ReportWire

Tag: criminal justice

  • Gloucester Police welcomes two new officers

    Gloucester Police welcomes two new officers

    [ad_1]

    Two new officers who are also Gloucester natives have joined the ranks of the Gloucester Police Department.

    Officers Ryan Muniz and Kalyn Koller bring a wealth of knowledge, enthusiasm, and a commitment to serving Gloucester, the department said.

    Muniz graduated from the Massachusetts Police Training Committee Northern Essex Community College Police Academy in May. He attended Gloucester Public Schools and graduated from Gloucester High in 2019. In high school, he played hockey, golf, and tennis, and captained the hockey and golf teams.

    After high school, Muniz attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, graduating in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree. Following his graduation, he worked at the Essex County Sheriff’s Department before joining the Gloucester force. Muniz recently completed his field training and is now eager to make a positive impact and engage with the community he has always called home, the department said.

    Koller graduated from the MPTC Lynnfield Police Academy last Tuesday and began her field training shortly thereafter. Koller, 24, is a Gloucester native who graduated from Rockport High in 2019, where she played softball and basketball. She earned her criminal justice degree from Endicott College, graduating with dean’s lst honors. During her time at Endicott, Koller interned with the Gloucester Police Department, an experience that solidified her dedication to a career in law enforcement.

    “I am honored to announce my appointment as a new officer with the Gloucester Police Department. I look forward to serving and giving back to the community I have always called home,” she said.

    Chief Edward Conley expressed his confidence in the new officers, saying, “We are thrilled to welcome Officers Muniz and Koller to our team. Their dedication, local roots, and commitment to service will undoubtedly strengthen our department and enhance our ability to serve the Gloucester community.”

    [ad_2]

    By Times Staff

    Source link

  • Transgender girl murdered in western Pa.; man charged in homicide

    Transgender girl murdered in western Pa.; man charged in homicide

    [ad_1]

    SHARON, Pa. — A western Pennsylvania man is charged with homicide following the death and dismemberment of a transgender teenager.

    Dashawn Dale Depree Watkins, 29, of Sharon, Pa., was charged Wednesday with murder in the first degree, aggravated assault, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence following the death of Pauly Likens.

    Pamela Ladner, director of the Shenango Valley LGBTQIA+ Alliance in Sharon said she has spoken to Likens’ mother, Jennifer, and she confirmed that Likens identified as a transgender girl.

    Likens was murdered June 23 near a canoe launch in downtown Sharon, police said.

    Mercer County District Attorney Peter C. Acker said he does not plan to charge Watkins with a hate crime. Acker said this is one of the worst homicide cases he’s ever seen in his 46 years as a lawyer. 

    “I’ve gotten several questions about whether or not we’re investigating this as a hate crime,” Acker said. “The answer is no because the defendant is an admitted homosexual and the victim was transitioning.”

    Likens was reported missing June 25. Her father said she planned to spend the night at a friend’s house on June 22. About 2:30 a.m. on June 23, Likens posted an image on Snapchat of a dark road and said she was out for a late-night walk to clear her mind and she was not heard from after that.

    On June 25, Hermitage police responded to a report of dismembered human remains at Shenango River Lake. Over the next week, more remains were recovered around the lake.

    Mercer County Coroner John A. Libonati confirmed the remains to be Likens. Upon completion of an autopsy for some of the recovered remains the coroner’s office ruled Likens’ cause of death to be sharp force trauma to the head with the manner of death as homicide. Acker said authorities have not yet all of Likens’ remains.

    Surveillance video from June 23 in the area of the canoe launch shows a vehicle entering and exiting the canoe launch when Likens’ phone last connected with cellular towers in the area. Video images later show the vehicle turning toward the apartment building where Watkins lives. After the vehicle leaves the canoe launch, the victim is not seen leaving the area, police said.

    Police also watched video surveillance from inside Watkins’ apartment complex in the early morning of June 23. The surveillance shows Watkins carrying a large duffle bag out of the apartment just before Likens’ last known phone activity. The video shows Watkins taking this duffle bag with him to make initial contact with Likens on June 23. At that time, the bag appeared to be empty.

