hiding payout to wife: House Democrats

Congressional Democrats demanded an ethics investigation Thursday into Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for allegedly failing to disclose that his wife was paid $700,000 by a conservative think tank.

They say Thomas marked off the “none” box on his annual financial disclosure form while his wife, Virginia, was raking in the dough working for the Heritage Foundation.

Between 2003 and 2007, she was paid $700,000, they claim.

“To believe that Justice Thomas didn’t know how to fill out a basic disclosure form is absurd,” said Rep. Louise Slaughter, a Democrat from Rochester, N.Y.

Slaughter has asked the Judicial Conference of the United States to decide whether Thomas’ disclosure mess should be passed on to the Justice Department for review. The question is whether Thomas has failed to comply with the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.

It requires all federal judges to disclose their spouse’s employer.

Full Story Here: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is out of order for hiding payout to wife: House Democrats.

Veterans attempt citizens arrest of Rumsfeld in Boston

Several members of the group Veterans for Peace were escorted out of the Old South Meeting House in Boston Monday night after they attempted a citizen’s arrest of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

“I went down in front and looked Donald Rumsfeld in the eye and said, ‘I’m making a citizen’s arrest,’” protester Nate Goldschlag told WCVB-TV.

“He lied us into Iraq. He lied about weapons of mass destruction. He lied about Saddam Hussein being involved in 9/11.”

Three of the protesters removed from the event were with Veterans for Peace and a fourth was a member of Code Pink. One protester was arrested outside the event for allegedly using a bullhorn to assault a police officer.

Full Story Here: Veterans attempt citizens arrest of Rumsfeld in Boston | Raw Replay.

In a First, SEC Warns Rating Agency It May Bring Financial Crisis Lawsuit

Though they’ve been faulted for their central role in the financial crisis, the major credit-ratings agencies have thus far weathered the fallout of the crisis with no sanctions from federal regulators and little more than a bruised reputation.

But that could change soon.

In a formal warning known as a Wells notice, the Securities and Exchange Commission informed credit-ratings firm Standard & Poor’s that it’s considering civil charges tied to the firm’s ratings of a 2007 mortgage-backed securities deal. It’s the first such warning to be given to a credit-ratings agency over matters directly related to the financial crisis.

The deal, known as Delphinus, was one of more than two-dozen collateralized debt obligations linked to the hedge fund Magnetar, whose role in creating and betting against risky CDOs was detailed in a ProPublica investigation last year. Completed in the summer of 2007, Delphinus was one of the last deals done by Magnetar and was underwritten by the Japanese bank Mizuho.Details on S&P’s potential violations are still unclear. But last year’s Senate investigation of the financial crisis may contain some hints.

Full Story Here: The Washington Current: In a First, SEC Warns Rating Agency It May Bring Financial Crisis Lawsuit.

The collapse of American justice

Not long ago, we had a low incarceration rate and a system that worked. Then everything started to unravel

Among the great untold stories of our time is this one: the last half of the twentieth century saw America’s criminal justice system unravel. Signs of the unraveling are everywhere. The nation’s record- shattering prison population has grown out of control. Still more so the African American portion of that prison population: for black males, a term in the nearest penitentiary has become an ordinary life experience, a horrifying truth that wasn’t true a mere generation ago. Ordinary life experiences are poor deterrents, one reason why massive levels of criminal punishment coexist with historically high levels of urban violence.

Outside the South, most cities’ murder rates are a multiple of the rates in those same cities sixty years ago — notwithstanding a large drop in violent crime in the 1990s. Within cities, crime is low in safe neighborhoods but remains a huge problem in dangerous ones, and those dangerous neighborhoods are disproportionately poor and black. Last but not least, we have built a justice system that strikes many of its targets as wildly unjust. The feeling has some evidentiary support: criminal litigation regularly makes awful mistakes, as the frequent DNA-based exonerations of convicted defendants illustrate. Evidently, the criminal justice system is doing none of its jobs well: producing justice, avoiding discrimination, protecting those who most need the law’s protection, keeping crime in check while maintaining reasonable limits on criminal punishment.

It was not always so. For much of American history — again, outside the South — criminal justice institutions punished sparingly, mostly avoided the worst forms of discrimination, controlled crime effectively, and, for the most part, treated those whom the system targets fairly. The justice system was always flawed, and injustices always happened. Nevertheless, one might fairly say that criminal justice worked. It doesn’t anymore.

Full Story Here: The collapse of American justice – Hoarding – Salon.com.

Church’s Intervention In Politics Should Spark IRS Action

The city of Memphis, Tenn., is in the middle of a municipal election, and a large Baptist church has decided to let everyone know who the true “pro-family” candidates are. Isn’t that special?

Actually, it’s illegal.

The leadership of Bellevue Baptist in Cordova. Tenn., may think they’re being clever. The church doesn’t come right out and post its favored candidates on its website. Instead, the church links to another website that lists three candidates deemed worthy of support.

If the church thinks this one-step-removed partisan political stunt is going to save them, they’re wrong. They are still in violation of the law.

Church officials are angry because a political action committee run by the Tennessee Equality Project (TEP) hopes to replace some anti-gay council members with candidates who are friendlier to the cause of gay rights. This is not surprising. It’s what PACs do.

Another PAC could come along and promote the anti-gay slate – but a church cannot. Nevertheless, that’s just what Bellevue Baptist is doing.

Full Story Here: | Memphis Blues: Church’s Intervention In Politics Should Spark IRS Action.

Feinstein campaign sues bank, ex-treasurer over missing funds

Senator Dianne Feinstein’s campaign sued its former treasurer and the First California Bank on Friday, seeking the return of millions of dollars in missing funds the campaign believes were embezzled.

