Free Republic

Scandal: Before he lied to Congress while under oath about what he knew about targeting reporters, he lied about Fast and Furious. As early as the New Black Panthers case, Eric Holder had a problem with the truth. That the House Judiciary Committee is investigating whether Attorney General Eric Holder lied under oath during his May 15 testimony on Department of Justice (DOJ) surveillance of reporters comes as no surprise. People have forgotten about the New Black Panther case, perhaps the most clear-cut case of voter suppression and intimidation ever. On Election Day 2008, New Black Panther Party members in...

In November 2012, Louisiana voters strengthened the Louisiana Constitution’s right to bear arms provision, to read The right of each citizen to keep and bear arms is fundamental and shall not be infringed. Any restriction on this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny. Today, Louisiana Judge Darryl A. Derbigny, in State v. Draughter (La. Crim. Dist. Ct. Mar. 21, 2012), held that the Louisiana ban on felon possession of guns violates this provision. The analysis was brief: Under the strict scrutiny standard, government action is not presumed to be constitutional, and will not be upheld by [a] Court unelss...

Detroit native Brian Banks won a seat in Michigan's state assembly with a commanding lead of 68 percent, but the representative-elect may never be sworn in. Banks, 35, is a multiple convicted felon, which, according to some of his prospective colleagues, makes him unfit to serve. CBS Detroit has reported that some Michigan lawmakers may try to stop him from taking office. Banks' crimes involved writing bad checks and credit card fraud for which he was convicted eight times between 1998 and 2004. But that didn't stop him from using the campaign slogan "You Can Bank on Banks." It also...

**SNIP** One in the pack running for Jackson’s vacated house seat is one who’s been there before, former congressman Mel Reynolds. “At a time when we are living in the killing fields of Chicago, our federal government seems obsessed with the Jackson,” said Reynolds. Reynolds points to stories that include Jackson’s wife Sandi who’s also resigned her elective seat as alderman. “Do they really now want to put both parents of small children in jail or is their strategy to get Sandi Jackson to flip on her husband so they can put even more pressure on that family?” said Reynolds.

OAKLAND (CBS SF) — A paroled felon was sentenced Thursday to 35 years and eight months in state prison in connection with the fatal shooting death of a man near the former Occupy Oakland encampment in November 2011 and for a sexual assault that occurred five days later. Issac McDaniels, 32, of Oakland, had faced a potential life term for sexually assaulting a woman on 13th Avenue in Oakland on Nov. 15, 2011, but prosecutors dropped a kidnapping charge against him last November in exchange for him pleading no contest to four felonies. The charges are forced oral copulation and...

Christian Phillip Oberender, 32, is in jail in Carver County accused of possessing 13 firearms and ammunition as a convicted felon. Oberender was convicted of murdering his mother, Mary Oberender, in 1995. He was 14-years-old when he shot her several times with a shotgun. Now, 18 years later, he faces felony charges for possessing those 13 guns illegally, but it's what he didn't do that has his community on edge. "I need to know about these things. I am going to keep a very visual look at what is happening in this case and follow it and figure it out....

President Obama wants more gun-control laws, but perhaps he should care more about enforcing the ones already on the books. He granted an exclusive interview to NBC’s David Gregory on Saturday, even though the “Meet the Press” anchor is under investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) for possession of an unregistered “high capacity” magazine in the District. It is also unclear how Mr. Gregory passed the Secret Service background check to enter the White House while under criminal investigation. **SNIP** Chief Lanier is stuck between a rock and a hard place. If she does not charge Mr. Gregory with...

An Illinois state lawmaker who was a frontrunner to replace former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. says he's ending his candidacy because he doesn't want the felony gun charges he faces to detract from the district's important issues. Donne Trotter was arrested Dec. 5 when security screeners at O'Hare International Airport found an unloaded .25-caliber Beretta handgun in his bag. **SNIP** Trotter announced Saturday he will not seek the 2nd congressional district seat, explaining that solving the area's economic and other problems was too important to allow his legal "situation to detract from what needs to be front and center."