    Watkins returns 20 to 25 minutes later carrying the duffle bag, which then appears to be heavy and awkward, into the first floor of the apartment building, police said.

    State troopers detained Watkins on July 2. According to the criminal complaint, Watkins told police he used the Grindr app to arrange a meet-up with someone.

    In the interview, Watkins said he did not previously know the person he met. Watkins explained the bag by telling police that he took a large bag from his car which had been there from a vacation from about a month ago.

    Police executed search warrants on the entryway of 335 Sterling Ave. and of Watkins’ apartment. Preliminary tests indicated that there was blood in the hallway and inside the apartment at multiple locations including the bathroom and under the bathroom flooring. A receipt from June 23 indicated that Watkins purchased a saw with exchangeable blades, which was found in the apartment. 

    A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 25.

    [ad_2]

    By MELISSA KLARIC Sharon Herald Staff Writer

    Source link

  • Beverly man charged with trafficking cocaine

    Beverly man charged with trafficking cocaine

    [ad_1]

    BEVERLY — The execution of a search warrant Wednesday has resulted in the arrest of a 58-year-old Beverly man on charges of drug trafficking.

    On Wednesday evening, members of the Beverly Police Drug Control Unit, with assistance from Salem police and detectives, executed a search warrant at the Beverly home of David Davis, 58, and charged him with trafficking over 100 grams of cocaine.

    A search of Davis’ home and vehicle located approximately 119 grams of cocaine in baggies of various sizes, a digital scale, and $1,033 in cash.

    A Beverly police detective was bitten by a dog while serving the search warrant. He was taken to Beverly hospital for treatment of injuries to his arm.

    Davis was taken into custody at the scene and pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Thursday in Salem District Court. He is being held on $10,000 bond, and a probable cause hearing has been set for July 24 in Salem District Court.

    The search was a result of an ongoing investigation.

    [ad_2]

    By Buck Anderson | Staff Writer

    Source link

  • Killer in 1987 Salem murder granted parole

    Killer in 1987 Salem murder granted parole

    [ad_1]

    BEVERLY — A man who was serving a life sentence for a 1987 execution-style murder in Salem has been granted parole, despite the objections of the victim’s family and the Essex District Attorney’s office.

    Charles “Chucky” Doucette, who pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Raymond Bufalino, was granted parole by the state parole board on May 13.

    Doucette, who is now 64, shot Bufalino twice in the head as they were sitting in Bufalino’s car near Harmony Grove Cemetery on the Salem-Peabody line in 1987. He was also convicted of two violent home invasions while on bail awaiting trial, and was arrested when he was out on parole on two previous occasions.

    In its unanimous decision, the parole board said Doucette “has demonstrated a level of rehabilitation that would make his release compatible with the welfare of society.”

    In testimony before the parole board in March, Bufalino’s wife, Shauna O’Sullivan, pleaded with the board not to release Doucette.

    “With his tendency for violence I fear that he will reoffend,” she said in a video of the hearing. “I would hate to hear of another person having to live through the anguish and emotional turmoil that I went through. I believe he made his choice all those years ago and that he should be held accountable for his crimes.”

    O’Sullivan said her son was 9½ months old at the time his father was murdered.

    “I’m not angry or bitter,” she told the board. “I’m past that now, some 38 years later.

    “I feel I owe it to my husband’s memory to say something.”

    Bufalino’s sister and brother also spoke against giving Doucette parole. In a statement read by a victim service advocate at the parole hearing, Suzanne Maynard and Anthony Bufalino called Doucette a “menace to society and a true threat to society.

    “Look at what happened the first time he got paroled,” they said. “Nothing but trouble. So tell me, since being back in prison has he changed? I doubt it.”

    Essex County Assistant District Attorney Kayla Burns also spoke against parole, saying Doucette has continued to minimize his culpability and deflect blame.

