Tag: Justice Department

Did they get the Fake President this time?

4 Comments


DOJ Headquarters

The Justice Department is investigating a potential crime related to funneling money to the White House or related political committee in exchange for a presidential pardon, according to court records unsealed Tuesday in federal court…

The disclosure is in 20 pages of partially redacted documents made public by the DC District Court on Tuesday afternoon.

A Justice Department official told CNN that “no government official was or is currently a subject or target of the investigation disclosed in this filing.”

Shucks!

…At the end of this summer, a filter team…had more than 50 digital devices including iPhones, iPads, laptops, thumb drives and computer drives after investigators raided the unidentified offices.

Prosecutors told the court they wanted permission to [examine?] the filter team’s holdings. The prosecutors believed the devices revealed emails that showed allegedly criminal activity, including a “secret lobbying scheme” and a bribery conspiracy that offered “a substantial political contribution in exchange for a presidential pardon or reprieve of sentence” for a convicted defendant whose name is redacted, according to the redacted documents.

At a minimum, this illustrates a level of corruption brought to our government by the Republican Party and Trump. It’s been decades since the sleaziest element in American politics was confident it could sell a presidential pardon to the highest bidder.

Russian Agent charged over her role within NRA, Trump election campaign

12 Comments


Maria Butina is a Life Member of the NRA

❝ U.S. authorities accused a Russian national of trying to establish a back channel to American politicians during the last election cycle, announcing the charges just hours after President Donald Trump accepted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assurance his country hadn’t interfered.

The woman, Mariia Butina, tried to create a quiet line of communication between U.S. and Russian officials and attempted to infiltrate the National Rifle Association on behalf of the Russian government in a long-running scheme that traces its origins to at least 2013, prosecutors said. Butina, who appeared in federal court in Washington on Monday, is accused of failing to register as a foreign agent…

❝ …The Justice Department’s national security unit brought the charges against Butina and is handling the continuing investigation stemming from the computer intrusions.

Golly gee. Anyone warn the Fake President about this. I’d suggest he’ll need time to come up with new lies; but – in practice – he seems content repeating the same simple-minded crap that satisfies his “base”.

Justice Department will defend same-sex marriage nationwide

Leave a comment

dominos topple

In an assertion of same-sex marriage rights the US attorney general, Eric Holder, announced on Saturday that he will apply a landmark supreme court ruling to the Justice Department.

In prepared remarks delivered in New York to the Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group which works on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, Holder said same-sex spouses could not now be compelled to testify against each other, should be eligible to file for bankruptcy jointly and are entitled to the same rights and privileges as federal prison inmates in opposite-sex marriages.

The Justice Department runs a number of benefits programmes, and Holder said same-sex couples will now qualify for them. They include the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and benefits to surviving spouses of public safety officers who suffer catastrophic or fatal injuries in the line of duty.

“In every courthouse, in every proceeding and in every place where a member of the Department of Justice stands on behalf of the United States, they will strive to ensure that same-sex marriages receive the same privileges, protections and rights as opposite-sex marriages under federal law,” Holder said.

Just as in the civil rights struggles of the 1960s, Holder said, the stakes in the current generation over same-sex marriage rights “could not be higher”.

“The Justice Department’s role in confronting discrimination must be as aggressive today as it was in Robert Kennedy’s time,” Holder said of the attorney general who played a leadership role in advancing civil rights.

Right on!

Our nation confronts exactly the same kind of ignorance and bigotry we did with the civil rights advances of the 1960’s. Nice to see official Washington ready to join in, again. Excepting Congress and the Confederates, of course.

Wheels of Justice turn slowly – crushing leader in mortgage fraud

3 Comments

This week, a federal jury in Virginia convicted mortgage executive Lee Farkas on fraud and conspiracy charges that could send him to prison for life.

Authorities say Farkas tried to defraud banks out of almost $3 billion, in one of the biggest cases to come out of the mortgage crisis. And that, critics say, is the problem. Almost three years after the economy nearly collapsed, most top Wall Street banks and their executives have emerged with no criminal trouble. And that’s making people angry.

The argument that prosecutors have gone light on the nation’s largest banks for their role in the financial meltdown has become really popular — even if it’s not true.

Not so for Farkas, 58, who cut a larger-than-life figure in his north Florida community. In his heyday, Farkas collected cars — including a 1963 Rolls Royce and a Ford Model A. He served caviar in the dining room at his mortgage lending company Taylor Bean and Whitaker, or TBW…

“Farkas was really the mastermind of one of the largest bank fraud schemes in history,” says Lanny Breuer, who runs the criminal division at the Justice Department. “What he did led not only to the downfall of TBW, perhaps the second largest mortgage lending company in the United States, but also led to the failure of one of the country’s largest commercial banks, Colonial.”

