Law & order

MI6 accused of tribunal hearing 'interference'

MI6 has been accused of “inappropriate interference” after two of its officers allegedly asked a chief clerk at the investigatory powers tribunal to conceal secret material relating to the agency from its presiding judges.

The spy agency was forced to apologise after the incident, which took place in relation to a court case about whether fellow agency MI5 can authorise informants to participate in murder, torture or other serious crimes.

The embarrassing episode occurred in March 2019 but can only be reported now after a special hearing on Monday of the tribunal, which oversees complaints against British intelligence.

The two spies had rung the tribunal secretary and according to her claimed that “various inspection reports” about MI6 had been provided in error to the tribunal and said they had unspecified concerns in relation to the material.

Law & order

Seattle police chief wants to retake precinct in occupied CHAZ 'as soon as possible'

Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best said she wants to retake the police precinct in the self-declared "Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone," or "CHAZ," “as soon as possible.”

“Ideally, we just need to get back into the building,” Best told local station KIRO-7 on Friday.

“People are looking for a plan, but we want to make sure we modulate anything that we’re doing,” Best added.

This week, decrying police brutality after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, demonstrators have turned part of Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood into a protest center with speakers, drum circles and Black Lives Matter painted on a street near the police station.

Law & order

Justice Department moves to drop charges against Russians indicted in the Mueller probe

The Justice Department on Monday moved to drop its case against two Russian entities who were indicted as part of the former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 US election.

In a court filing, prosecutors accused one of those companies, Concord Management and Consulting, LLC, of taking advantage of the US legal process and discovery to try to harm national security. All the while, the filing said, Concord refused to comply with its own legal obligations under the US judicial system.

That included complying with court-issued subpoenas, ignoring a court order to make available a corporate representative, and submitting a "misleading (at best) declaration from an incredible declarant, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the Russian oligarch and co-defendant who controls Concord and is alleged in the indictment as having funded and directed the defendants' election interference campaign."

Law & order

Joe Biden fails to understand the Constitution on military matters

Democrats regularly charge that President Trump does not understand or respect the Constitution and the law. Indeed, just months ago, Democrats in Congress voted unanimously during his impeachment trial to remove him from office. This week, however, Joe Biden displayed a woeful lack of understanding of the most fundamental cornerstone of the Constitution, which is civilian control over the military. For all of his decades of public service as vice president and senator, Biden looks at the world through a fundamentally political rather than a constitutional lens.

The presumptive Democratic nominee criticized the recent removal by the administration of Navy Captain Brett Crozier, commander of the Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier. Former Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modley, the top civilian political appointee in the Navy, removed Cozier after the leak of his email accusing Navy leaders of failing to quickly evacuate the sailors after a coronavirus outbreak aboard his ship. Biden declared that it was “close to criminal” with regard to how the Navy removed Cozier. “He should have a commendation rather than be fired,” he said, adding “poor judgment” belongs to the administration. Biden and other administration critics might be proud of themselves now that Modley has resigned over his unwise comments that attacked the ability of Cozier.

Law & order

3 European countries say they will refuse UK extradition requests now Brexit has happened

European fugitives could seek to escape justice by fleeing to their home countries after Brexit, it has emerged.

Austria, Germany, and Slovenia confirmed they would not extradite their nationals to the UK during the 11-month transition period which starts tomorrow.

All three countries are forbidden by their own constitutions to extradite their own citizens to non-EU countries, which the UK will became on Thursday, and each country would likely to have to change its constitution in order to close the potential loophole.

It raises the prospect that a German, Austrian, or Slovenian national could commit a crime in the UK before fleeing to their respective home country, thereby escaping criminal prosecution in the UK during this year.

Law & order

Pentagon's Esper says military justice ready to hold troops to account

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper expressed confidence on Sunday in the U.S. military justice system’s ability to hold troops to account, two days after President Donald Trump pardoned two Army officers accused of war crimes in Afghanistan.

Trump also restored the rank of a Navy SEAL platoon commander who was demoted for actions in Iraq.

Asked how he would reassure countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq in the wake of the pardons, Esper said: “We have a very effective military justice system.”

“I have great faith in the military justice system,” Esper told reporters during a trip to Bangkok, in his first remarks about the issue since Trump issued the pardons.

Critics have said Trump’s pardons would undermine military justice and send a message that battlefield atrocities would be tolerated.

