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☆ Judge Restricts Donald Trump’s Use of Evidence in Hush-Money Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Corinne Ramey | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Former President Donald Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records for his alleged role in arranging a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Photo: Seth Wenig/Associated PressA New York judge ordered limits Monday on how Donald Trump can use and review evidence in advance of his criminal trial on charges connected to his role in paying hush money to a porn star. State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan granted several requests made by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg regarding the handling of evidence and other case information. Prosecutors, who have charged Mr. Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, said the measures were needed to protect the integrity of the proceedings and the safety of case participants, citing the former president’s past attacks on judges, jurors and others.

☆ How El Chapo’s sons built a fentanyl empire poisoning America
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +23 min

Headed by Iván, El Chapo’s oldest son, the siblings have emerged as key figures in the Sinaloa Cartel, U.S. and Mexican anti-narcotics officials said. But he was killed in 2008 in Culiacán in a hail of bullets amid infighting between warring factions of the Sinaloa Cartel. The agency in April placed Iván on the list of its 10 Most Wanted Fugitives, joining Jesús Alfredo and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a Sinaloa Cartel legend and El Chapo’s alleged former business partner. They also kidnapped eight soldiers and surrounded military housing where wives and children of Mexican soldiers lived, Mexican officials said. Despite that blow to the Sinaloa Cartel, fentanyl keeps flowing north.

Companies Coinbase Global Inc FollowNEW YORK, May 9 (Reuters) - Ishan Wahi, a former Coinbase Global Inc (COIN.O) product manager, was sentenced on Tuesday to two years in prison in what U.S. prosecutors have called the first insider trading case involving cryptocurrency. U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska sentenced Ishan Wahi, 32, in Manhattan federal court after the defendant pleaded guilty in February to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Nikhil Wahi pleaded guilty in September to a wire fraud conspiracy charge, and in January was sentenced to 10 months in prison. At Tuesday's hearing, Ishan Wahi expressed remorse for his actions and their effect on his friends and family, several of whom were in court. Prosecutors had called for Ishan Wahi to spend more than three years in prison to deter other cryptocurrency insiders from misusing corporate information.

☆ Read the new gag order muzzling Trump in his hush-money case
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A New York state judge muzzled Trump with a social media gag order in his hush-money indictment. The order also stops Trump from publicly discussing details about witnesses involved in the case or any other evidence prosecutors plan to use against him. Three weeks later, during a hearing that Trump notably skipped, prosecutors changed their tune, asking for an official protective order around the case. Trump attorney Joe Tacopina called the request "extreme" earlier this month, and said any gag order should be equally applied to all parties, including prosecutors. Read the four-page court order:

☆ U.S. man pleads guilty to Tokyo Games doping charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, May 8 (Reuters) - A man that U.S. prosecutors charged with supplying performance-enhancing drugs to athletes at the Tokyo Olympics pleaded guilty on Monday, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office Southern District of New York said. Eric Lira, 43, last year became the first individual charged under the Rodchenkov Act, a federal law that allows criminal charges against doping conspirators at events involving U.S. athletes, broadcasters and sponsors. He had previously pleaded not guilty. Lira could face as many as 10 years in prison, but would likely get less under his plea agreement. Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York Editing by Toby DavisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WilmerHale said in Monday's filing that it did not represent Wild and that its work with ECPAT was limited to filing the Supreme Court brief on a legal issue unrelated to the JPMorgan case. The firm argued that EPCAT as an outside organization was not directly involved in Wild’s case. WilmerHale attorneys accused the plaintiff of “gamesmanship” in attempting to disqualify JPMorgan’s preferred law firm. A lawyer for the plaintiff, Bradley Edwards, who previously also represented Wild, said in a court filing that WilmerHale lawyers had communicated with Wild’s attorneys about legal strategy. Wild is not a party in the New York case, but Edwards said that as a victim of Epstein, she is a potential member of the plaintiff class.

[1/2] Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes is seen on video during the hearing of the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 9, 2022. The Justice Department is also seeking a sentence of 21 years for another Oath Keepers leader, Kelly Meggs, who was also found guilty in November of seditious conspiracy by a Washington, D.C., jury. The same Washington jury that convicted Rhodes and Meggs cleared three other co-defendants, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins and Thomas Caldwell, of seditious conspiracy. The charges of seditious conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding each carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Four other members of the Oath Keepers were convicted in January of seditious conspiracy for their roles in the attack.