Campaign officials said the action came after the bank failed to provide the campaign access to its own account records when a tangle of unauthorized money transfers and co-mingling of funds was unearthed.

The irregularities were spread across 400 bank accounts and dozens of organizations over a period of years, they said.

Full Story Here: Feinstein campaign sues bank, ex-treasurer over missing funds | The Raw Story.

Is the Saudi Royal Family Connected to 9/11 Hijackers?

New evidence links the Saudi royal family to Saudis in South Florida, who reportedly had contact with the 9/11 hijackers before fleeing the US prior to the attacks.

WhoWhatWhy has found evidence linking the Saudi royal family to Saudis in South Florida who reportedly had direct contact with the 9/11 hijackers before fleeing the United States just prior to the attacks. Our report connects some of the dots first laid out by investigative author Anthony Summers and Florida-based journalist Dan Christensen in articles jointly published in the Miami Herald and on the nonprofit news site BrowardBulldog.org.

In early September of this year, Summers and Christensen reported that a secret FBI probe, never shared with Congressional investigators or the presidential 9/11 commission, had uncovered information indicating the possibility of support for the hijackers from previously unknown confederates in the United States during 2001.

Now WhoWhatWhy reveals that those alleged confederates were closely tied to influential members of the Saudi ruling elite.

Full Story Here: Is the Saudi Royal Family Connected to 9/11 Hijackers? | | AlterNet.

Wis. gov.’s spokesman, 2 others granted immunity in secret investigation of aides

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s spokesman and two others have been granted immunity in an investigation of the Republican governor’s current and former aides.

Retired Waukesha County Judge Neal Nettesheim said Friday that he granted immunity to Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie, Wisconsin and Southern Railroad spokesman Ken Lucht and Milwaukee County Republican Party official Roseann Dieck.

Nettesheim said in an interview from his home that they were granted immunity at different times, more than 60 days ago, during the course of a secret John Doe investigation. That investigation is a proceeding in which witnesses can be compelled to testify under oath about potential criminal matters.

Full Story Here: Wis. gov.’s spokesman, 2 others granted immunity in secret investigation of aides – The Washington Post.

ACLU: Ala. town cannot impose church sentences

A civil liberties group said Friday that an Alabama town should not start an alternative sentencing program that would give non-violent offenders a new choice: Go to jail, or go to church.

Starting next week, the program will allow a city judge to sentence misdemeanor offenders to work off their sentences in jail and pay a fine, or go to church every Sunday for a year. Offenders who select church can pick the place of worship but must check in weekly with the pastor and the police department. If the one-year church attendance program is completed successfully, the offender’s case will be dismissed.

“It’s an easy choice for me,” Bay Minette Police Chief Michael Rowland told WKRG-TV (http://bit.ly/pxO8VN). “If I was given the choice of going to jail and paying a heavy fine or just going to church, I’d certainly select church.”

Full Story Here: ACLU: Ala. town cannot impose church sentences – seattlepi.com.

Footprints of Systemic Election Fraud: 1988-2008 State Exit Poll Discrepancies

This is an analysis of unadjusted state exit poll discrepancies in the 1988-2008 presidential elections. The pattern is clear: Democrats always do better in the polls than in the recorded count. There is no evidence that this is due to anything other than vote miscounts. The exit poll data is from the Edison/Mitofsky 2004 Election Evaluation Report. E-M provided unadjusted exit poll data for 288 of 306 state presidential elections from 1988 to 2008. The 1988 data includes 24 unadjusted 1988 exit polls from Roper/CBS.

In 2008, the exit poll discrepancies (10.6 WPD) were substantially greater than in other elections. The True Vote Model (TVM) exactly matched Obama’s 58.1% aggregate share of the unadjusted state exit polls – a 23 million vote margin. In 45 states there was a red-shift from the exit poll to the vote in favor of McCain. The 3.0% exit poll margin of error was exceeded in 37 states, all but one for McCain. Obama’s landslide margin was much greater than the 9.5 million recorded.

Within Precinct Error (WPE) is the difference between the unadjusted exit poll and recorded vote margins. “Error” implies that the exit polls were wrong and the election was fraud-free . But millions of votes are uncounted in every election (nearly 11 million in 1988 and 4 million in 2004). Therefore, it is more accurate to refer to Within Precinct Discrepancy (WPD). A positive WPD indicates that the vote shift favored the GOP; a negative WPD favored the Democrat. In 2004, Kerry won the state exit polls by 52-47% but lost the recorded vote by 50.7-48.3%, a WPD of 7.4%. The Final National Exit Poll is always forced to match the recorded vote.

Full Story Here: Footprints of Systemic Election Fraud: 1988-2008 State Exit Poll Discrepancies « Richard Charnin’s Blog.

The law and Justice Clarence Thomas

The Supreme Court justice’s reporting of spousal income and his ties with a real estate developer who paid for some of Thomas’ air travel raise disclosure questions.

Two liberal groups have asked the Judicial Conference of the United States to investigate whether Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has violated the federal Ethics in Government Act. The prospect of such an investigation is remote, but the conduct cited by Common Cause and the Alliance for Justice is troubling.

The groups have asked the Judicial Conference to consider two possibilities: that Thomas knowingly withheld information about his wife’s income from financial disclosure forms, and that he misrepresented the amount of free air travel he received from a wealthy friend.

Between 2003 and 2007, Thomas’ wife, Virginia, received $686,589 in compensation from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, but the justice wrongly checked the box marked “none” on the question related to spousal income. Thomas says his omission resulted from a misunderstanding of the reporting requirement, and he has since amended his answers. But the situation is peculiar: How could a Supreme Court justice, who must pay attention to the nuances of complicated legal cases, misread instructions on a disclosure form?

Full Story Here: The law and Justice Clarence Thomas – latimes.com.