The Washington Metropolitan Police Department is investigating whether any city laws were violated when NBC’s David Gregory displayed what appeared to be a 30-round gun magazine on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, a spokesman confirmed to POLITICO. “The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating this matter,” said police officer and spokesman Araz Alali in an interview Tuesday. When pressed on what the police department was investigating, Alali added, “The ‘Meet the Press’, David Gregory incident.” “There are D.C. code violations, D.C. code restrictions on guns, ammunition. We are investigating this matter. Beyond the scope of that, I can’t comment any...

Congressional Research Service confirms Jefferson's pension should continueBy Bruce Alpert updated December 12, 2012 at 7:27 PM WASHINGTON - A new report by the Congressional Research Service reiterates previous legal findings -- that Congress can't deny pension benefits to former members for criminal conduct covered by a 2007 law if the illegal acts occurred before the law's enactment. That means former Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, now serving a record 13-year prison sentence, will continue to collect his pension -- estimated at $40,000-$50,000 a year. Until 2007, only crimes relating to espionage, treason or several other national security violations could...

Detroiters Elect Ex-Con Brian Banks As State RepNovember 7, 2012 10:31 AM **SNIP** Banks, a Democrat and lifelong Detroiter, won a seat in Lansing as a state representative for the 1st District, representing the east side of Detroit, Harper Woods, and the tony Grosse Pointes. He won 68 percent of the vote to Republican Dan Schulte’s 32 percent. Banks, 35, was convicted eight times between 1998 and 2004 of writing bad checks and credit card fraud. His slogan was “You can Bank on Banks.”

The woman named “Democrat of The Year” this year by the Jefferson County Democratic Party has been convicted of felony theft by a Jefferson County jury for stealing from a developmentally disabled 71-year-old woman. -excerpt- Nearly as bothersome as the theft itself to Maxwell and other supporters of the victim, is the fact the Jefferson County Democratic Party was made aware of the ongoing criminal investigation and honored Carson anyway.

A federal judge today ordered state prison officials to provide a taxpayer-funded sex-reassignment surgery to a transgender inmate serving life in prison for murder. U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf ruled in the case of Michelle Kosilek, who was born as a man but has received hormone treatments and lives as a woman in an all-male prison. Robert Kosilek was convicted of murder in the killing of his wife in 1990. Wolf is believed to be the first federal judge to order prison officials to provide the surgery for a transgender inmate. Kosilek first sued the Massachusetts Department of Correction 12...

I was thinking about the law that allows some felons to vote and some could not, depending on the state ...

Nancy Cordes, CBS: As you know, your opponent recently accused you of waging a campaign filled with anger and hate. You told Entertainment Tonight that anyone who attends your rallies can see that they are not angry or hate-filled affairs. But in recent weeks, your campaign has suggested repeatedly - without proof - that Mr. Romney might be hiding something in his tax returns. They have suggested that Mr. Romney might be a felon for the way that he handed over power of Bain Capital. And your campaign and the White House have declined to condemn an ad by one...

The latest web ad from Barack Obama's campaign goes after Mitt Romney for not releasing more tax returns than he already has. The ad, titled "Mitt Romney's Tax Returns: When Will He Come Clean?," at one point flashes two words onscreen, "FELONS" and "TAX RECORDS." The words, "FELONS" and "TAX RECORDS," are displayed onscreen for at least six seconds, so the Obama campaign wants to make sure its viewers see the words.

How 'bout a little refresher re. Obama political Godfather  and actual (16-count!) convicted felon Tony Rezko...? The Syrian-born Rezko is an infamous Chicago slumlord, fast-food restauranteur, and sleazy political operator who played a key role in the Blagojevich case- as well as the unlikley ascension to power of Barrack Hussein Obama.Obama's longtime ally, friend, and top fundraiser was found guilty of 16/24 counts of felony influence peddling back in June 2008. Of course the story was mostly buried/detached from his bud Barry in the run-up to that year's most unfortunate (for us) presidential election whilst the jury convicted Rezko of wire...

