Jesse hands off the baton

Ex-Rep. Corrine Brown guilty on fraud, tax evasion charges

Published May 11, 2017 

Former Democratic Rep. Corrine Brown was found guilty on 18 fraud and tax evasion charges Thursday afternoon in a Jacksonville federal court.

The charges stemmed from accusations she illegally siphoned thousands of dollars from her charity into her own bank account for lavish parties, trips, and shopping excursions.

Brown was found not guilty on four of the 22 total charges.

Brown served as a Florida representative in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 until 2017. She was defeated in her 2016 primary race.

The indictment came after an investigation into the charity One Door for Education Foundation Inc., which federal prosecutors say was purported to give scholarships to poor students but instead filled the coffers of Brown and her associates.

Earlier this year, One Door President Carla Wiley pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud after it as determined that she had deposited $800,000 into the foundation's account over four years. Over that time, federal prosecutors say it gave one scholarship for $1,000 and that Wiley transferred herself tens of thousands of dollars.

"Congresswoman Brown and her chief of staff are alleged to have used the congresswoman's official position to solicit over $800,000 in donations to a supposed charitable organization, only to use that organization as a personal slush fund," Assistant U.S. Attorney General Leslie Caldwell, chief of the Justice Department's criminal division, said in a statement earlier this year.

Brown's former chief of staff, Elias "Ronnie" Simmons, and the charity's president pleaded guilty after their federal indictments for misusing the charity's funds, and testified against Brown.

Brown said she was left in the dark about the goings-on with One Door's money, and blamed the theft on Simmons.

Brown said she left those details to Simmons and other hired staffers and said she should have paid more attention to her personal and professional finances.

Jesse hands off the baton

Rod Rosenstein, man behind Comey’s firing, is highly respected on Capitol Hill

You got to love this line:

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., for example, said that Rosenstein has “impressive credentials” and she does not question his “integrity.” But she said: “We need steel spines and there is a real danger the Justice Department could become politicized.”

You mean it wasn't under Holder and Lynch?

Oh...and what about the IRS?

Lois Lerner's pencil sharpener

Video 344

-------------------------------------

By Christopher Wallace Published May 10, 2017 

Fox News

Rod Rosenstein, who recommended to President Trump that he fire FBI Director James Comey, is widely respected by both career civil servants and members of both political parties.

The Justice Department's newly appointed deputy attorney general earned praise from Democrats during confirmation hearings earlier this year before getting overwhelming approval, 94-6, in the Senate.

At no point in those hearings was Rosenstein asked whether he felt that Comey was up to the task of leading the FBI throughout multiple, highly politicized investigations. Democrats did press him, repeatedly, to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of Russian influence on the U.S. presidential election and alleged collusion with the Trump campaign.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., for example, said that Rosenstein has “impressive credentials” and she does not question his “integrity.” But she said: “We need steel spines and there is a real danger the Justice Department could become politicized.”

So it came as a surprise to some when his letter explaining his decision regarding Comey pointed at the former FBI director’s questionable handling of the Clinton probe.

“I cannot defend the director's handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clinton's emails,” Rosenstein wrote, “and I do not understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken. Almost everyone agrees that the director made serious mistakes; it is one of the few issues that unites people of diverse perspectives.”

Interviews with former colleagues and attorneys who know Rosenstein professionally all say he is a prosecutor who is working to defend the integrity and the independence of the Justice Department.

Rosenstein has a long track record in high-profile cases that bolster his reputation for independence.

As a young attorney in the 1990s, Rosenstein was tapped to join Kenneth Starr’s team of prosecutors investigating shady Clinton real estate dealings in Arkansas.

Attorney Megan Brown worked with Rosenstein at DOJ and in the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office.

“I lived through incredibly stressful situations at the senior levels of DOJ firsthand. He can lead and make the tough calls,” Brown, who now works in private practice in Washington, D.C., told Fox News. “He's unflappable, with rock-solid ethics.”

Former Attorney General Eric Holder appointed Rosenstein to investigate who was leaking classified information about the Obama administration’s role in cyberattacks against Iran. The DOJ later attained a guilty plea from retired Marine Gen. James Cartwright for making false statements about a covert cyberattack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The New York Times decried the result, saying it would have a chilling effect on government employees leaking to the press.

Outside the Beltway scandals, Rosenstein also has prosecuted local corruption cases, including against former Prince George’s County Executive Jack B. Johnson, who received a seven-year term for extortion and for witness and evidence tampering. Rosenstein also has prosecuted allegedly corrupt Baltimore cops, along with vicious gangs like MS-13.