☆ South Korean Prosecutor Calls for Crypto Entrepreneur Do Kwon to Face Charges in Home Country
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Jiyoung Sohn | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Crypto entrepreneur Do Kwon has been detained in Montenegro since March. Photo: stringer/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesSEOUL—The South Korean prosecutor leading the investigation into crypto entrepreneur Do Kwon said he believes extraditing him to his native country would be the best way to bring justice to victims of the TerraUSD cryptocurrency crash, which wiped out some $40 billion from digital currency markets. South Korea is vying with U.S. prosecutors to extradite Mr. Kwon from Montenegro, where he has been detained since March, and charge him in connection with the failed TerraUSD and Luna cryptocurrencies. Mr. Kwon, who is a South Korean citizen, was the co-founder of Terraform Labs, the company behind the two failed cryptocurrencies.

☆ Donald Trump: Fresh January 6 convictions raise the stakes for the former president
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The first scene of his reelection announcement video released last month showed smoke rising over the US Capitol and rioters with Trump flags. The legal complications facing Trump and GarlandGiven the fraught situation, the Justice Department’s next moves will be hugely significant. Thursday’s Proud Boys convictions are among the most significant of hundreds of successful Justice Department prosecutions of people linked to the US Capitol riot. So while a prosecution of Trump and his closest political associates over January 6 could be tough, it may not be impossible. So for now, at least with GOP primary voters, what doesn’t convict Trump, makes him stronger.

☆ What to Know About the Case of Richard Glossip, Death Row Prisoner
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Remy Tumin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But after a parole board was split on whether to recommend clemency last month, Mr. Stitt signaled that he would not issue another stay. Mr. Glossip, 60, was convicted of arranging the 1997 murder of Barry Van Treese, who owned a motel in Oklahoma City where Mr. Glossip worked as a manager. Prosecutors argued that Mr. Glossip promised the motel handyman, Justin Sneed, $10,000 to kill him. According to interviews from inmates incarcerated with Mr. Sneed on unrelated charges, Mr. Sneed said he had acted alone to rob Mr. Van Treese of money that Mr. Sneed and his girlfriend planned to use to buy drugs. Mr. Sneed also has a history of mental illness, which was not disclosed at the time.

[1/3] Signage is seen outside of the law firm WilmerHale in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 30, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File PhotoCompaniesCompanies Law Firms JPMorgan Chase & Co FollowMay 4 (Reuters) - A Jeffrey Epstein accuser suing JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) for allegedly aiding the late financier's sex trafficking of girls and women asked a judge to disqualify the bank’s law firm on Thursday, arguing it has a conflict of interest. Lawyers for the woman, who claims she was a victim of Epstein and is not named in court papers, said the judge should bar law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr from representing JPMorgan because it previously represented an anti-sex trafficking organization that supported a different Epstein accuser. Wild’s attorneys also consulted with WilmerHale attorneys on legal strategy, Thursday's filing said. Earlier on Thursday, the judge in that case allowed the U.S. Virgin Islands to serve legal papers on Google co-founder Larry Page, who has been linked to Epstein.

☆ Proud Boys trial: Four members found guilty of seditious conspiracy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Hannah Rabinowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Four members of the far-right Proud Boys have been found guilty of seditious conspiracy by a jury in Washington, DC, for their role to forcibly prevent the peaceful transfer of power from then-President Donald Trump to Joe Biden after the 2020 election. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the seditious conspiracy charge against Pezzola. Proud Boys were at the front lines of the mob on Capitol grounds and were there when the first barriers were breached. Prosecutors have alleged that leaders of the group riled members up and communicated with them, through hand signals, to move ahead. During the trial, jurors listened to testimony from multiple officers who defended the Capitol on January 6 as well as FBI agents who investigated the Proud Boys and testimony from several Proud Boys members including two of the defendants, none of whom said there was ever a specific plan to take the Capitol.

☆ Chinese businessman Guo Wengui appeals bail denial in fraud case
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Guo Wengui, once a business associate of former U.S. President Donald Trump's adviser Steve Bannon, was arrested in March. Guo pleaded not guilty to 11 charges including securities fraud, wire fraud and concealing money laundering. The 52-year-old defendant, whose other names include Ho Wan Kwok and Miles Kwok, is a prominent critic of China's Communist Party. He left China in 2014 during an anti-corruption crackdown under President Xi Jinping. Bannon was arrested in a 2020 fraud case while aboard Guo's yacht.