Law & order

JUDICIAL WATCH SUES STATE DEPARTMENT FOR RECORDS ON FIRING OF BIDEN-UKRAINE PROSECUTOR


Judicial Watch announced today it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit for records about the firing of Ukraine’s top prosecutor after then-Vice President Joe Biden threated to withhold aid. The lawsuit was filed yesterday against the U.S. Department of State (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:19-cv-02893)).

The suit was filed after the State Department failed to respond to a May 7, 2019, FOIA request seeking access to the following records:

1. Any and all records regarding, concerning, or related to Viktor Shokin’s investigation of Mykola Zolchevsky and Shokin’s resignation at Ukraine’s Prosecutor General.

2. Any and all records of communication between any official, employee, or representative of the Department of State and any official, employee, or representative of the Office of the Vice President regarding Viktor Shokin.

In a widely distributed video, Joe Biden confirmed that he successfully pressured, under threat of withholding $1 billion in U.S. government aid, the Ukrainian government to fire Shokin, who had allegedly launched an investigation into Burisma, which had purportedly paid Biden’s son Hunter $50,000 a month.

“The latest assault on President Trump is an obvious attempt to protect Joe Biden from the corruption scandals involving his son,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Judicial Watch’s latest lawsuit will be the first of many to try to get to the bottom of this influence-peddling scandal.”

Law & order

Britain’s Supreme Court rules Prime Minister Boris Johnson suspended Parliament illegally

Britain’s highest court dealt a major blow on Tuesday to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, ruling that his controversial decision to suspend Parliament was unlawful, in a landmark decision that will have immediate implications for Britain’s departure from the European Union.

In one of the most high-profile cases to come before Britain’s Supreme Court, the 11 judges ruled unanimously that Johnson had not acted lawfully in shuttering Parliament.

The court ruled that Johnson’s decision to ask the queen to suspend Parliament essentially frustrated the ability of lawmakers to do the business of democracy, including debating Johnson’s plans for Brexit.

The ruling was a brutal one for the embattled prime minister, asserting that his move to suspend the Parliament was political maneuver, and suggesting that he might have misled Queen Elizabeth II.

Law & order

 Judicial Watch Sues for ‘Coup’ Documents

Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice for all records of communication of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, the Office of the Attorney General Jeff Sessions, or the Office of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein discussing the 25^th Amendment or presidential fitness. Additionally, the lawsuit seeks all recordings made by any official in the Office of the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General of meetings in the Executive Office of the President or Vice President.
The suit was filed after the Justice Department failed to respond to three separate FOIA requests dated September 21, 2018 (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:19-cv-00388)). The lawsuit seeks all written and audio/visual records of any FBI/DOJ discussions regarding the 25^th Amendment and plans to secretly record President Trump in the Oval Office.
On February 14, 2019, former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe stated in an interview with CBS that “there were conversations about the possibility of removing Trump under the 25th Amendment and confirming that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had offered to wear a wire around the president.”
After President Trump fired then-FBI Director James Comey, reportedly top DOJ officials discussed whether to recruit cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office.
President Trump recently tweeted: “The biggest abuse of power and corruption scandal in our history, and it’s much worse than we thought. Andrew McCabe (FBI) admitted to plotting a coup (government overthrow) when he was serving in the FBI, before he was fired for lying & leaking.”

It was reported in September 2018 that Deputy Attorney General, Rod J. Rosenstein, suggested that he secretly record President Trump in the White House in an effort to invoke the 25^th Amendment and have President Trump removed. Judicial Watch’s immediate follow-up FOIA requests were ignored.

Law & order

Democrats vow new scrub of post-9/11 war powers

Key House Democrats plan to use their newfound power to force a debate about the war-making authority that Congress approved after 9/11 — after years of being stifled by the chamber's Republican leaders.

Democrats will still face a tough fight to impose greater oversight on the U.S. military deployments that have mushroomed during the past 17 years. But prospects will be much brighter for the lawmakers who have spent years pushing Congress to weigh in on the use of American forces in countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia and, most recently, Yemen.

If they succeed, the result could be legislation restricting President Donald Trump’s ability to send combat troops to new countries, or at least setting a time limit for the executive branch to seek new authorization. That would at least guarantee more frequent public debate about where American troops are engaged and why.

Trump has begun moving unilaterally to scale back some of those engagements, ordering a withdrawal of troops from Syria and pushing to downsize the U.S. military commitment in Afghanistan.