OPS: Al Capone went to jail for the same “omission”

FBI Raid Involving Walker Campaign Records May Foretell Bigger Threat

Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and his Republican allies have been conducting themselves with contempt toward those opposing their policies.

This contempt includes an utter disregard not just for labor and Democratic legislators, but the vast majority of Wisconsin citizens, judging from polls about the right to a union voice for public workers and Walker’s 59 percent disapproval rating.

But an FBI raid on the Madison home of a former top Walker aide—who served him both during his term as Milwaukee County executive and as governor—may signal big trouble for the governor and might also diminish his “I’m-on-a-mission-from-God” zealotry.

Full Story Here: FBI Raid Involving Walker Campaign Records May Foretell Bigger Threat – Working In These Times.

The 2 Billion UBS Incident: ‘Rogue Trader’ My Ass

| Matt Taibbi |

The news that a “rogue trader” (I hate that term – more on that in a moment) has soaked the Swiss banking giant UBS for $2 billion has rocked the international financial community and threatened to drive a stake through any chance Europe had of averting economic disaster. There is much hand-wringing in the financial press today as the UBS incident has reminded the whole world that all of the banks were almost certainly lying their asses off over the last three years, when they all pledged to pull back from risky prop trading. Here’s how the WSJ put it:

The Swiss banking giant has been struggling to rebuild trust after running up vast losses in the original financial crisis. Under Chief Executive Oswald Grubel, the bank claimed to have put in place new risk management practices, pulled back from proprietary trading and focused on a low-risk client-driven model.

All the troubled banks, remember, made similar promises in the wake of the financial crisis. In fact, some of them used the exact same language. Some will recall Goldman’s executive summary from earlier this year in which the bank pledged to respond to a “challenging period” in its history by making changes.

Full Story Here: The 2 Billion UBS Incident: ‘Rogue Trader’ My Ass | Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone.

Former Senator Bob Graham Urges Obama to Reopen Investigation into Saudi Role in 9/11 Attacks

Former Florida governor and senator Bob Graham is calling on President Obama to reopen the investigation into the Sept. 11 attacks after new information has emerged about the possible role of prominent Saudis in the 9/11 plot. According to recent news reports, a wealthy young Saudi couple fled their home in a gated community in Sarasota, Florida, just a week or so before Sept. 11, 2001, leaving behind three cars and nearly all of their possessions. The FBI was tipped off about the couple but never passed the information on to the 9/11 Commission investigating the attacks, even though phone records showed the couple had ties to Mohamed Atta and at least 10 other al-Qaeda suspects. Graham joins us to discuss the news he’s called “the most important thing about 9/11 to surface in the last seven or eight years.” As the former chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, a post he held on September 11, 2001, Graham chaired the Congressional Joint Inquiry into the attacks. He’s just written a novel called “Keys to the Kingdom,” which follows a fictitious former senator and co-chair of the 9/11 congressional inquiry who is murdered near his Florida home after he uncovers an international conspiracy linking the Saudi Kingdom to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. Graham says he chose to write the novel after his 2004 non-fiction book, “Intelligence Matters,” was heavily censored.

Full Story Here: Former Senator Bob Graham Urges Obama to Reopen Investigation into Saudi Role in 9/11 Attacks.

Banks Who Received Bailout Funding Made Riskier Loans And Investments: Study

After receiving hundreds of billions of dollars in bailouts in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, banks often did not come to the aid of credit-starved American businesses. Instead, it seems many banks went back to making the same high-risk bets that left them in need of government support in the first place.

Despite claims by government officials at the height of the financial crisis that bailouts would lead to more lending, banks that received bailout funding didn’t increase total lending, according to a new study out of the University of Michigan.

But the banks did shift their investments toward risky loans and investments, including mortgage-backed securities. Under few guidelines, banks largely treated the bailouts as a windfall and, more importantly, a reassurance that the government would come to the rescue in the future, said the paper’s co-authors, University of Michigan assistant finance professors Ran Duchin and Denis Sosyura.

Full Story Here: Banks Who Received Bailout Funding Made Riskier Loans And Investments: Study.

Hightower: Perry executed a man who was ‘almost certainly’ innocent 

On his radio show yesterday, progressive radio host Thom Hartmann spoke with populist Texas writer Jim Hightower about Gov. Rick Perry and the troubling tale of Cameron Willingham, a man who was “almost certainly” innocent, yet still was put to death.

“This guy really puts the goober in gubernatorial,” Hightower quipped.

Perry has presided over 234 executions, more than any other governor of any state in modern times — a fact that Republicans cheered at a recent debate.

The most recent Perry-approved execution, which was supposed to be carried out last night, was put on hold by the Supreme Court. Evidence presented against the man, whose guilt was not actually in question, was tainted by racially-motivated insinuations and could not be legally carried out.

“This man, who claims to be a man of religion and morality, seems to have no conscience at all about doing some rather ugly things,” Hightower said.

Full Story Here: Hightower: Perry executed a man who was ‘almost certainly’ innocent | Raw Replay.

Gov. Scott Walker’s Office Targeted By Corruption Probe After FBI Raids Aide’s Home

New details are emerging about a potential corruption investigation into Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) and his staff after FBI agents this week raided the home of Cindy Archer, who until last month was Walker’s deputy administration secretary.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that authorities last year launched a secret “John Doe investigation” into Walker’s time as Milwaukee County executive, looking into allegations that county staffers did political work while at work, and thus on the taxpayers’ dime. Archer, who held the county’s top staff job for the last three years of Walker’s county executive tenure before following him to the governor’s mansion, said she has done nothing wrong nor has Walker ever asked her to do anything improper.