The rider who choked Mr. Neely was interviewed by the police and released, and a person familiar with the matter said the rider is not viewed by the authorities as a flight risk. If he is charged by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, the man who applied the chokehold would most likely argue that the force he used against Mr. Neely was justified. Prosecutors would have to prove that he used deadly force without having believed that Mr. Neely was also using deadly force or was about to. And in order to show those things in court, prosecutors would need to have interviewed every one of the many witnesses to the encounter, to make sure that none of them would say something that would hurt the prosecutors’ case. Prosecutors do not typically bring cases unless they believe they can win them.

CNN —Prosecutors for special counsel Jack Smith have been asking questions in recent weeks about the handling of surveillance footage from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort after the Trump Organization received a subpoena last summer for the footage, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation. Prosecutors are expected to ask them about the handling of the surveillance footage and Trump employees’ conversations following the subpoena, according to the sources. Calamari Sr., the executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Trump Organization, has primarily overseen security operations for Trump and his properties during his decadeslong career working for Trump. His son, Calamari Jr., is director of security for the Trump Organization. An attorney for Calamari Sr. did not respond to a request for comment.

Companies Ozone Networks Inc FollowNEW YORK, May 1 (Reuters) - A former employee of OpenSea, the world's largest marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), used inside knowledge of which assets would be featured on its homepage to make "free money," a prosecutor said on Monday as an insider trading trial wound to a close. Prosecutors have called it the first criminal insider trading case involving such assets. Prosecutor Thomas Burnett said in his closing argument that Chastain chose which NFTs to feature, and then profited illegally by selling his tokens shortly thereafter. They have said that his actions were not insider trading, and that the information he accessed was not OpenSea's property and had no inherent value to the company. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Mike Pence Testifies Before Jan. 6 Grand Jury Investigating Donald Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Sadie Gurman | C. Ryan Barber | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Special counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing the investigation into Donald Trump’s efforts to remain in power after the 2020 election, had subpoenaed former Vice President Mike Pence earlier this year. Photo: Allison Joyce/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesWASHINGTON—Former Vice President Mike Pence testified Thursday before the grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump’s efforts to remain in power after the 2020 election, according to a person familiar with the matter, a day after a federal appeals court rejected Mr. Trump’s bid to block that testimony on executive privilege grounds. Mr. Pence’s appearance behind closed doors is a significant development for special counsel Jack Smith in his ongoing investigation. The former vice president is a key witness for prosecutors because of his role as president of the Senate certifying the 2020 election results on Jan. 6, 2021. Prosecutors have also sought his testimony about conversations he had with Mr. Trump leading up to that day.

☆ China 'police station' case shows U.S. ramping up use of foreign agent laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The Justice Department last year charged at least 25 people with violating or conspiring to violate the law. That was the highest number since at least 2003, according to a Reuters review of Justice Department statements and court records. He added that his office uses the foreign agent statute and other tools to combat the trend. A RARELY TESTED STATUTEWhile once mainly used against traditional espionage, Section 951 cases brought in recent years have targeted "influence operations" and harassment of U.S.-based dissidents. After the acquittal, Justice Department official Jay Bratt told a conference the department would "continue to bring hard cases."

☆ Jack Teixeira: Accused Pentagon leaker's violent rhetoric raises fresh questions about top secret vetting process
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Natasha Bertrand Sean Lyngaas Zachary Cohen Haley Britzky | Natasha Bertrand | Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

But that didn’t stop the Pentagon from granting a top-secret security clearance to Jack Teixeira, who prosecutors say had an arsenal of weapons at home and a history of violent online rhetoric. And the Air Force’s Inspector General investigation is specifically examining the Pentagon’s vetting process and whether any procedures were violated or ignored, Pentagon officials said. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters on Thursday that when vetting someone for a security clearance, the adjudicator examines “a sufficient period” in someone’s life to determine if they are eligible. That program – largely run by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) – aims to continuously vet security clearance holders for warning signs than periodically investigate them every five to 10 years. “Social media is a new world that the government really hasn’t gotten ahold of yet,” said Brad Moss, a lawyer who specializes in national security and security clearance law.