This morning, the Obama team, springboarding from mainstream media coverage it had likely astroturfed, said that Mitt Romney was either a “felon” or a liar. Its mainstream media lackeys quickly played it up. And this morning, the Obama team was completely debunked by members of its own media, who were shamed into telling the truth by an enraged New Media. Now, the Romney campaign is calling for an apology from the Obama campaign and a retraction from the Boston Globe. “President Obama’s campaign hit a new low today when one of its senior advisers made a reckless and unsubstantiated charge...

At the center of one of the most widely publicized public corruption cases in Palm Beach County history, Kevin McCarty’s name is one that rarely goes unrecognized these days. And yet it failed to ring a single bell in the Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor’s Office recently, when elections workers sent McCarty a brand-new voter registration card – little more than a year after returning home from prison and despite a felon status that makes him constitutionally ineligible to vote. This at a time when the state and federal government continue to do battle, suing each other even, over how...

Former Speaker of the House Thomas Finneran said he’s leaving his post as a radio yakker on WRKO-AM, announcing on air this morning that Thursday’s show will be his last. Finneran said on the “Tom & Todd” morning show that he will be pursing other “plans and opportunities out there in the real world” and will sign off after Thursday’s show. He joined the station in February 2007. “We’re having a very amicable parting,” he said. Finneran lost his own law license and was sentenced to 18 months unsupervised probation after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice in 2007. The...

Here's a clip from Vice President Joe Biden's interview with WTOV-TV in West Virginia yesterday, the latest stop he's made this week, where he was asked about what he made of out-of-state incarcerated felon Keith Judd getting roughly 40 percent of the vote against President Obama in the recent Democratic primary: “Look, I come from a household where whenever there’s a recession, somebody around my grand-pop or my dad’s table lost a job. "

William Jefferson settles in to federal prison in Beaumont, TexasBy Bruce Alpert, Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune Published: Saturday, May 05, 2012, 9:00 AM Former Democratic Rep. William Jefferson reported Friday to the low-security federal prison in Beaumont, Texas, to begin serving a 13-year sentence, the longest ever for a congressional member. Jefferson, 65, arrived about 40 minutes ahead of the noon deadline set by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III who presided over Jefferson's 2009 trial for corruption and bribery. **SNIP** His downfall began when a disgruntled investor went to the FBI in 2005, expressing concerns that she was being defrauded...

Jefferson ordered to report to federal prison in Beaumont, TexasBy Bruce Alpert, Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune Updated: Thursday, May 03, 2012, 5:29 PM WASHINGTON -- Former Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, will begin his 13-year prison sentence Friday at the low-security federal prison in Beaumont, Texas, according to two federal law enforcement officials.Judge T.S Ellis III, who revoked Jefferson's $50,000 bail two weeks ago, had given the former nine-term congressman until noon to begin his sentence. Following recommendations from both Jefferson's lawyers and federal prosecutors, Ellis had recommended the former congressman serve his time at a minimum security prison, or prison...

William Jefferson should serve his 13-year sentence in a minimum-security prison, judge saysBy Bruce Alpert, Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune Updated: Friday, April 20, 2012, 10:11 PM Alexandria, Va. -- Former Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, must report to prison by May 4 to begin serving his 13-year sentence on bribery and public corruption charges, more than two years after he was convicted and almost seven years after news of a federal investigation of his dealings became public. Judge T.S. Ellis III rejected a motion Friday by Jefferson's lawyer, Robert Trout, and supported by lead prosecutor Mark Lytle, that Jefferson be allowed...