“The Maryland criminal defense bar knows that knowing Rod will get you nowhere when it comes to trying to influence decisions in his office. He simply does what is right and just and does not take personal relationships into account,” said Baltimore criminal defense attorney Steve Silverman, who has known Rosenstein professionally for years.

Rod Rosenstein, man behind Comey’s firing, is highly respected on Capitol Hill

Trump takes aim at Schumer's reaction to Comey firing

Wonder what Killary is feeling right now. Internally she has to be delighted but outwardly she’ll have to find fault with Trump to stay in the Democratic fold. What a dilemma!

Kind of funny when you think about it. Killary is supposed to be in jail and now Comey winds up getting fired!

-------------------------------------

President Trump late Tuesday took to Twitter to fire back at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for comments the New York Democrat made in response to the firing of FBI Director James Comey.

Schumer held a press conference Tuesday evening and told reporters that he had a phone conversation with the president prior to Comey's firing, and told Trump that he is "making a big mistake."

Schumer wondered out loud about the timing of the firing and asked whether investigations into the Trump campaign's possible ties to Russia were "getting too close for the president."

Trump fired back later on his Twitter account, saying: "Cryin' Chuck Schumer stated recently, 'I do not have confidence in him (James Comey) any longer.' Then acts so indignant."

Trump was likely referring to a November interview where Schumer called Comey’s decision to send a now-famous letter to lawmakers less than two weeks before the presidential election “appalling.”

“To restore my faith, I am going to have to sit down and talk to him and get an explanation for why he did this,” Schumer said, according to Bloomberg.

Schumer was not the only Democrat who voiced concerns about Comey. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told CNN at the time that “maybe he’s (Comey) not right for the job.”

Trump, for his part, appeared to have a tenuous relationship—at least publically—with Comey through the campaign and into his young presidency. The Hill reported back in October that Trump praised Comey for having “guts” to “make the move that he made in light of the kind of opposition he had,” regarding Clinton's email probe.

Prior to that comment, however, Trump was critical of Comey during the campaign for not bringing charges against Clinton.

Trump’s seemingly abrupt decision Tuesday to fire Comey was made at the recommendation of top Justice Department officials who claimed that his controversial handling of the Clinton email case last year.

A senior White House official told Fox News it was purely “coincidental” that the firing occurred on the same day Comey faced scrutiny for giving faulty testimony about emails sent from Clinton aide Huma Abedin to Anthony Weiner.

Schumer, for his part, has called for a special prosecutor in the investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

"I have said from the get-go that I think a special prosecutor is the way to go, but now with what's happened it is the only way to go," Schumer told reporters on Tuesday.

Schumer called on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to appoint the prosecutor.

"Mr. Rosenstein, America depends on you to restore faith in our criminal justice system, which is going to be badly shattered after the administration's actions today," he said.

Trump takes aim at Schumer's reaction to Comey firing

Boston doctors killed: Bag stuffed with jewelry found, suspect arraigned

 

This is the murdering piece of shit. With the name Bampumim Teixeira it got me thinking about his legal status. The Boston Globe is a very liberal newspaper.

 So when they say this:

[Teixeira was born in Guinea-Bissau and raised in Cape Verde, the Boston Globe reported. He moved to the Boston area when he was in his 20s, but started to live in shelters after having a falling out with his aunt.]

They key word here is moved. In the liberal mindset coming here illegally and moving is the same thing. BTW...Teixeira committed two bank robberies one in 2014 another in 2016. Why was he not in jail or at the very least deported?  

------------------------------------- 

The suspect accused in the brutal murders of two engaged doctors at their penthouse condominium in Boston apparently left a black bag stuffed with the woman's jewelry at the scene of the crime, a prosecutor said Monday during the arraignment in a hospital room.

The judge ordered the suspect, Bampumim Teixeira, held without bail on murder charges. The prosecutor did not give any additional details about a possible motive. Cut-up photos of the couple and a message of retribution reportedly appeared at the scene as well.

Richard Field, 49, and Lina Bolanos, 38, were found dead on the 11th floor of the Macallan Building Friday, police said. The doctors were bound at the hands with their throats slit -- and there was blood smeared on the wall, the Boston Globe reported.

An attorney for Teixeira, 30, entered not-guilty pleas on his behalf to two counts of murder. Teixeira kept his eyes closed through his arraignment at Tufts Medical Center, and his lawyer didn't argue for bail. Teixeira had been shot in the hand, abdomen, and leg by police.

Field had sent a text message to a friend in his final moments saying there was "a gunman in the house," but when police arrived, it was too late, prosecutors told the judge.

At a press conference Monday, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley said Teixeira had not fired at the arriving officers, contrary to an initial statement by Boston Police Commissioner William Evans.