Milwaukee County prosecutors launched the investigation around the time Walker’s then-constituent services coordinator, Darlene Wink, quit, “after admitting that she was frequently posting online comments on Journal Sentinel stories and blogs while on the county clock,” the Journal Sentinel reported:

Full Story Here: Gov. Scott Walker’s Office Targeted By Corruption Probe After FBI Raids Aide’s Home | ThinkProgress.

Intelligence Report: FBI corruption probe surrounding Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker apparently expanding

A team of FBI agents executed search warrants at a home on the east side of Madison, Wisconsin, Wednesday.

In this Intelligence Report: The raid was on a former top aide to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in what appears to be an expanding corruption investigation.

Wednesday’s raid is the latest carried out by federal authorities on several of Governor Scott Walker’s top staffers, all state employees who recently resigned.

Even though the search warrant was executed on a home in the state capital of Madison, they were Milwaukee FBI agents. It appears that the federal investigation concerns Governor Walker’s time as Milwaukee county executive.

“Saw about two or three more, four or five, then I saw agents getting out of the car and putting on their jackets, that’s what identified it, FBI on the back of the jackets,” said Madison resident Dale Reichers.

Full Story Here: Intelligence Report: FBI corruption probe surrounding Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker apparently expanding | abc7chicago.com.

Cheney’s Unintended Admissions

Vice President Dick Cheney’s memoir is filled with accounts about the great and wonderful people who agree with him — and the evil buffoons who don’t. But the book offers some unintentional insights into how the American Republic got into today’s mess

By Robert Parry

Political memoirs are usually self-serving affairs, mixing rationalizations with score-settling. But Dick Cheney’s In My Time may become the new standard for this sorry genre, made even worse because it is almost devoid of newsworthy tidbits of information.

One of the few candid admissions that slipped through was the former Vice President’s brief acknowledgement that President George W. Bush had decided on the need for a “second resolution” in the United Nations Security Council to authorize the 2003 invasion of Iraq but failed to get it.

“When the president decided to try for a second resolution, I understood his reasons,” Cheney wrote, indicating that it would provide necessary legal and political cover for British Prime Minister Tony Blair. “But our efforts to gather support for the resolution were unsuccessful, and on Monday, March 17, we pulled it down.”

Full Story Here: Cheney’s Unintended Admissions | Consortiumnews.

Terrorism Expert: Since 9/11, Only 33 Deaths From Muslim Terrorism Vs. 150,000 Deaths From Murders

Charles Kurzman, a University of North Carolina professor of sociology, is the author of a new book titled The Missing Martyrs: Why There Are So Few Muslim Terrorists. Seeking to “turn down the volume on terrorism debates,” Kurzman argues Al Qaeda and its affiliates have “failed so dismally” because they have been unable to attract large numbers — particularly Muslim American recruits — to their cause.

In an interview with ThinkProgress yesterday, Kurzman told us that “evidence so far over the last decade” is that the threat of terrorism committed by Muslims “has not been growing.” Kurzman’s comprehensive analysis of terrorist plots since 9/11 finds that 186 individuals of the Muslim faith had become radicalized towards violence. Thus, he finds that while “Muslim Americans are participating in terrorist plots at a proportion greater than their proportion to the population,” the overall threat of Muslim terrorism is “very, very low”:

Muslim American terrorist plots have killed since 9/11 — since the 3,000 killed on 9/11 — have killed 33 individuals in the United States since that time. Over that same period of time, there have been more than 150,000 murders in the United States, or 14 or 15,000 murders every year. Muslim American terrorism, then, has been a very small, very low percentage of the overall violence in the United States.

Full Story Here: Terrorism Expert: Since 9/11, Only 33 Deaths From Muslim Terrorism Vs. 150,000 Deaths From Murders | ThinkProgress.

Sarasota-9/11 link spurs call for new look into Saudis

The former U.S. senator responsible for investigating 9/11 called Friday for a renewed inquiry into links between Saudi Arabia and the hijackers in light of revelations this week that a Saudi family living in Sarasota was meeting with the terrorists.

Citing a similar case in California, former Florida Sen. Bob Graham said the previously undisclosed Sarasota case may be part of a pattern of families who were close to terrorists and fled the country before Sept. 11.

Graham called on President Barack Obama to conduct a full accounting of the “Saudi involvement” in supporting 9/11 hijackers and an explanation of why the U.S. government withheld information on the Sarasota family and others with ties to the hijackers from Congressional investigators.

Full Story Here: Sarasota-9/11 link spurs call for new look into Saudis | HeraldTribune.com.

OPS: And the Bush Crime Family allowed the Saudis to fly out of the country – WHEN ALL AIRPLANES WERE GROUNDED.  The 9-11/Bush link gets stronger.

JPMorgan Pays $88 Million in Fines for Trading with Enemies

In agreeing to pay the largest settlement by a bank to date involving sanctions violations, JPMorgan Chase will fork over $88.3 million to the Department of the Treasury.

Treasury officials went after JPMorgan for breaking U.S. embargo laws and trade sanctions, including Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations and Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators Sanctions, in three incidents between 2005 and 2011 that involved Cuba, Iran and Sudan.

In the Cuban case, the bank violated embargo laws by processing $178.5 million in wire transfers for Cuban nationals.

Full Story Here: AllGov – News – JPMorgan Pays $88 Million in Fines for Trading with Enemies.

43 House Members Slam Justices Scalia, Thomas, And Alito For Ethics Scandals

As ThinkProgress previously reported, Rep. Chris Murphy (D-CT) circulated a letter calling upon the House Judiciary Committee’s leadership to hold a hearing his bill ending the Supreme Court’s immunity to key judicial ethics laws. Murphy’s bill is inspired by numerous recent ethics scandals involving the Court’s most conservative members:

There have been alarming reports of justices – most notably Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito – attending political events and using their position to fundraise for organizations. These activities would be prohibited if the justices were required to abide by the Judicial Conference Code of Conduct, which currently applies to all other federal judges. [...]