Law & order

UK 'can't keep European Arrest Warrant after Brexit'

The UK will be kicked out of the European Arrest Warrant deal after Brexit, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said.

The warrant allows EU members to request the arrest and detention of criminals in other countries without extradition talks between them.

The UK wants to stay part of the system when it leaves the EU next March.

But Mr Barnier said the UK could not, because of its desire to leave the EU's court and free movement scheme.

The EU would consider setting up a "streamlined" extradition process with the UK instead, said Mr Barnier.

His words are not likely to go down well with the UK's Brexit Secretary David Davis, who earlier this month singled the European Arrest Warrant out as one of the cornerstones of post-Brexit security co-operation with the EU.

Law & order

Only one in 10 jihadis returning home from the Middle East are prosecuted as MPs demand that we 'toughen our terror laws'

Ministers have been urged to 'toughen our terror laws' after it emerged only one in ten British jihadis have been prosecuted upon their return to the UK.

It is estimated that about 400 Britons have returned to the UK from the Middle East since 2012 after leaving to fight for terrorist groups such as Islamic State.

Home Office Minister Ben Wallace, in a Commons debate on new counter-terrorism and security proposals, revealed that of the 400, around 40 had been prosecuted for 'direct action they've carried out in Syria'.

Barrow and Furness MP John Woodcock, who had pressed for the figures, said the low prosecution rate 'shows how urgently we need to toughen our terror laws'.

Speaking in the debate, Mr Woodcock added: 'So, only one tenth of people have been successfully prosecuted.

Law & order

Intelligence community always suffers in the long term from its abuses

To comprehend the significance of the memos from James Comey when he was Director of the FBI and the findings by the House Intelligence Committee on the actions of the FBI and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in issuing three wiretap warrants for the Trump campaign, these must be viewed in a long-term historical perspective, not from a short-term political vantage point.

Without transgressions by the FBI and CIA, there would not be a House nor a Senate Intelligence Committee.

The FBI was founded in 1908, the CIA in 1947, and the House and Senate Intelligence Committees in 1976 as part of the Congressional response to Watergate. Whenever the American intelligence community abuses the deference granted by Congress, there is a significant blowback. Count on that for the FBI and the FISA Court matters.

The Founding Fathers intended for Congress to be the most powerful branch of government, which is why it can tax, spend and investigate so as to legislate responsibly. It is also why the House of Representatives, where all new taxes must originate, is up for election every two years, as opposed to the President every four, and Senators six. Legislation can be expected as result of the actions by the FBI and FISA Court on the warrants for the Trump campaign that will increase the oversight of each by Congress.

Historically, there is significant latitude for the activities of the intelligence community.

Much of this is justified, but when it is abused, expanded Congressional oversight is the result. The Constitution requires this to maintain the checks and balances intrinsic for a democracy.

Law & order

Judge in Manafort case says Mueller's aim is to hurt Trump

A federal judge expressed deep skepticism Friday of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation in the bank fraud case against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, at one point saying he believes that Mueller's motivation is to oust President Donald Trump from office.
Although Mueller's authority has been tested in court before, Friday's hearing was notable for District Judge T.S. Ellis' decision to wade into the divisive political debate around the investigation.
"You don't really care about Mr. Manafort's bank fraud," Ellis said to prosecutor Michael Dreeben, at times losing his temper. Ellis said prosecutors were interested in Manafort because of his potential to provide material that would lead to Trump's "prosecution or impeachment."
Prosecutors have not disclosed that they're interested in having Manafort flip, but they have indicated that they continue to investigate him after his former deputy Rick Gates agreed to cooperate.
"That's what you're really interested in," Ellis said, citing how prosecutors regularly turn cooperators in drug cases. He was appointed to the bench in Virginia by President Ronald Reagan in 1987.

Law & order

Former Mexican state governor extradited to South Texas from Italy

The former governor of the Mexican State of Tamaulipas, and former candidate for the office of President of Mexico, was extradited to the United States from Italy on Friday and charged with racketeering, drug smuggling, money laundering and bank fraud.

The extradition and indictments resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the IRS’s Criminal Investigations Division (IRS-CID), and the FBI.

This extradition was announced by U.S. Attorneys Ryan K. Patrick, Southern District of Texas and John Bash, Western District of Texas.

Tomas Yarrington Ruvalcaba, 61, from Mexico arrived in the Brownsville April 20 to face the charges, and is expected to make his initial appearance Monday, April 23 at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Ronald Morgan.