"[The] officers believed he pointed a weapon at them,” Conley said. “We are not drawing any negative connotations of these actions, we are simply looking to correct the record.”

Conley also criticized news outlets who cited anonymous sources in reporting gruesome details about the crime scene Friday night. The district attorney said some of those details were "flatly, incontrovertibly wrong" and their reporting "deeply hurt two grieving families." He did not specify what details were incorrect, citing the investigation and forthcoming court case.

Conley also said that there was no evidence that Teixeira knew either of the victims, "nor is there any evidence to explain why he would attack them so viciously in their own home."

Field was a doctor at North Shore Pain management and served as an anesthesiologist and pain management specialist at several other places, while Bolanos was pediatric anesthesiologist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear. The pair was engaged to be married, Fox 25 Boston reported.

Teixeira’s ex-girlfriend told the Globe that he had sent her a mysterious text message and called her on April 22.

She said Teixeira told her that she would never see him again and that he did not plan to live long. He also told her he would never hurt anyone.

Teixeira was born in Guinea-Bissau and raised in Cape Verde, the Boston Globe reported. He moved to the Boston area when he was in his 20s, but started to live in shelters after having a falling out with his aunt.

He pleaded guilty to two bank robberies – one in 2014 and the other in 2016. In both instances, he passed the bank teller a note saying he had a weapon but never brandished one.

Boston doctors killed: Bag stuffed with jewelry found, suspect arraigned

Barry accepts JFK Courage Award

Courage Award? I guess they forgot about that red line in the sand. Oh…and Biden is the best VP this country ever had!

When the Oscars roll around he should get one for impersonating a president.

----------------------------------------------------------

Former President Barack Obama, in his first public comments about the ongoing debate over his signature health care plan, implored members of Congress on Sunday to demonstrate political courage even if it goes against their party's positions.

Obama briefly returned to the spotlight as he accepted the annual John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award at JFK's presidential library in Boston. The award is named for a 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Kennedy that profiled eight U.S. senators who risked their careers by taking principled though unpopular positions.

In his approximately 30-minute speech after accepting the award, Obama steered clear of partisan attacks and never mentioned his successor, President Donald Trump, who has often criticized the previous administration and has worked to undo many of Obama's initiatives, including the Affordable Care Act.

The former president recalled members of Congress who voted to pass the ACA during his presidency, only to lose their seat in later elections.

"They had a chance to insure millions," he said. "But this vote could also cost them their seats, perhaps end their political careers."

Obama made no direct reference to Thursday's House vote to dismantle much of the health care law, but declared that while it did not take courage to help the rich and powerful, it does require courage to help the sick and vulnerable.

"It is my fervent hope and the hope of millions ... such courage is still possible, that today's members of Congress regardless of party are willing to look at the facts and speak the truth, even when it contradicts party positions," said Obama, whose appeal seemed to focus on wavering Republicans.

Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, one of the few Republicans to attend the dinner, told reporters the Senate would write its own version of the legislation and he did not expect the House bill to survive intact.

The former president focused much of his address on the legacy of President Kennedy, as the library prepared to mark the 100th anniversary of his birth later this month. Obama noted the Kennedys had long advocated for health care reform, and in particular, the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, who died of brain cancer before passage of the Affordable Care Act.

Among the guests who made their way down the red carpet into the library for the event were representatives of the Kennedy family, members of Congress, former Obama staffers and celebrities including former late-night talk show host David Letterman. Former Vice President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State John Kerry also were in attendance.

Early in his speech, Obama personally thanked a number of people in the crowd including 'the best Vice President this country has ever known Mr Joe Biden' (above)

Not to mention the brightest!

U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III, a Massachusetts Democrat, said Obama earned the award by meeting many challenges that faced him during his presidency.

"It's about understanding the challenges we face as a country and as a planet and mustering the political will to do what is right even if what is right at that moment isn't necessarily popular," said Kennedy, a harsh critic of the GOP health overhaul plan.

Caroline Kennedy, JFK's daughter who served as Ambassador to Japan, and Jack Schlossberg, Kennedy's grandson, presented the award.

Schlossberg, 24, and planning to attend Harvard Law School, said Obama inspired him the way an earlier generation was inspired by his grandfather.

"Without Barack Obama, I might still be sitting on my couch, eating Doritos and watching sports," he said.

While the former president has steered away from any involvement in U.S. affairs during his early months out of office, he forayed into the French political debate last week by posting a message of endorsement for centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron, who defeated his far-right rival Marine Le Pen in Sunday's election.

On Monday, Obama travels to Italy to give a keynote address on climate change and food security at Tuesday's Seeds and Chips Global Food Innovation Summit in Milan.

Barry accepts JFK Courage Award