He’s a man without a country. An immigrant in Alabama who has been arrested 35 times in 12 years cannot be extradited because the United States does not recognize his homeland, the Birmingham News reports. According to the paper, federal authorities have tried to remove convicted felon Sofyan Eldani, 45, but couldn’t send him to his native Palestine because the U.S. does not recognize it as a country. Eldani says he is a native of Palestine, though he carries an Egyptian passport. Eldani's arrests include assault, fraudulent checks, criminal mischief, resisting arrests, reckless endangerment, shoplifting, burglary, drug possession, failure to...

<p>HOUSTON – A high-risk sex offender was on the loose Friday night after escaping from a Houston halfway house and discarding his GPS tracking ankle monitor, the Houston Chronicle reported.</p> <p>Michael Elbert Young, 42, climbed over a barbed wire fence at the Southeast Texas Transitional Center after last being seen around 9:50pm local time Thursday night.</p>

Time is running out for Bill JeffersonPublished: Sunday, April 01, 2012, 6:37 AM By James Gill - The Times-Picayune Legal experts cited by the paper say federal prosecutors may now ask trial judge T.S. Ellis III to lock Dollar Bill up. Those experts are not exactly going out on a limb, considering that prosecutors opposed bail for William Jefferson in the first place. Now that an appeals court panel in Virginia has resoundingly and unanimously upheld Jefferson's conviction on all but one of 11 counts, prosecutors would be remiss if they didn't urge immediate consignment to the pen. The experts...

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William Jefferson gets OK to attend funeral for former House colleagueBy Bruce Alpert, Times-Picayune Updated: Monday, March 12, 2012, 4:14 PM WASHINGTON -- Former Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, has received court permission to attend Wednesday's funeral for Rep. Donald Payne, D-N.J., one of his closest friends when both served on Capitol Hill. The funeral will be held in Newark, N.J, with a public viewing on Tuesday. Payne, 77, died last week after being diagnosed with colon cancer. **SNIP** Ellis gave Jefferson a 13-year sentence - the longest corruption sentence for a member of Congress -- after his 2009 conviction....

As I noted last Fall, Colorado courts have treated the Colorado Constitution’s right to keep and bear arms provision as substantially protecting felons’ rights to keep guns for self-defense — an approach quite different from that used by the U.S. Supreme Court in interpreting the Second Amendment, or by other states’ courts interpreting those states’ constitutions. Today’s State v. Carbajal (Colo. Ct. App. Mar. 1, 2012) reaffirms that. An excerpt: In 1876, the new State of Colorado adopted a constitution that included a provision in its bill of rights establishing a right to keep and bear arms in defense of...

Former Rep. William Jefferson unaffected by measure to block pensions for felonsBy Times-Picayune Staff Published: Saturday, February 04, 2012, 11:59 PM **SNIP** Former Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, who was convicted of 11 of 16 corruption charges in a 2009 trial, was unaffected by the 2007 law and will remain so if the new Senate language becomes law. Attorneys have told Congress that it doesn't have the authority to retroactively take back benefits from people, including members of Congress. The bribery-related charges against Jefferson occurred before the 2007 law. Jefferson is receiving a pension of between $40,000 and $50,000 a...

Kevin McGrath, who currently sits on the Troy City Council, testified yesterday at the upstate New York voter fraud trial, that he was concerned about running for public office because of his history of substance abuse, and 'the fact that he is a convicted felon'. These days it seems, McGrath is far less concerned about public perception, at one point cracking a joke about his lack of drug-peddling business savvy - a comment that forced him to apologize to the judge. During his testimony, McGrath stated that he was not convicted of distributing 220 lbs. of pot, but rather, he...

Kevin McGrath, who currently sits on the Troy City Council, testified yesterday at the upstate New York voter fraud trial, that he was concerned about running for public office because of his history of substance abuse, and 'the fact that he is a convicted felon'. These days it seems, McGrath is far less concerned about public perception, at one point cracking a joke about his lack of drug-peddling business savvy - a comment that forced him to apologize to the judge. During his testimony, McGrath stated that he was not convicted of distributing 220 lbs. of pot, but rather, he...