Law & order

Intelligence community always suffers in the long term from its abuses

To comprehend the significance of the memos from James Comey when he was Director of the FBI and the findings by the House Intelligence Committee on the actions of the FBI and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in issuing three wiretap warrants for the Trump campaign, these must be viewed in a long-term historical perspective, not from a short-term political vantage point.

Without transgressions by the FBI and CIA, there would not be a House nor a Senate Intelligence Committee.

The FBI was founded in 1908, the CIA in 1947, and the House and Senate Intelligence Committees in 1976 as part of the Congressional response to Watergate. Whenever the American intelligence community abuses the deference granted by Congress, there is a significant blowback. Count on that for the FBI and the FISA Court matters.

The Founding Fathers intended for Congress to be the most powerful branch of government, which is why it can tax, spend and investigate so as to legislate responsibly. It is also why the House of Representatives, where all new taxes must originate, is up for election every two years, as opposed to the President every four, and Senators six. Legislation can be expected as result of the actions by the FBI and FISA Court on the warrants for the Trump campaign that will increase the oversight of each by Congress.

Law & order

Syria action – UK government legal position

1.This is the Government’s position on the legality of UK military action to alleviate the extreme humanitarian suffering of the Syrian people by degrading the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons capability and deterring their further use, following the chemical weapons attack in Douma on 7 April 2018.

2.The Syrian regime has been killing its own people for seven years. Its use of chemical weapons, which has exacerbated the human suffering, is a serious crime of international concern, as a breach of the customary international law prohibition on the use of chemical weapons, and amounts to a war crime and a crime against humanity.

3.The UK is permitted under international law, on an exceptional basis, to take measures in order to alleviate overwhelming humanitarian suffering. The legal basis for the use of force is humanitarian intervention, which requires three conditions to be met:

(i) there is convincing evidence, generally accepted by the international community as a whole, of extreme humanitarian distress on a large scale, requiring immediate and urgent relief...

Law & order

Inside the Google of Counter-Terrorism

Europol, which doesn’t have arrest powers, has played a key role in major terrorism investigations since, including the bombing of American singer Ariana Grande’s concert in Manchester, England, last May. The agency, which has a staff of about 1,200 and a budget of 123 million euros, was formally founded in 1999 to combat the most sophisticated criminal networks, a mandate that now includes coordinating the cyberdefenses of the bloc’s 28 members.

The agency is currently helping with probes into the Wannacry ransomware attack that crippled parts of Britain’s National Health Service and NotPetya, which caused two companies losses of about $300 million. While not surprising to Europol’s cybercrime sleuths, Wainwright said these and other digital assaults, including Russia’s alleged burrowing into the U.S. electric grid, have served as belated wake-up calls in capitals throughout Europe.

“We recognized there was a gap in our collective systems,” he said. Each country already has a team ready to respond to major cyber incidents “and now we’re trying to network them across Europe in a more effective way.”

Law & order

Sessions: Federal prosecutor evaluating alleged FBI, DOJ wrongdoing, no second special counsel for now

Attorney General Jeff Sessions revealed Thursday a federal prosecutor was evaluating certain issues involving the FBI, the Clinton Foundation and Uranium One, but said he would not appoint a second special counsel at this point. 

In a letter directed to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte and House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, Sessions revealed that he asked U.S. Attorney John Huber to lead the evaluation into issues raised by the committees in recent months. 

“I write in response to recent letters requesting the appointment of a Special Counsel to review certain prosecutorial and investigative determinations made by the Department of Justice in 2016 and 2017. I take the concerns you raise seriously,” Sessions wrote, noting how important it was that the American people and Congress had “confidence” in the Justice Department.

Law & order

Trump to seek death penalty for some drug traffickers in plan to fight opioid crisis

The White House announced Sunday that it intends to seek the death penalty for certain drug traffickers "where appropriate under the law" in a bid to slow down the country's opioid epidemic.
The White House also said that President Trump would call on Congress to pass legislation lowering the amount of drugs that would invoke mandatory minimum sentences for traffickers.
Trump was expected to formally announce the plan on Monday during a visit to New Hampshire. He will be accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, who has shown an interest in the issue, particularly as it pertains to children.
The president had promised to make fighting the drug crisis a priority during the campaign. At a rally in Pennsylvania last weekend, Trump suggested mandating the death penalty for drug dealers in the United States and claimed the American justice system was too soft on traffickers.