Recent revelations about Justice Thomas accepting tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of gifts from individuals and organizations who often have an interest in matters before the courts calls into question the Court’s impartiality. Canon 4D of the Code of Conduct incorporates regulations providing that “[a] judicial officer or employee shall not accept a gift from anyone who is seeking official action from or doing business with the court.” Yet Justice Thomas received a gift valued at $15,000 from an organization that had a brief pending before his Court at the very moment they gave him the gift. Incidents such as these undermine the integrity of the entire judiciary, and they should not be allowed to continue.

Full Story Here: 43 House Members Slam Justices Scalia, Thomas, And Alito For Ethics Scandals | ThinkProgress.

Why Banks Think Their Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card Isn’t Good Enough

Attorneys general from 46 states have offered a settlement to major banks over improper mortgage practices — even though those practices are still going on. Believe it or not, the banks rejected the Get Out Of Jail Free card because it wasn’t generous enough.

It’s not just finance they’re bad at.

The proposed deal (aka The Great Bank Robbery) would let banks – including Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), Citigroup (C) and Ally Financial (ALLY) – off the hook for seizing the homes of delinquent borrowers by employing so-called “robosigners,” workers who signed off on foreclosure documents en masse without reviewing the paperwork.

According to the Financial Times, which broke the story:

Full Story Here: Why Banks Think Their Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card Isn’t Good Enough | BNET.

No Doubting Thomas at Los Angeles Times

Paper ignores calls for criminal investigations of Supreme Court Justice, growing record of judicial lawlessness…

However historically inaccurate the phrase may have been, the idea that Emperor Nero fiddled while Rome burned seems apropos the appearance of a David G. Savage fawning Clarence Thomas puff piece on the front page of the Sunday, July 3 edition of Los Angeles Times.

On March 7, as part of our coverage of a Daily Beast article, in which Univ. of Colorado Law Professor Paul Campos called for Thomas to be thrown off the bench, we noted:

Full Story Here: The BRAD BLOG : No Doubting Thomas at Los Angeles Times.

We Can Now Legally Film The Police and Government Officials Without Being Prosecuted

Finally, The First Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that:

First Circuit Court of Appeals Rules OK to Film Police and Government Members

Please be advised that the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has just ruled on August 26, 2011 that citizens have the right under the 1st Amendment of the Constitution of the United States to record the police. You will find beginning on page 8 of the copy of that ruling that it is well established that members of the public may record members of the government, including the police, while they are engaged in their duties in a public place.

(“It is . . .well established that the Constitution protects the right to receive information and ideas.”). An important corollary to this interest in protecting the stock of public information is that “[t]here is an undoubted right to gather news ‘from any source by means within the law.‘” Houchins v. KQED, Inc., 438 U.S. 1, 11 (1978) (quoting Branzburg v. Hayes, 408 U.S. 665, 681-82 (1972)).

Gathering information about government officials in a form that can readily be disseminated to others serves a cardinal First Amendment interest in protecting and promoting “the free discussion of governmental affairs.” Mills v. Alabama, 384 U.S. 214, 218 (1966).

Full Story Here: We Can Now Legally Film The Police and Government Officials Without Being Prosecuted | ThePoliticalBandit.com.

Feds sue banks over mortgage fraud

The Federal Housing Finance Agency on Friday filed lawsuits seeking billions in compensation against more than a dozen big banks, accusing them of financial misrepresentation in the mortgage market, a significant cause of the American economy’s current state of economic distress.

In lawsuits filed in New York and Connecticut, the federal agency targeted 17 financial institutions including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank.

The lawsuits argue that the banks, which combined mortgage loans together and marketed them as securities to investors, did not perform the due diligence required under law, allowing some unqualified homebuyers to attain mortgages they could not afford.

Full Story Here: Feds sue banks over mortgage fraud – Tim Mak – POLITICO.com.

Bush-Era Warrantless Wiretapping Program on Trial Tomorrow in Seattle – Seattle News – The Daily Weekly

​Big Brother really is watching you. And reading your e-mails. And tracking which websites you visit. According to the court testimony of a former AT&T technician, there is a secret room–the “SG-3 Room”–in the company’s San Francisco offices that is occupied by the National Security Agency. All Internet traffic AT&T receives is filtered through high-powered NSA computers there, and the machines sort through the communications of “millions of ordinary Americans” searching for . . . something. Perhaps a terror plot, perhaps which library books you’re checking out. No one is quite sure what they’re after, but the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the ACLU are fighting an ongoing legal battle with the government and AT&T in attempt to establish some sort of accountability for the domestic spy program.

Two key appeals cases will be heard in Seattle federal court tomorrow. The first, Jewel v. NSA, was filed by the EFF in 2006, “on behalf of AT&T customers to stop the illegal, unconstitutional, and ongoing dragnet surveillance of their communications and communications records.” The case also targets former President George W. Bush, former Vice President Dick Cheney, Cheney’s former chief of staff David Addington, and former Attorney General and White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales–the officials who authorized the NSA wiretapping.

Full Story Here: Bush-Era Warrantless Wiretapping Program on Trial Tomorrow in Seattle – Seattle News – The Daily Weekly.