Bremen Police have a man in custody after the attempted abduction of a 7-year-old girl at a Walmart. Brittney Baxter was in the toy aisle at the Walmart on Highway 27 when a man came up behind her and grabbed her, police said. The man put his hand over her mouth, but Brittney kicked, squirmed and made as much noise as possible before the man let go and ran off. ..... The incident was caught on store surveillance footage.

Two Political Analysts Say Gov. Perdue's Decision Doesn't Add UpWritten by Philip Jones 7:09 PM, Jan 30, 2012 Greensboro, NC -- We've had a few days to digest Gov. Bev Perdue's decision not to run for reelection, but there's still a bit of mystery surrounding her reasoning. **SNIP** "It's very difficult to see how her ... announcing she's stepping down increases the chances Republicans go back on their campaign promises from 2010 and say, 'OK, we're now open to a tax increase,'" Dinan said. Perdue said she believes she could've beat likely challenger Pat McCrory in this fall's election, but...

The U.S. Constitution and the Nevada Constitution both give citizens the right to bear arms. But the Nevada Supreme Court said Thursday that right doesn't extend to convicted felons. And that prohibition in Nevada applies to antique and muzzle-loading replica firearms. Michael Pohlabel, an ex-felon, was arrested in Elko County with a black-powder rifle in the back seat of his car. The weapon is a type that must be loaded by hand each time a shot is fired, takes at least 45 seconds to load and is hard to conceal. The court noted that federal law excludes antique and muzzle-loading...

At last night's Republican debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., we heard the candidates talk about whether ex-cons should vote and we heard the candidates talk about the right to bear arms. At the next debate, I'd like to hear the candidates talk about whether ex-cons should bear arms. Asked about Mitt Romney's attacks on his candidacy, Rick Santorum complained that Romney's Super PAC had an ad that said he favored allowing felons to vote from prison, when in fact what Santorum favored was allowing felons to vote after they've served their prison sentences. Santorum asked Romney: "Do you believe people...

Ex-NC Gov. Easley Avoids Disbarment after FelonyBy The Associated Press UPDATED: 8:43 pm EST January 6, 2012 Wake County -- Former North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley will be able to resume practicing law at end of this year under an agreement reached with the State Bar on his punishment related to a campaign finance-related felony in 2010. A disciplinary panel on Friday approved the agreement between the Bar and Easley in which his law license will be suspended for another 11 months. His license was suspended more than a year ago while the Bar investigated his case.

William Jefferson Appeal Could Weaken Corruption StatuteBy Amanda Becker Roll Call Staff Dec. 12, 2011, Midnight A federal prosecutor warned Friday that if the conviction of former Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) is reversed on appeal, it would place many fraudulent acts committed by lawmakers outside the scope of current bribery law. Jefferson was convicted of 11 corruption charges in 2009, but his legal team is arguing that since the former Congressman’s scheme to connect businesses in which he had a financial stake with foreign governments was not related to his formal legislative duties, his activities are not covered by the...

On Wednesday, the Budget and Finance Committee of the Board of Supervisors will take up a bill that would give a payroll tax credit to local employers who hire ex-felons. I imagine this new law, if enacted, would lead to lots of employment rejection letters for nonfelonious citizens. Letters like this: Dear Mr. Morgan, We at the Mediocris Circus wish to thank you for submitting an application for the position of feline habitat maintenance associate. I read in The San Francisco Examiner that the unemployment rate for Americans ages 16 to 24 is about 18 percent, which must explain why...

So held a North Carolina trial court in Johnston v. State (Oct. 24, 2011). Richard Johnston had been convicted of “felonious receipt of stolen property and conspiracy to commit grand larceny” in 1978, and pled no contest “to fraudulent setting fire, conspiracy, false statement to procure, and conspiracy to receive, receiving, conspiracy to commit larceny and accessory before the fact” in 1981. (The underlying crimes occurred in 1976, and “did not involve either violence or the use of a firearm.”) Since then, Johnston has apparently led a law-abiding life, setting aside “routine traffic citations and two hunting citations, one of...

