Political Name-Calling Overshadows Cases
Against FBI Director and New York A.G.
Pretrial motions planned in the cases against the former FBI director and the New York attorney general indicate they believe politics is the issue, not crime.
They both face years in prison if they are convicted on charges in federal court in Alexandria, Va.
They plan to argue in motions to dismiss that President Donald Trump’s desire for revenge against his political adversaries is driving the charges against them.
They accuse the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia of vindictive and selective prosecution. If true, their allegations would be a violation of their 14th Amendment rights to equal protection that could result in dismissal or acquittal.
New York attorney general Letitia James was indicted on mortgage fraud charges.
James orchestrated a lawsuit against Trump and his associates in 2022 on claims of fraud for inflating the value of his assets to obtain more favorable loan, insurance and tax rates. The lawsuit resulted in a $450 million judgment against Trump that later was downgraded on appeal as excessive.
Prosecutors told the grand jury that indicted James that she misrepresented what was really an investment property in Norfolk, Va., as being her secondary residence to obtain a better mortgage rate on a loan. She rented the home to a family of three.
She is charged with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. She faces up to 30 years in prison and as much as a $1 million fine on each count if she’s convicted.
The indictment alleges that James obtained a fixed-rate conventional mortgage at an interest rate of 3 percent by claiming the house she purchased was “residence” for herself.
If she had been honest about her plan to use the house as a “rental investment property” she would have paid a mortgage rate of 3.815 percent at the time, according to prosecutors. At that rate, she would save approximately $17,837 over the life of the 30-year loan.
The mischaracterization of the loan saved her about $50 a month over the past five years, according to prosecutors.
James' salary as New York's Attorney General is $220,000 a year. She earns other income as a visiting law professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.
James' attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement, "When a President can publicly direct charges to be filed against someone — when it was reported that career attorneys concluded none were warranted — it marks a serious attack on the rule of law.”
Former FBI director James Comey is charged with lying to Congress about links between the Russian government and the 2016 Trump campaign for president.
Comey’s attorney summed up his defense when he said, “This prosecution was brought by President Trump.”
Comey is charged with obstruction of a congressional proceeding and making a false statement during his testimony to a Senate committee in September 2020. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted.
Comey told the Senate that the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation revealed links between Trump’s campaign manager and a Russian intelligence officer. He did not directly say Trump colluded with the Russians but that the investigation raised issues that were “concerning.”
Trump fired Comey in May 2017. A month later he referred to Comey in a social media post as “cowardly.” He later called him an “untruthful slime ball.”
For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.
Bondi Says National Guard in D.C.
Shows Success of Enforcement Effort
An aggressive crime-fighting effort that started in August in Washington, D.C., was used as an example at a Senate hearing last week of why the National Guard is being sent to cities nationwide.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said crime figures are showing sharp declines in cities where the troops have been sent.
In addition to Washington, they have been sent to Los Angeles and Memphis. President Donald Trump wants to send hundreds of other guardsmen to Chicago, despite opposition and legal challenges from local officials.
Bondi helped to organize Justice Department task forces assisted by the National Guard that are being sent to the cities.
Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department reports that violent crime is down 28 percent through September compared with the same period in 2024.
“The results speak for themselves," Bondi said. “We have made more than 3,800 arrests here in Washington.”
She described Chicago as a “safe haven” for drug gangs as a result of lax law enforcement. She said the city had a murder rate five times higher than New York.
“Seeing what’s happened in Chicago, they need the National Guard,” Bondi said.
During the rest of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Bondi often exchanged insults with Democrats over who should be blamed for alleged federal prosecutions that were “weaponized” for political reasons.
Democrats said Trump is trying to prosecute his critics – such as former FBI director James Comey – to get revenge against them.
Republicans say the Biden administration used Justice Department investigations to try to silence Trump and his top aides or advisors. Nine of them received criminal convictions after Trump’s first presidential term.
After Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., added to the accusations against Republicans, Bondi told him, “Don’t you ever challenge my integrity.”
Sen. Maizie Hirono, D-Hawaii, accused Bondi of turning the Justice Department into “the department of revenge and corruption.”
Bondi refused to answer many questions about ongoing prosecutions and widespread Justice Department firings after she took over as attorney general earlier this year.
Hundreds of federal prosecutors were either fired or resigned under pressure, particularly the ones who participated in investigations of Trump or his staff during the Biden administration. Others allegedly left or were forced out after declining to file charges against Trump’s political opponents.
When asked about the departures, Bondi repeatedly said, “I’m not going to discuss personnel matters.”
The Justice Department’s Washington-based public integrity section, which investigates corruption among public officials, was downgraded from 36 attorneys to two attorneys.
Bondi said the public integrity duties were not being deemphasized but instead being shifted to regional offices nationwide.
Bondi denied favoritism in deciding who gets prosecuted or protected from criminal charges, instead saying political partisanship was a Biden administration phenomenon.
“That weaponization is over,” Bondi said.
For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.
