jerrymahoney

Wiser prosecutors would likely have exercised their discretion to decline prosecution, while encouraging a conversation among all parties involved to avoid future problems —a conversation that would have been respectful of the role members of Congress play in this matter. But that is neither the approach nor the perspective of DOJ officials in this administration. Like she did in her prior role as his personal attorney, interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba appears focused on playing to her audience of one and ensuring he approves of her actions, without regard for how others, including judges in the cases she's involved in, perceive them. After all, it’s gotten her this far. per Joyce Vance -- Lawyer and former United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama https://joycevance.substack.com/p/the-mciver-indictment-explained NB The next court proceeding in the case will be an arraignment, scheduled for June 16 before Biden appointee Judge Jamel K. Semper.

The admin legal playbook may be charge first then think about it later: Updated on: May 20, 2025 / 12:06 AM EDT / CBS New York The federal trespassing charge against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has been dismissed after his arrest outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba announced Monday. __________________ OT but typical -- NYTimes headline today: New China Trade ‘Deal’ Takes U.S. Back to Where It Started If a handshake agreement holds, it will merely undo some of the damage from the trade war that President Trump started.

Trump’s DOJ Indicted a Democratic Congresswoman. The Case Could Fall Apart. It's easy to see how the charges against the Democratic congresswoman fall flat if they ever get to a jury. The indictment of Rep. LaMonica McIver on Tuesday marks the latest dramatic escalation in the Trump administration’s effort to quell public and political opposition to the president’s crackdown on illegal immigration. It’s also likely to be a dud. This is a sound defense, particularly given the fact that the statute requires the Justice Department to establish — beyond a reasonable doubt — that McIver “forcibly” assaulted or resisted law enforcement officers. The video available to date is not crystal clear about what took place, but it does suggest something far less nefarious — a regrettable scrum in which McIver, who is not exactly a towering or physically intimidating figure, tried to maintain her balance while reacting to a highly unusual altercation with officers that was premised on an arrest that they have since effectively disavowed. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/06/10/indictment-lamonica-mciver-flop-column-00398777

NYTimes headline this morning: - Newsom Formally Asks Trump to Pull National Guard Out of L.A. - Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, in a letter to the Trump administration, called the deployment of troops “unlawful” and a “serious breach of state sovereignty.”

NY Times headline this morning: - Deportee’s Lawyers Push for Contempt Proceedings Despite His Return - Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia’s lawyers accused the Trump administration of spending months “engaged in an elaborate, all-of-government effort to defy court orders.” ______________________ "The reason why he is back and was returned was because there's an arrest warrant which was presented to the government in El Salvador," said Blanche. "So there's a big difference there. As far as whether it makes the ongoing litigation in Maryland moot, I would think so but we don't know that." https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/kilmar-abrego-garcia-reportedly-his-way-back-us

Based on Trump's comment, not soon enough.

My post from MAY 18: And if the DoJ was at all serious about prosecuting Mr. Comey, AG Ms. Bondi should say to Trump: With all due respect, Mr. President, SHUT UP! And today regards Garcia 'This should be a very easy case': AG Ms. Bondi should say to Trump: With all due respect, Mr. President, SHUT UP!

Ms. Bondi has said in a news conference that the timing of the Garcia indictment is basically the result of renewed diligent police work by the DoJ. It also may be because Mr. Hernandez, who is now in custody at Fed Pen Talladega, AL, finally got to someone to say that Garcia was pulled over in TN 2022 in MY registered Chevy Suburban. Mr. Hernandez Is now CC-1 in the Conspiracy indictment.

https://archive.ph/Eqs6t The 10-page indictment — filed in Federal District Court in Nashville in May and unsealed Friday — might also be an effort to save face: Bringing Mr. Abrego Garcia back to face criminal charges may allow the White House to avoid a broader legal confrontation that was increasingly headed toward questions of whether Trump administration officials should be held in contempt of court.

The judge assigned to the TN case Waverly David Crenshaw Jr. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waverly_D._Crenshaw_Jr. Obama appointee

Trump said he thought it would be "a very easy case" against Abrego Garcia, who he accused of having a "horrible record of abuse" of women. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-department-justice-made-decision-bring-back-abrego-garcia-2025-06-07/

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.tnmd.104621/gov.uscourts.tnmd.104621.8.0.pdf GOVERNMENT'S MOTION FOR DETENTION AND MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF PRETRIAL DETENTION UNDER 18 U.S.C. § 3142 Pg. 8 One of the most troubling facts the Government learned in its investigation was how the defendant got into MS-13. According to a co-conspirator, the defendant stated that he participated in the murder of a rival gang member’s mother in El Salvador—specifically the mother of an 18th Street gang member. Later, as part of his immigration proceedings in the United States, the defendant claimed he could not return to El Salvador because he was in fear of retribution from the 18th Street gang. While partially true – the defendant, according to the information received by the Government, was in fear of retaliation by the 18th Street gang – the underlying reason for the retaliation was the defendant’s own actions in participating in the murder of a rival 18th Street gang member’s mother. ___________________________ Gemini AI quickie: Yes, in a federal criminal trial, the defense team has the right to cross-examine cooperating co-conspirators who testify against the defendant. This is a crucial part of ensuring a fair trial and allowing the defense to challenge the credibility of the prosecution's witnesses.