    “He puts the blame on other people being in his life,” Burns said.

    During the hearing, Doucette, who has lived in Beverly and Peabody, said he has changed in his years in prison thanks to counseling and programs on subjects such as domestic violence and anger management.

    “I’ve always been bigger and stronger than most people. I always got my way through intimidation and being a total ass,” he told the parole board. “I’m not that person today. I have children. I have grandchildren. I have great-grandchildren. I don’t want them to make the mistakes I made. I want them to learn from the mistakes I made.”

    Doucette’s mother and sister spoke in favor of his release. His sister, Kim Malick, said Doucette has remained close to her children, who are now in their 20s.

    “He met my oldest daughter when she fit into the palm of his hand in prison,” Malik said. “I would love for him to have the opportunity to come home and see her.”

    Doucette had been granted parole twice previously and was arrested both times — once on a rape charge that was later dropped, and another on a domestic assault charge of which he was acquitted — and sent back to prison.

    In total, Doucette was serving seven life sentences for the murder, two counts of home invasion, two counts of armed robbery, and two counts of stealing by confining or putting a person in fear.

    He was denied parole in his last three attempts before the board granted parole in May.

    According to the board’s decision, Doucette has invested in his rehabilitation, including participating in domestic violence programs and counseling, and working and volunteering in the prison law library. “He has strong vocational skills and work ethic,” the board said.

    Doucette has maintained stable relationships with his family and has been sober since 1990, according to the board.

    He told the board he wanted to get his commercial driving license and move to Texas to be near his family.

    Bufalino, of Salem, worked for Doucette’s father at a Salem gas station and was considering a lawsuit after getting injured while working. Doucette was also angry that Bufalino owed him money, according to the parole board’s statement of the case.

    While seated together in Bufalino’s car, Doucette shot him once behind the right ear and once in the mouth. Bufalino’s body was found by his wife, who had gone to search for him. He was 30 years old.

    At the hearing, Doucette apologized to Bufalino’s family. At one point he broke down crying when he said that his own daughter no longer talks to him.

    “I know how bad it hurt me with my own daughter not being part of my life,” Doucette said. “I can’t put into words what I must have cost Ray’s family and his son especially.”

    After gaining parole, Doucette was scheduled to be released to a long-term residential program. Conditions included a 10 p.m. curfew, electronic monitoring at the parole officer’s discretion, a substance abuse treatment plan, domestic violence counseling, counseling for intimate partner/co-dependence relations, and no contact with the victim’s family.

    Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.

    [ad_2]

    By Paul Leighton | Staff Writer

    Source link

  • Authorities: Car meetup gatherings can be difficult to control

    Authorities: Car meetup gatherings can be difficult to control

    [ad_1]

    Spontaneous “meetup” and “pop-up” gatherings in outdoor commercial areas and parking lots have dogged area police for the past several years.

    Seven people were shot at a pop-up gathering at 100 Lindberg Ave. in Methuen early Sunday. An eighth person suffered a head injury after falling while trying to flee. Authorities said two of the people injured were listed in critical condition.

    It’s not the first time a local car meetup has ended in violence. Earlier this spring, a person who went to a similar party on Glen Street in Lawrence was shot. Police learned about the shooting after the victim was taken to an area hospital for treatment.

    Fueled by social media posts and indicators, including Snapchat notifications, the meet-ups are attended by young people between roughly 16 and 20 years old. These people are too young to get into clubs, so they meet at outdoor locations to listen to music, dance, drink, vape and smoke marijuana, police said.

    Methuen Police Chief Scott McNamara said during a press conference Sunday morning that officers have been monitoring “hot spots” for these “spontaneous meetups.”

    Those attending are coming from all over Essex County “and beyond,” District Attorney Paul Tucker said during the press conference.

    Police sources said the meetups are primarily fueled through the Snapchat application, which allows messages and photos to be posted and later automatically deleted and locations to be “pinned” or illuminated on maps.

