Posted on 11/30/2021 3:26:10 AM PST by Political Junkie Too
Nine U.S. House Democrats have asked the Justice Department to release American environmental lawyer Steven Donziger, who spent decades battling Chevron Corp over pollution in the Ecuadorian rainforest.
The disbarred lawyer was handed a six-month imprisonment sentence in October for criminal contempt arising from a lawsuit brought by the oil company.
The Democrats including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib on Monday said in a letter addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland that the lawyer was jailed for "petty contempt of court".
"As the United States is a party to the District Court case against Mr. Donziger, we request that you act immediately to reclaim control of this case, dismiss the charges, and free Mr. Donziger from his imprisonment," the letter said.
U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska sentenced Donziger after finding him guilty in May of "willfully" defying court orders, including by failing to turn over his computer and other devices.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
My sentiments exactly.
He's not being jailed for bribing judges in the United States. He faked the evidence and bribed the judges in Ecuador to get the bogus verdict, and then he tried to shop that verdict around the world to enforce it in countries where Chevron had assets.
The Ecuador ruling was deemed unenforceable by the World Court in The Hague, but Donziger was still trying to get it enforced when he was sued in the United States and lost his law license. He was then jailed for contempt of court stemming from his obsessive quest against Chevron.
-PJ
He’s not being jailed for bribing judges at all. Not any judge anywhere. The jail term has NOTHING to do with the facts of the case. It could just as well be a case of spitting on the sidewalk. The jail term is because the judge ordered him to do something, and he refused.
When you claim that he’s being jailed because of the case against Chevron you play into the left’s hands. Because Commie Lawyer good, Oil company bad.
I think Chevron was right to fight back against this guy.
-PJ
think about it this way.
Biden could pardon the guy? Wouldn’t that send a message?
Not sure WHAT kind of message, but .....
This is just some nutty congress-holes doing a PR stunt to raise money for their re-election campaigns.
The Democrats including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib...
I stopped right there.
Recent polls show that between 70 and 80 percent of Americans have a low opinion of Congress.
Many would rate the actions and statements of Congress as “Contemptible”.
Therefore, “Contempt of the current Congress” is not a valid charge.
Yes, but my initial point is that I think AOC and Tlaib asking Garland to get involve is barking up the entirelyl wrong tree.
There’s a difference between committing a “crime” where you’re being prosecuted by the State, or the Feds, through the executive branch (District Attorney or the Attorney General) and committing “criminal contempt” which is an offense against the court, which OAC and Tlaib seem not to understand.
If the DOJ, that is, the Feds, were prosecuting the criminal contempt, then the Feds could drop the case. But if the criminal contempt charge was brought by the court, I don’t see how the DOJ has any business whatsoever saying or doing anything. It would be butting in where they don’t belong.
Remember the warning that Glynda gave the Wicked Witch of the West (who you have NEVER seen in the same photo as Tlaib, btw) that her powers didn’t work in Munchkin Land?
As best I can figure out, the court appointed its own prosecutor, not part of the DOJ, to uphold the dignity of the court. If the DOJ, or someone under the ultimate control of the DOJ is not the prosecuting authority, and I do not believe they are, then I do not see how Merrick Garland gets to have a say about anything in this situation.
It would be something like asking the attorney general of Nebraska to take steps to prevent passing of a sentence by an Ohio court, except instead of involving courts of two different states, it involves two different co-equal branches of government.
-PJ
I wonder if Donziger is financed by Russia to sabotage US oil companies?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.