Supreme Court Hears Case on Right
Of Politicians to Sue Over Mail-In Ballots
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority signaled last week that candidates for federal office are close to gaining greater discretion to challenge state election laws.
The immediate issue is mail-in ballots.
The bigger issue is whether politicians have a right to sue to challenge the way states run their elections, according to an Illinois congressman whose lawsuit is pending before the Supreme Court.
Washington, D.C., has some of the nation’s most liberal laws allowing mail-in ballots.
A ruling in favor of Rep. Michael Bost, R-Ill., is likely to increase post-election litigation to challenge vote counts.
The disputed Illinois law allows the counting of mail-in ballots as much as 14 days after voting ends, assuming they were postmarked on or before Election Day.
Bost says mail-in ballots that arrive late dilute the value of "lawfully cast" votes and force the state to spend additional time and money to count them.
An Illinois federal judge initially dismissed Bost’s lawsuit, saying he failed to demonstrate that he suffered "sufficiently concrete, particularized and imminent injuries" that would give him a right to sue.
Bost has consistently won Illinois elections for about 30 years. The district court questioned whether someone who wins elections would have a right to complain about how the votes are counted.
Most of the Supreme Court justices disagreed with the lower court’s dismissal of the lawsuit. They said the added time and expense of counting votes for two weeks after an election could be considered a monetary loss that gives politicians a right to sue.
"Let me ask about the pocketbook injury," Justice Samuel Alito asked about Bost's right to sue. "Why isn't that straightforward?"
Bost's attorney, Paul Clement, said political candidates are not "mere bystanders" in an election. They spend "untold time and energy" on their campaigns, which should give them a legal interest in ensuring the vote counts are accurate, he said.
"If the campaign is going to be two weeks longer, you've got to keep the campaign staff together for two weeks longer, and that's going to be more expensive," Clement said.
The risks of litigation to challenge allegedly inaccurate mail-in vote counts would allow judges to decide who wins elections rather than the voters, according to the conservative nonprofit advocacy group Judicial Watch, which filed a Supreme Court brief supporting Bost.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor seemed skeptical of Bost’s right to sue.
"Our case law and our standing law requires some form of substantial harm that can be articulated and shown,” she said. “And what you're talking about is a desire to implement the law with a generalized grievance because it doesn't really particularly harm you."
The Supreme Court’s ruling is expected next spring. The case is Bost v. Illinois Board of Elections.
For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.
Williams & Connolly’s Computers Hacked
In Apparent Chinese Espionage Campaign
The Washington, D.C.-based law firm of Williams & Connolly is assessing damage from a data breach linked to Chinese hackers.
The firm sent letters to clients last week informing them that its computers had been illegally tapped.
Williams & Connolly has represented high-profile politicians, such as Bill and Hillary Clinton, as well as major corporations in the technology, health care and media sectors.
“Given the nature of the threat actor, we have no reason to believe that the data will be disclosed or used publicly,” the letter said.
The firm appeared to imply the hackers were engaged in espionage rather than extortion. If true, it could confirm intelligence reports of a broader Chinese campaign to find secretive information beneficial in its trade competition with the United States.
The hackers reportedly used a "zero-day attack" by exploiting a software vulnerability that gives them access to attorney email accounts. Williams & Connolly has partnered with cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike to eliminate any further vulnerabilities.
Cybersecurity firm Mandiant issued a warning in September that suspected Chinese hackers are targeting U.S. law firms.
Washington-based Wiley Rein reported being hacked in July. The firm represents many large corporations, some of whom compete with Chinese enterprises.
The Chinese government denies hacking U.S. law firm computers. The FBI’s Washington field office is investigating.
For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.
Man Threatening Red Mass with Explosives
Expressed Hate Toward Supreme Court
A man waiting outside a downtown Washington, D.C, cathedral for the annual Red Mass was concealing more than 200 low-level explosives or incendiaries hours before the Supreme Court justices were scheduled to arrive, according to newly revealed court records.
Louis Geri threatened to ignite the explosives as police arrested him outside of St. Matthew’s Cathedral.
He showed police a notebook with his writings that demonstrated dislike of the Catholic Church, Supreme Court justices, members of the Jewish faith and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the court records.
The Red Mass is an annual event that serves as the opening religious ceremony for a new session of the Supreme Court.
Geri had put up a tent in front of the doors to the cathedral. The explosives and incendiary devices were inside the tent.
Police found them as they cleared the steps and surrounding street to prepare for the arrival of the Supreme Court justices. They included an explosive chemical called nitromethane, bottle rockets and Molotov cocktails.
Geri reportedly told the police, “You might want to stay back and call the federales, I have explosives.” He was holding a butane lighter, police said.
They arrested him as he stepped away from his tent to urinate next to a tree. An FBI bomb squad determined the explosives were functional.
Geri, 41, faces eight charges, including manufacture or possession of a weapon of mass destruction in furtherance of a hate crime. He is being held without bond.
The justices called off their appearance at the Red Mass because of the security concern.
For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.