☆ Feds found a smashed Xbox and more in a dumpster at Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira's house. Prosecutors allege he was covering his tracks.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Jack Teixeira, who is suspected of leaking secret Pentagon documents, is due back in court. In court documents, they also allege that he tried to cover up his tracks by destroying evidence. Prosecutors allege they were destroyed to try and cover his tracks. "These efforts appeared calculated to delay or prevent the government from gaining a full understanding of the seriousness and scale of his conduct," prosecutors allege in the court documents. The documents contain sensitive information about US allies — like Israel, South Korea, and Egypt — and also its adversaries, like China, Russia, and North Korea.

☆ Two U.S. Air Force commanders suspended in unit of accused intelligence leaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Dan Whitcomb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force has suspended two commanders from the National Guard unit where accused classified intelligence leaker Jack Teixeira served, a USAF spokesman said on Wednesday. The Air Force spokesman said on Wednesday that it had suspended the operation commander and detachment commander of the 102nd Intelligence Wing, where Teixeira served. The Air Force did not identify the commanders by name. "This means that both the squadron's state Air National Guard operational commander and current federal orders administrative commander have been suspended pending completion of the Department of the Air Force Inspector General Investigation," the spokesman said. "Also, the Department of Air Force has temporarily removed these individuals' access to classified systems and information," he said.

☆ Prosecutors Seek to Restrict Evidence From Donald Trump in Hush-Money Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Corinne Ramey | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Donald Trump would be able to view some evidence only in the presence of his lawyers, according to the request. Photo: EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERSManhattan prosecutors on Tuesday asked a judge to restrict Donald Trump’s access to some evidence in his criminal case, citing the former president’s history of attacking witnesses and other people involved in legal matters. The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg made the request for a protective order in a court filing Tuesday. Prosecutors asked the judge to order that Mr. Trump be allowed to view some evidence only in the presence of his lawyers. They also asked that defense attorneys show evidence from witness cellphones to Mr. Trump only with prosecutors’ consent.

☆ Fugees rapper convicted in US over lobbying campaigns with Malaysian financier
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | Thomson Reuters | Sarah N. Lynch Is The Lead Reporter For Reuters Covering The U.S. Justice Department Out Of Washington | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Nathan HowardWASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - A jury on Wednesday convicted Grammy Award-winning rapper Prakazrel "Pras" Michel of The Fugees hip hop group on criminal charges that he conspired with a Malaysian financier to orchestrate a series of foreign lobbying campaigns aimed at influencing the U.S. government under two presidents. Low, who also faces separate federal charges in New York that he embezzled $4.5 billion from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, remains at large. Because federal election law prohibits foreigners from donating to U.S. campaigns, prosecutors said Michel masked the source of the funds. "Once he gave me the money, it was my discretion how I spent the money because it's my money," Michel told the jury, describing the payment as "free money." On whether he failed to register as a foreign agent, Michel told jurors that his attorney George Higgenbotham never told him it was required by law.

☆ Pras Michel found guilty in scheme to help China influence US government
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Holmes Lybrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

In his defense, Michel testified he never used the money at Low’s direction but instead saw it as his money which he could spend however he wanted. According to the prosecutors, Low directed over $100 million to Michel to help push the government, including Trump, to drop its investigation into Low. Prosecutors also say Michel advocated for the extradition of a Chinese dissident, Guo Wengui, on behalf of the Chinese government. Michel, however, testified he only tried to help Low find an attorney in the US and only told authorities about Guo because he thought he was a criminal. Low, who was charged along with Michel, is believed to be in China.

☆ Opinion | The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting Could Have Destroyed My Family — but Jewish Tradition Rejects the Death Penalty
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Beth Kissileff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The reverberations through families like mine don’t show up in the official statistics, but they are a part of the toll of a mass shooting. Jury selection finally began April 24 for the trial of the man who is believed to have perpetrated that violence. Federal prosecutors are expected to seek the death penalty. That applies even to the command in Deuteronomy 21 that mandates the death penalty for a rebellious son who does not listen to the voice of his father or mother. — a high court in Jerusalem did have the power to mete out the death penalty, though it is unclear if it ever actually used that right.

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