Late Tuesday, a federal jury in Virginia convicted Farkas of all 14 charges against him. A judge immediately ordered Farkas into custody. He could get life in prison when he’s sentenced July 1…

Breuer of the Justice Department says public opinion doesn’t influence his decisions.

“When we believe we have a criminal case where we can prove each of the elements beyond a reasonable doubt, we’re going to do it,” he says. “When we don’t believe we can prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt, we’re not going to do it, no matter … how popular it would be.”

Two parts of the same problem. The lawyers who seem to set the standards for judges and legal beagles alike have slowed down the system of justice so radically that you could die of old age before you have a chance at justice in America. And the bits and pieces that fade away over time diminish the likelihood of a conviction.

Probably little need to note lobbyists paid by Wall Street who carry the message to an outraged Congress – whose wallets are as open as their mouths. They’re most often a subset of the same group of lawyers chartered and funded by corporations to rebuild that edifice in the image of corruption and shame.

Boehner hires lawyer to oppose gay rights – wants to bill DOJ

5 Comments

Daylife/Getty Images used by permission
The latest photo of corporate meat puppets

House Republicans have hired a prominent conservative attorney to defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act in a pending lawsuit, legal sources say, and will make an effort to divert money from the Justice Department to fund its high-profile fight. House Speaker John Boehner disclosed the legal and political strategy in a letter Monday to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi…

“The burden of defending DOMA, and the resulting costs associated with any litigation that would have otherwise been born (sic) by DOJ (The Department of Justice), has fallen to the House,” Boehner said. “Obviously, DOJ’s decision results in DOJ no longer needing the funds it would have otherwise expended defending the constitutionality of DOMA. It is my intent that those funds be diverted to the House for reimbursement of any costs incurred by and associated with the House, and not DOJ, defending DOMA…”

Paul Clement is a former solicitor general under President George W. Bush, serving from 2005 to 2008. It was his job to defend federal laws and executive actions in court, similar to what he will be doing now as a private lawyer on retainer. He was mentioned at one time as a possible Supreme Court nominee. He would have fit in perfectly with the other reactionary liars appointed by Bush.

Separately, he also is representing more than two dozens states in their lawsuit against the administration over the sweeping health care reform law passed by Congress last year. That case is pending in a federal appeals court in Atlanta.
In the Defense of Marriage Act dispute, groups on both sides of the issue noted the highly charged political aspects.

“Not only are House Republican leaders defending the indefensible, they’ve brought in a high-priced attorney to deny federal recognition to loving, married couples,” said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign. “Speaker Boehner appears ready to go to great lengths, and the great expense of a high-power law firm, to try to score some cheap political points on the backs of same-sex couples…”

President Barack Obama on February 23 ordered the Justice Department to stop defending the constitutionality of the law. “The president has concluded that given a number of factors, including a documented history of discrimination, classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to a more heightened standard of scrutiny,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. The key provision in the law “fails to meet that standard and is therefore unconstitutional…”

These bigots have a perfect right to maintain their fight against the tide of progress and civil rights. Hate-mongers are a protected species under our Constitution.

There’s no good reason why American taxpayers should pick up the tab for their revanchist politics. There’s no shortage of wealthy thugs like the Koch Bros around to pay the bill for rightwing politicians running for office. Let ’em pay for the fightback against the 21st Century.

Justice Department ready to join lawsuit against S.C. sheriff

5 Comments


An inmate holds the only book he’s allowed to read

The US Justice Department is asking a federal judge in South Carolina to allow it to intervene in a lawsuit against a sheriff who allegedly forbids prisoners in his jail from receiving books, magazines, or printed materials other than copies of the King James version of the Bible…

“The only book, magazine, newspaper, or religious publication that [jail officials] consistently permit prisoners to possess is the Bible,” the Justice Department says in its complaint. “These practices discriminate against non-Christian prisoners in violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause…”

Government lawyers are asking the federal judge in the case to declare the jail’s policies illegal and unconstitutional. They are also asking the judge to order the sheriff and his staff to “permit detainees and prisoners in their custody to have outside reading material…”

The original lawsuit was filed in October by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Prison Legal News, a monthly journal covering prison law issues. PLN is distributed to inmates across the country.

The ACLU suit says that since 2008 the jail has blocked delivery of copies of PLN and books discussing prisoner rights.

David Fathi, director of the ACLU National Prison Project, praised the Justice Department for taking action against the jail.

“The fact that the Justice Department has chosen to intervene in this case should send a clear signal to jail officials that systematically denying detainees access to books, magazines, and newspapers is unconstitutional,” he said. “The policy in place at the Berkeley County Detention Center is nothing short of censorship, and there is no justification for shutting detainees off from the outside world in such a draconian way.”