Ex-Bush Official Col. Lawrence Wilkerson: “I am Willing to Testify” If Dick Cheney is Put on Trial

As former Vice President Dick Cheney publishes his long-awaited memoir, we speak to Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell. “This is a book written out of fear, fear that one day someone will ‘Pinochet’ Dick Cheney,” says Wilkerson, alluding to the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, who was arrested for war crimes. Wilkerson also calls for George W. Bush and Cheney to be held accountable for their crimes in office. “I’d be willing to testify, and I’d be willing to take any punishment I’m due,” Wilkerson said. We also speak to Salon.com political and legal blogger Glenn Greenwald about his recent article on Cheney, “The Fruits of Elite Immunity.” “Dick Cheney goes around the country profiting off of this sleazy, sensationalistic, self-serving book, basically profiting from his crimes, and at the same time normalizing the idea that these kind of policies…are perfectly legitimate choices to make. And I think that’s the really damaging legacy from all of this,” says Greenwald.

Full Story Here: Ex-Bush Official Col. Lawrence Wilkerson: “I am Willing to Testify” If Dick Cheney is Put on Trial | AlterNet.

Court says public has right to video police in public places

A Boston lawyer suing the city and police officers who arrested him for using his cell phone to record a drug arrest on the Common won a victory today when a federal appeals court said the officers could not claim “qualified immunity” because they were performing their job when they arrested him under a state law that bars audio recordings without the consent of both parties.

In its ruling, which lets Simon Glik continue his lawsuit, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston said the way Glik was arrested and his phone seized under a state wiretapping law violated his First and Fourth Amendment rights:

Full Story Here: Court says public has right to video police in public places | Universal Hub.

The fruits of elite immunity

Less than three years ago, Dick Cheney was presiding over policies that left hundreds of thousands of innocent people dead from a war of aggression, constructed a worldwide torture regime, and spied on thousands of Americans without the warrants required by law, all of which resulted in his leaving office as one of the most reviled political figures in decades. But thanks to the decision to block all legal investigations into his chronic criminality, those matters have been relegated to mere pedestrian partisan disputes, and Cheney is thus now preparing to be feted — and further enriched — as a Wise and Serious Statesman with the release of his memoirs this week: one in which he proudly boasts (yet again) of the very crimes for which he was immunized. As he embarks on his massive publicity-generating media tour of interviews, Cheney faces no indictments or criminal juries, but rather reverent, rehabilitative tributes, illustrated by this, from Politico today:

Full Story Here: The fruits of elite immunity – Glenn Greenwald – Salon.com.

Prosecutor Declines Criminal Charges Against WI’s Justice Prosser for ‘Choke-hold’ on Fellow Justice

Prosser says hands on Bradley’s neck just ‘total reflex’…

The Republican special prosecutor recently appointed to investigate allegations by WI Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley that her fellow anger-management challenged Justice David Prosser had placed her in a “choke-hold” during recent deliberations over the anti-union legislation of Prosser’s former colleague Gov. Scott Walker.

See Milwaukee’s Journal-Sentinel coverage of this news yesterday for the complete, insane details.

In a terse announcement from the prosecutor, Sauk County District Attorney Patricia Barrett would say only that she had “determined that no criminal charges will be filed against either Justice Bradley or Justice Prosser for the incident on June 13, 2011.”

Full Story Here: The BRAD BLOG : Prosecutor Declines Criminal Charges Against WI’s Justice Prosser for ‘Choke-hold’ on Fellow Justice.

Prosser admits touching Bradley’s neck; she says she suffered no harm

Supreme Court Justice David Prosser acknowledged to detectives touching Justice Ann Walsh Bradley’s neck – even feeling its warmth – and Bradley acknowledged getting “face to face to confront him” but suffering no physical harm from the contact.

The justices’ statements in separate interviews with law enforcement were released Friday by the Dane County Sheriff’s Department. The 117 pages of investigation records provide intimate details about the physical altercation on June 13 between the two justices and the increasing dysfunction on the state’s highest court.

The interviews include cross-claims of justices accusing one another of shouting, slamming doors, being physically threatening and locking their doors at night because of safety concerns. At least a couple of statements appeared to be contradicted by those of other justices.

Full Story Here: Prosser admits touching Bradley’s neck; she says she suffered no harm – JSOnline.

Republican Terrorist Arrested in Oregon

Yesterday I saw on television that family foundations of the super rich are financing the Republican meme of hatred toward Muslims to the tune of $42 million. Sadly their violent rhetoric has not fallen on deaf ears, as we have seen example after example of Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christians, showing their “love” through violence. Ever here in progressive Oregon, we are not immune.

A 24-year-old Oregon man — who told police that he was a “Christian warrior” — has been charged with a hate crime for allegedly firebombing a mosque last November.

Cody Crawford faces 10 to 30 years if convicted of firebombing the Salman Alfarisi Islamic Center, which is about 200 feet from his house. Although his DNA has been connected to the crime scene, Crawford has maintained that he’s “100 percent innocent.”

In an unrelated incident, Crawford had ranted to police about Muslims, according to court documents.

“You look like Obama,” he said to a McMinnville officer in December. “You are a Muslim like him. Jihad goes both ways. Christians can jihad too.”

Full Story Here: Republican Terrorist Arrested in Oregon » Politics Plus.

Glenn Mulcaire names News of the World staff behind phone hacking

Private investigator passes names on to Steve Coogan’s lawyers, in accordance with court order

Private investigator Glenn Mulcaire has revealed the names of the News of the World staff who instructed him to carry out phone hacking, his solicitor has confirmed.

The information was passed in a letter to Steve Coogan‘s lawyers in accordance with a court order.

Mulcaire had applied for permission to appeal against the order, which was made in February, but this was denied and he was compelled to pass over the details by Friday.

Full Story Here: Glenn Mulcaire names News of the World staff behind phone hacking | Media | guardian.co.uk.