    Those who attend often drive souped-up or lowrider vehicles with powerful stereo speakers installed. Others are driving dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles that are illegal to operate on streets and roads. These drivers often congregate in large groups, hoping it gives them anonymity despite the chaos these events often create, police said.

    In September, local police and state troopers seized 19 bikes and issued more than 50 citations in a crackdown prompted by complaints about reckless and dangerous operation of motorcycles, dirt bikes and off-road vehicles on public ways.

    Local police regularly collaborate with the Massachusetts State Police airwing to pinpoint the meetup gatherings and errant drivers, officers said.

    Loud music from pop-up gatherings triggers noise complaints from the immediate area and also from surrounding communities, police said. McNamara said he wanted to stress in the wake of Sunday morning’s incident “that there is no ongoing threat to the larger community.”

    “The threat is compartmentalized to the smaller population of people who continue to engage in this type of high-risk behavior,” the chief said.

    Staff Writer Jill Harmacinski may be contacted at jharmacinski@northofboston.com and followed on X/Twitter @EagleTribJill.

    [ad_2]

    By Jill Harmacinski | Staff Writer

    Source link

  • Georgetown PD: Local teen stole 2 cars

    Georgetown PD: Local teen stole 2 cars

    [ad_1]

    GEORGETOWN — A local teen accused of stealing two cars was arraigned Monday in Haverhill District Court, according to police.

    Joseph Winthrop Lee, 18, of Georgetown was charged with receiving a stolen motor vehicle (two counts); larceny of a motor vehicle, failure to stop for police, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene after property damage, resisting arrest, speeding in excess of posted limit and a marked lanes violation.

    Lee was arrested shortly after police say he stole a 2010 Toyota Camry early Sunday and led officers on a pursuit that ended with the car veering into woods off Church Street in West Newbury.

    He was later captured by officers with the help of Amesbury police K-9 Meatball and his partner, Thomas Nichols.

    The arrest came shortly after local police responded to a suspicious gathering at the Georgetown Park and Ride involving two men and a 2022 Toyota Prius. The officers identified the vehicle as being stolen from a Newton address.

    When approached by officers, the men fled. Lee then stole the Camry, police said.

    The second car theft took place in the early morning of May 31 when a 2008 Toyota Prius was stolen from a Georgetown home. Several hours later, the Prius was found abandoned with a flat tire outside the Museum of Science in Boston, according to police.

    Local police charged Lee with both thefts.

    Lee is due back in court July 10.

    In light of the two incidents, police are reminding residents to lock their vehicles.

    “Practicing responsible vehicle ownership isn’t just about protecting your property, it’s also about protecting the lives and property of other people,” Georgetown police Chief David Sedgwick said. “Motor vehicle theft is often a gateway crime to other crime, such as speeding and reckless driving, both of which pose a threat to the entire community. On this occasion, the motor vehicles were stolen as a matter of convenience, and their theft could have been prevented.”

    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offers the following commonsense tips for helping to prevent vehicle theft:

    Take your vehicle’s key and do not leave it in or on your vehicle; close and lock all windows and doors when parking; park in well-lit areas if possible; and never leave valuables in the vehicle, especially if they can be seen from outside.

    Dave Rogers is the editor of the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.

    Dave Rogers is the editor of the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008. 

    [ad_2]

    By Dave Rogers | drogers@newburyportnews.com

    Source link

  • Timeline of the case

    Timeline of the case

    [ad_1]

    1990

    Newlywed Pam Smart, then a 22-year-old media coordinator at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, New Hampshire, plots with her teenage students to have her husband, Gregg Smart, murdered. She has an affair with a student, William “Billy” Flynn of Seabrook, then 15, who shoots Gregg Smart in their Derry condominium.

    1991

    Pam Smart is convicted as an accomplice to first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole after a trial in Exeter, New Hampshire. The case gained international attention and was one of America’s first major cases involving a sexual affair between a school staff member and student. Flynn is later convicted of second-degree murder.

    1992

    Notable author Joyce Maynard writes the novel “To Die For” drawing from the Smart case.