June 7, 2025 -- Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native who had been living with his wife and children in Maryland, was deported in March to El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison -- despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to that country due to fear of persecution -- after the Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13. His wife and attorneys deny that he is an MS-13 member. The Trump administration has acknowledged in court filings that Abrego Garcia's removal to El Salvador in March was in error, because it violated a U.S. immigration court order in 2019 that shielded Abrego Garcia from deportation to his native country, according to immigration court records. An immigration judge had determined that Abrego Garcia would likely face persecution there by local gangs that had allegedly terrorized him and his family. https://abcnews.go.com/US/mistakenly-deported-kilmar-abrego-garcia-back-us-face/story?id=121333122

WashingtonPost viia https://archive.ph/XlznL#selection-279.0-283.155 MAY 04, 2025 Justice Department lawyers face skeptical judges upset by ‘shoddy work’ As they defend against more than 200 lawsuits challenging President Donald Trump’s initiatives, some government lawyers are getting scolded from the bench. Justice Department lawyers defending the Trump administration’s policies are encountering mounting criticism and frustration from federal judges, a sign of deepening tension between the executive branch and courts weighing its aggressive uses of power. In recent hearings and rulings, judges appointed by presidents of both parties have criticized the statements and behavior of administration officials, accusing them of defying court orders, submitting flimsy evidence, providing inadequate answers to questions and even acting like toddlers. <SKIP> “We’re not being treated fairly by all judges,” Trump told ABC News in an interview aired last week. He has previously accused those who ruled against him of being “radical left lunatics” and part of a “rigged system.” But the pushback from the bench has come from judges appointed by Republican as well as Democratic presidents — including by Trump himself — suggesting the issue is more about the Justice Department’s evidence and court arguments than judicial activism.

Back to Thailand, buying insurance on here gets a reaction similar to 'Oh I just use an agent' versus someone who goes to immigration -- and I was told by one of the forum regulars that, even though I buy insurance I should self-insure anyway, so I am covered WHEN your claim is denied. As far as my 20 years insurance coverage in Thailand, claims vs. premiums is just about break-even. A benefit to me is that I can handle annual premiums for insurance, but coming up with a big lump sum claim would be doable but noy easy.

When I worked in food/grocery advertising many years back, there was a given: The 2 groups of people that use food store coupons tend to be the very poor and the very rich. People that could donate a wing to the hospital still have health insurance because they would kick themselves silly if they ever had to pay a claim that exceed by far any premiums paid in.

REDUX 30 JUN 2023

I like the old days on here when you could not post an anonymous negative emoji.

Maybe like Trump: Anything good is because of me. Anything bad is because of him.

There is not one paragraph in the Conspiracy indictment that does not relate to CC-1 10. In or around 2016, shortly after meeting each other, CC- 1 and KILMAR ARMANDO ABREGO GARCIA agreed to work together to transport undocumented aliens for profit and private financial gain.

No -- but there is nowhere else they suggest in the indictment would they have gotten that info. As noted, the timeline of the stop doesn't say anywhere that the THP called in for any additional assistance.

Something about the traffic stop caused concern in the mind of the THP officer that other law enforcement agencies should be alerted. THP subsequently called the FBI, which was then led by former Director Christopher Wray under the Biden administration. The FBI instructed the THP officers at the scene to capture photographs of all eight people in the vehicle and document its contents. Once the photographs were captured, this source told The Star that the FBI requested THP release all eight individuals and that the THP officers complied with this request. https://tennesseestar.com/justice/bidens-fbi-ordered-tn-highway-patrol-to-release-maryland-man-recently-deported-to-el-salvador-after-he-was-detained-in-2022-traffic-stop-on-suspicion-of-human-trafficking/tpappert/2025/04/16/ ______________ There is no mention in the indictment of the FBI or any other federal agency being contacted in the 11-point timeline of the 1 hour- 22 minute stop that Garcia was held.

The informant Hernandez is not mentioned by name in the indictment but his testimony to the feds was likely given to the Nashville grand Jury as that is where the 2022 Garcia traffic stop occurred in a car registered to Hernandez -- the conspiracy charge was likely solely based on the Hernandez info. _________________________ In a court filing on Friday, federal prosecutors asked a judge to keep Abrego Garcia detained pending trial. Citing an unnamed co-conspirator, prosecutors said Abrego Garcia joined MS-13 in El Salvador by murdering a rival gang member's mother. The indictment does not charge Abrego Garcia with murder. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/abrego-garcia-way-us-face-criminal-charges-abc-news-reports-2025-06-06/

Abrego Garcia's lawyer, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, called the criminal charges "fantastical" and a "kitchen sink" of allegations. "This is all based on the statements of individuals who are currently either facing prosecution or in federal prison," he said. "I want to know what they offered those people." https://www.reuters.com/world/us/abrego-garcia-way-us-face-criminal-charges-abc-news-reports-2025-06-06/ _____________________ Garcia was asked about Hunter's laptop. He said: Even in El Salvador, what idiot goes hunting with a laptop?

The decision to pursue the indictment against Abrego Garcia led to the abrupt departure of Ben Schrader, a high-ranking federal prosecutor in Tennessee, sources briefed on Schrader's decision told ABC News. Schrader's resignation was prompted by concerns that the case was being pursued for political reasons, the sources said. Schrader, who spent 15 years in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Nashville and was most recently the chief of the criminal division, declined to comment when contacted by ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/US/mistakenly-deported-kilmar-abrego-garcia-back-us-face/story?id=121333122