Rick Perry Conspired With Multinational Bank To Raise Revenues Off The Deaths Of Texas Teachers

Writing for the Huffington Post, reporters Jason Cherkis and Zach Carter published a jaw-dropping story yesterday about a scheme by Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) to “set up a business of teacher death speculation.” Perry and his officials entered negotiations in 2003 with the Switzerland-based multinational bank UBS to allow the firm to buy life insurance policies on public teachers, then package the policies into securities that could be sold to speculators across the world. As teachers died, the securities would become profitable, and the money from the plans would be split between UBS and the Texas government.

According to sources and notes provided to the Huffington Post, the Perry administration solicited support for the idea from teacher associations, and pressed a deal where teachers would receive between $50 and $100 to sign a contract granting UBS the right to bet on their death using life insurance policies. Perry’s budget director Mike Morrissey said it would take up to 12 years for Texas to “earn” money from the scheme, but eventually the state would gain a $700 million windfall if the system could recruit 40,000 retired teachers.

An intriguing twist to the story is former Sen. Phil Gramm (R-TX), who joined UBS as a top executive after he left the Senate and has served as a political mentor to Perry since the late ’80s. Gramm, an architect of Wall Street deregulation while in Congress, aggressively lobbied the “gruesome” deal:

Full Story Here: Rick Perry Conspired With Multinational Bank To Raise Revenues Off The Deaths Of Texas Teachers | ThinkProgress.

Rick Perry Sought State Profits From Teacher Life Insurance Scheme

Two weeks before Thanksgiving in 2003, top officials from Texas Governor Rick Perry’s office pitched an unusual offer to the state’s retired teachers: Let’s get into the death business.

Perry’s budget director, Mike Morrissey, laid out a pitch that was both ambitious and risky, according to notes summarizing the meeting provided to The Huffington Post.

According to the notes, which were authenticated by a meeting participant, the Perry administration wanted to help Wall Street investors gamble on how long retired Texas teachers would live. Perry was promising the state big money in exchange for helping Swiss banking giant UBS set up a business of teacher death speculation.

All they had to do was convince retirees to let UBS buy life insurance policies on them. When the retirees died, those policies would pay out benefits to Wall Street speculators, and the state, supposedly, would get paid for arranging the bets. The families of the deceased former teachers would get nothing.

Full Story Here: Rick Perry Sought State Profits From Teacher Life Insurance Scheme.

Obama Admin Protecting Criminal Banks

Efforts by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman have motivated AG’s in other states to investigate banks for questionable mortgage practices. Why is the Obama Administration interfering? The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur explains.

You Have the Right to Remain Silent…After Questioning

Anyone who has ever watched a cop show on TV knows how Miranda rights work. After a suspect is apprehended, the arresting officer alerts that person to his or her rights—specifically, the right to remain silent and the right to legal counsel. The warning protects suspects from incriminating themselves and the state from later introducing inadmissible evidence.

Easy enough, right? Well, it’s never been that simple for immigrant noncitizens, whether they’re legal permanent residents or undocumented. When noncitizens are arrested by, say, local law enforcement, they are read their rights like anyone else. But when they’re picked up by immigration officers (Border Patrol or Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents), there are separate but similar Miranda-like procedures those officials must follow.

At least, there used to be. On August 11, in a surprising and precedent-setting decision (PDF), the country’s highest administrative tribunal on immigration decided that noncitizens arrested without a warrant do not need to be read their rights until after entering formal deportation proceedings—that is, until well after questioning by immigration officers. From the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decision:

Full Story Here: You Have the Right to Remain Silent…After Questioning | Mother Jones.

Judge rules warrant required to obtain cell phone location data

A federal judge in Brooklyn ruled Monday that the federal government must establish probable cause and secure a warrant before obtaining records about a cell phone user’s location, saying it violated the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches, according to the New York Law Journal.

“While the government’s monitoring of our thoughts may be the archetypical Orwellian intrusion, the government’s surveillance of our movements of a considerable time period through new technologies, such as the collection of cell-site-location records, without the protections of the Fourth Amendment, puts our country far closer to Oceania than our Constitution permits,” Eastern District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis wrote (PDF).

Full Story Here: Judge rules warrant required to obtain cell phone location data | The Raw Story.

Former editor says Murdoch personally gave order to have someone tailed 

News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch personally told one of his former tabloid editors to have someone followed, according to a documentary that aired Monday night on Australian TV.

Ita Buttrose, former editor-in-chief of Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph, told ABC’s Australian Story that Murdoch instructed her to have a subject tailed because legitimate reporting techniques were not producing the desired results.

“I assigned a reporter to do it but [Murdoch] wasn’t happy with the result and said, ‘No, that wasn’t good enough. Have you followed this person?’” she recalled.

“I can’t give this instruction,” Buttrose later told then-News Limited chief executive Ken Cowley. “I’m not having anybody that works for me, for whom I’m responsible, follow anybody. I don’t want to be a part of it.”

Full Story Here: Former editor says Murdoch personally gave order to have someone tailed | Raw Replay.

Spitzer faces $60 million libel suit over Slate column

ormer New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was hit with a $60 million libel lawsuit by a former Marsh & McLennan Cos Inc executive over a column posted on Slate.com about an insurance bid-rigging scandal.

William Gilman, a former Marsh executive marketing director, said Spitzer acted with "actual malice" by suggesting in an August 22, 2010 column titled "They Still Don’t Get It" that Gilman was guilty of crimes, after his conviction had been thrown out the prior month.

"While Mr. Spitzer’s statements do not refer to Mr. Gilman by name," the complaint said, "Mr. Gilman is readily identifiable as the subject of the defamatory comments."

Full Story Here: Spitzer faces $60 million libel suit over Slate column | The Raw Story.