Evanovich's sisters say they know what their brother was doing was wrong, but they say the police should have handled the response because they’re trained to deal with crimes in progress. Johnita Beal says the witness should have dialed 911, "Police could have been easily contacted, easily, and my brother would have been behind bars, or something like that, but no, he's gone now."

A Duluth man continued to say someone else shot him, but nevertheless pleaded for a shorter sentence Thursday by telling the court: "If I shot myself, your honor, I don't need any prison; I need a damn shrink." Judge David Johnson was unmoved and sentenced Alcide Cloutier, 35, to a longer-than-guideline prison sentence of 7-1/2 years. Last month, a St. Louis County jury rejected Cloutier's claim that he was a good Samaritan who was shot by a black man - whom he later described as a white man - while trying to help a woman in Duluth's Lakeside neighborhood in...

Six people have recently been charged in St. Louis County with a felony crime that is rarely seen on a Northeastern Minnesota court docket: "Voting while ineligible." It's a felony punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, but a conviction most likely will result in a probationary sentence. Under Minnesota law, a person is ineligible to vote if their civil rights had not been restored after being convicted of treason, or any felony, or while under a guardianship in which a court order revoked the ward's right to vote, or if found by...

The Summerset man who fired a loaded gun during a re-enactment of a shootout last month in Hill City that wounded three tourists is a convicted felon who has been arrested at least 15 times since 1982. Paul Doering, 49, spent more than 50 months in Minnesota prisons for six felony convictions, according to the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Pennington County authorities determined that the bullets that injured Jose Pruneda, 52, of Alliance, Neb., Carrol Knutson, 65, of Birchwood, Minn., and John Ellis, 48, of South Connellsville, Pa., on June 17 came from Doering’s gun. Three of four bullets fired...

Rep. Bill Jefferson corruption case appellate arguments scheduledBy Times-Picayune Staff Updated: Saturday, June 25, 2011, 9:03 AM After a series of lengthy delays, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has tentatively scheduled oral arguments for former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson's appeal of his corruption conviction. A three-judge panel in the Richmond, Va., court announced that it plans to hear the arguments sometime between Sept. 20 and Sept. 23. A Virginia jury found Jefferson, a nine-term New Orleans Democrat, guilty of 11 of 16 corruption charges in August 2009. The jury found that Jefferson demanded, and in some cases received,...

There are enough examples of the Obama administration's attacks on Texas to make a David Letterman Top 10 list. But, there's really nothing funny about the full frontal assault that's come out of Washington against our state in recent months. Texas versus Washington talk is popular political chatter, but if you move beyond the rhetoric there's substantial evidence that President Barack Obama's administration is waging a strategic and sustained campaign against lives and livelihoods in the Lone Star state . With all due respect, the president and his administration's hell-bent determination to tear down Texas could be better focused on...

Cultural center to be named after convicted mayorPublished 06:16 a.m., Thursday, June 2, 2011 UNION CITY, N.J. (AP) — Officials have decided to name a new cultural center after a New Jersey mayor who was convicted of federal racketeering charges. The William V. Musto Cultural Center in Union City will be dedicated on June 11. The center used to be the 15th Street Free Public Library. Musto was a state lawmaker who served as mayor from 1962 to 1970 and 1974 to 1982. That's when he was convicted of helping mobsters and contractors siphon federal funds from an expansion project...

Convicted Felon Elected Mayor in OklahomaBut Christopher Linder can't serve Updated: Tuesday, 10 May 2011, 7:29 PM MDT PHOENIX - He is a convicted felon, found guilty here in Arizona for his part in a drive-by shooting and drug charges. **SNIP** Fortunately, Oklahoma law prevents convicted felons from taking office, so Tuesday, he asked for a pardon. Christopher Linder admits he's made poor choices, but says he's a changed man. He would have made history if the pardon was granted...but the board said he's not ready. By a four to one vote, a state board decided not to recommend a...