I think I’m reasonably even-handed in my attitudes toward prisons and penal systems. Given the mean streets where I grew up, I’ve known a number of folks who ended up on the inside. Most of them should have been there. A number should not – mostly because of racism and bigotry.

A few times in my life, I spent time working with prisoners and ex-cons. Tough times because generally the bureaucrats in charge did little to prepare them for re-entry into the outside world. And, in fact, I was just discussing this article with one member of my extended family who spent time teaching at New Mexico’s state penitentiary. He just about fell over when I told him about the case.

Being locked up for crimes doesn’t entitle anyone to any perks; but, the necessities of life have to include an opportunity to stay current with news and society – and always a chance to educate yourself and try to find a path to a self-sustaining life without crime. This bible-thumping bumpkin ain’t helping anyone including society at large.

HP to pay $16M for joining corrupt Texas schools consortium

Leave a comment


End product – from the people HP bribed to influence

Hewlett-Packard will pay more than $16 million to settle a lawsuit alleging they violated competitive bidding rules with the Houston and Dallas school districts to win technology contracts, the Department of Justice announced…

The DOJ inquiry that led to the settlement was triggered by a 2007 whistle-blower lawsuit filed in Houston by Dave Richardson and Dave Gillis…

Richardson, who owns an insurance company, became suspicious when his business dealing with HISD dried up. After enlisting the help of former FBI agent Gillis, they discovered what appeared to be sweetheart deals regarding technology purchases, including the lucrative federal program known as E-rate, which funds internet connections for schools and libraries.

“They took their findings to the government and said, ‘You need to do something.’ Not much was done, so they filed the lawsuit,” said their attorney, Travis Crabtree… Did anyone think the Bush administration would come down on the side of honesty in Texas?

The investigation accused Houston businessman Frankie Wong of setting up a group of companies, including Hewlett-Packard, that came to be known as “The Consortium.” They applied for technology contracts with both HISD and the Dallas Independent School District.

Because of their close connection with district officials, thanks to the suspect gratuities, the bid requirements were worded in such a way that only they could satisfy them, officials said.

More lawsuits from other firms screwed by the Consortium proceed. The Obama DOJ will intervene as needed on behalf of the plaintiffs.

Texas school boards will continue, of course, without tempering any of the corrupt ideology guiding their practices.

DOJ sues KBR for illegal charges in Bush’s War

4 Comments

The U.S. Justice Department has sued the Houston-based military contractor KBR Inc for alleged false claims act violations over improper costs for private security in Iraq.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., alleged that KBR knowingly included impermissible costs for private armed security in billings to the U.S. Army covering the 2003-2006 time period, the department said.

KBR has been the U.S. military’s largest private contractor in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has been criticized for cost overruns in Iraq, and lawmakers in Congress last month questioned the Army’s continued use of KBR for logistics work…

The Justice Department said the case, which seeks unspecified damages, was brought as part of an initiative to crack down on procurement fraud.

The contract at issue in the lawsuit provided for logistical support, such as food services, transportation, laundry and mail, for military operations in Iraq. The lawsuit involved the company and 33 KBR subcontractors…

The lawsuit alleged that KBR managers considered the use of private security unacceptable and were concerned the Army would disallow costs for such services. But KBR still charged for the costs of the unauthorized services, the suit said.

Back in the day, when I worked in the offshore oil industry, there were a few companies that owned the United States government. Halliburton and KBR were the leaders of the pack when it came to sucking dollars from American taxpayers.

They were the overseers who said, “Jump, boy!” The Pentagon, Congress – would always answer, “How high, boss?”

Contemptible and corrupt as were those practices in the past, the indifference of the Oil Patch Boys to any prospect of fiscal and corporate responsibility is worse. Throw the creeps in jail!

Thomas Perez to face confirmation battle over bigotry

Leave a comment


Daylife/Washington Post

Thomas Perez, a Maryland lawyer nominated to head the U.S. Justice Department’s civil rights division, will be in for a tough confirmation fight, analysts say.

The civil rights post has always been a lightning rod for U.S. Senate confirmation battles, and while unnamed Senate sources say President Barack Obama’s nominee will likely be confirmed, the hearings will be contentious, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“This is arguably the most difficult position to fill in the federal government when it comes to Senate confirmation,” Roger Clegg, a former official in the civil rights division, told the newspaper. “Both sides feel so strongly about the issues that the division handles.”

Current and former Justice Department lawyers say that under Obama and Perez, the civil rights division will probably increase prosecutions of police misconduct and racial profiling, push to make voter registration easier and give more attention to conditions in prisons, mental health facilities and nursing homes.

We’ll also get to hear from conservative Republicans and Democrats who could care less about police misconduct and racial profiling, oppose voting rights for minorities and don’t give a damn about conditions in prisons, mental health facilities and nursing homes.

You know. The thugs some of you keep re-electing because they make you feel safe and secure..