Goldman Sachs Drops on News Blankfein Hired Defense Lawyer

Goldman Sachs (GS) CEO Lloyd Blankfein has hired a high-profile defense attorney, Reuters reported shortly before the market closed on Monday, sending the shares down sharply. Blankfein is not facing any civil or criminal charges, but various government agencies, including the Justice Department, are inquiring into the role Goldman Sachs played during the mortgage meltdown.

Blankfein has hired defense attorney Reid Weingarten of Steptoe & Johnson. Weingarten has represented numerous high-profile defendants, including Bernard Ebbers.

Update: Goldman has confirmed that Blankfein has hired a defense lawyer.

Goldman fell 4.7% on Monday to $106.51, with almost the entire drop coming in the final 20 minutes of trading after the news broke. The stock dropped more than $5 during that time, erasing more than $2.5 billion in market cap in that time. Shares kept falling after the market closed, and were down about 2% at 4:30. The stock s at a new 52-week low.

Full Story Here: Goldman Sachs Drops on News Blankfein Hired Defense Lawyer – Stocks To Watch Today – Barrons.com.

Former Moody’s Staffer Blows The Whistle: We Were Pressured To Give Glowing Ratings To Derivatives

Anyone with half a brain knows that the ratings agencies (and not just Moody’s) were deeply involved in covering up the whole industry built around toxic derivatives. My question, as always, is: What is anyone going to do about it? Is anyone at the top of this crappy pyramid scheme ever going to jail?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An ex-Moody’s Corp derivatives analyst said the credit-rating agency intimidated and pressured analysts to issue glowing ratings of toxic complex, structured mortgage securities.

In a 78-page letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission, William Harrington outlined how the committees that make the ratings decisions are not independent and how managers often intimidated analysts.

“The management of Moody’s, the management of Moody’s Corporation and the board of Moody’s Corporation are squarely responsible for the poor quality of previous Moody’s opinions that ushered in the financial crisis,” he wrote.

Full Story Here: Former Moody’s Staffer Blows The Whistle: We Were Pressured To Give Glowing Ratings To Derivatives | Crooks and Liars.

US judges rule for teacher who called creationism ‘superstitious nonsense’

Did hostile classroom remarks about creationism violate the mandate that the government remain neutral on religion? An appeals court says the teacher has immunity from being sued.

A public high school teacher in California may not be sued for making hostile remarks about religion in his classroom, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed by a student charging that the teacher’s hostile remarks about creationism and religious faith violated a First Amendment mandate that the government remain neutral in matters of religion.

A three-judge panel of the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the lawsuit against an advanced placement history teacher at Capistrano Valley High School in Mission Viejo must be thrown out of court because the teacher was entitled to immunity.

Full Story Here: US judges rule for teacher who called creationism ‘superstitious nonsense’ – Yahoo! News.

Is the SEC Covering Up Wall Street Crimes?

  Rolling Stone :-:

A whistleblower claims that over the past two decades, the agency has destroyed records of thousands of investigations, whitewashing the files of some of the nation’s worst financial criminals.

Imagine a world in which a man who is repeatedly investigated for a string of serious crimes, but never prosecuted, has his slate wiped clean every time the cops fail to make a case. No more Lifetime channel specials where the murderer is unveiled after police stumble upon past intrigues in some old file – “Hey, chief, didja know this guy had two wives die falling down the stairs?” No more burglary sprees cracked when some sharp cop sees the same name pop up in one too many witness statements. This is a different world, one far friendlier to lawbreakers, where even the suspicion of wrongdoing gets wiped from the record.

That, it now appears, is exactly how the Securities and Exchange Commission has been treating the Wall Street criminals who cratered the global economy a few years back. For the past two decades, according to a whistle-blower at the SEC who recently came forward to Congress, the agency has been systematically destroying records of its preliminary investigations once they are closed. By whitewashing the files of some of the nation’s worst financial criminals, the SEC has kept an entire generation of federal investigators in the dark about past inquiries into insider trading, fraud and market manipulation against companies like Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and AIG. With a few strokes of the keyboard, the evidence gathered during thousands of investigations – “18,000 … including Madoff,” as one high-ranking SEC official put it during a panicked meeting about the destruction – has apparently disappeared forever into the wormhole of history.

Full Story Here: Is the SEC Covering Up Wall Street Crimes? | Rolling Stone Politics.

FBI widens its US inquiry into News Corp beyond 9/11 hacking

The American authorities have widened their investigation into Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp to look into allegations of wrongdoing at the company beyond the claim that News of the World journalists attempted to hack the phones of 9/11 victims.

It was reported this weekend that FBI investigators, who are checking damaging claims that reporters at the now-defunct Sunday tabloid asked a New York-based private detective to access the voicemails of those killed in the 2001 terrorist attacks, have so far found no evidence that attempts were made to eavesdrop on the messages.

The Wall Street Journal, which is owned by News Corp, said US agencies were now examining whether there were further claims of misconduct at the company’s American subsidiaries that merit further investigation. The move comes as MPs in Westminster prepare to consider tomorrow the release of new documents related to hacking, which one former minister described as “dynamite”.

Full Story Here: FBI widens its US inquiry into News Corp beyond 9/11 hacking – Americas, World – The Independent.

U.S. Chamber Of Commerce Battles Anti-Bribery Statute

More than three decades after the United States Congress passed the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act — striking a major blow against international corruption by criminalizing bribes to foreign officials — the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is trying to carve out some major exceptions in the law to prevent prosecutors from enforcing it too aggressively.

The move by the increasingly activist Chamber has led critics to fear there may be no checks left on the corporate lobby’s ambition — or its influence.

Not only is the Chamber taking on something as seemingly unassailable as an anti-bribery law, but it’s doing so just as the movement the FCPA launched is finally taking hold across the globe, corruption fighters say.

Full Story Here: U.S. Chamber Of Commerce Battles Anti-Bribery Statute.