    1994

    Pam Smart is transferred to Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in New York to serve her life sentence.

    1995

    “To Die For” inspires a film of the same name, starring Nicole Kidman and Joaquin Phoenix.

    2005

    Pam Smart is denied her first request at a commutation hearing that year.

    2010

    In interviews, Smart says she never wanted Gregg killed and never asked anyone to do it.

    2015

    Flynn is freed after serving a 25-year prison sentence.

    2019

    N.H. Governor’s Council votes 4-0 against Smart’s request for a commutation hearing.

    2022

    Smart appeals to N.H. Supreme Court, which dismisses her petition a year later.

    2024

    In a video sent to WMUR TV, for the first time at age 56, Smart says she accepts responsibility for Gregg’s murder and asks to have an “honest conversation” with Gov. Chris Sununu and the Executive Council.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • A comfortable fit: Sheriff brings police dogs, trainers, together for blessings

    A comfortable fit: Sheriff brings police dogs, trainers, together for blessings

    [ad_1]

    HAVERHILL — When he was a rookie cop in the city of Lynn, Kevin Coppinger said he can imagine that if he started talking about the benefits of having a comfort dog he would have been thrown out of the police station.

    But Tuesday, Coppinger, who is now Essex County sheriff, sponsored the first-of-its kind convention for law enforcement comfort dogs from across the region.

    Comfort dogs, including the Sheriff’s Department’s yellow lab named “Pasky,” are used to promote calmness, happiness and improved health among workers and the public.

    “The number one issue is keeping healthy,” said Coppinger, noting that the comfort dogs “bring a smile to your face.”

    With names such as Ella, Ace, Luna, Murph and Sora, the comfort dogs from nine area departments gathered for an initial meet-and-greet at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill.

    The first order of business was a blessing from the Rev. Michael Doyle from Danvers. Doyle, a yellow lab lover himself, said he often jokes his next parish will be “all dogs.”

    After praying over the canines, Doyle blessed each dog with holy water, which drew a few barks.

    Doyle said he was blessing the dogs over their backs “so God watches their back.”

    The dogs and their handlers got to know each other and settled in for lunch Tuesday.

    A second law-enforcement canine convention is planned for later this summer and another come fall with an obedience competition.

    The get-togethers and training are funded through a grant from Essex County Outreach.

    Training will be provided by Professional Canine Services of Middleborough.

    The sheriff’s dog Pasky is named after Deputy Sheriff Anthony “Pasky” Pasquarello, 37, who died of COVID-19 in December 2021. The Saugus resident was a 15-year veteran of the ECSD.

    Follow staff reporter Jill Harmacinski on Twitter/X @EagleTribJill.

    [ad_2]

    By Jill Harmacinski Staff Writer

    Source link

  • A comfortable fit: Sheriff brings police dogs, trainers, together for blessings

    A comfortable fit: Sheriff brings police dogs, trainers, together for blessings

    [ad_1]

    HAVERHILL — When he was a rookie cop in the city of Lynn, Kevin Coppinger said he can imagine that if he started talking about the benefits of having a comfort dog he would have been thrown out of the police station.

    But Tuesday, Coppinger, who is now Essex County sheriff, sponsored the first-of-its kind convention for law enforcement comfort dogs from across the region.

    Comfort dogs, including the Sheriff’s Department’s yellow lab named “Pasky,” are used to promote calmness, happiness and improved health among workers and the public.

    “The No. 1 issue is keeping healthy,” said Coppinger, noting that the comfort dogs “bring a smile to your face.”

    With names such as Ella, Ace, Luna, Murph and Sora, the comfort dogs from nine area departments gathered for an initial meet-and-greet at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill.

    The first order of business was a blessing from the Rev. Michael Doyle from Danvers. Doyle, a yellow lab lover himself, said he often jokes his next parish will be “all dogs.”

    After praying over the canines, Doyle blessed each dog with holy water, which drew a few barks.

    Doyle said he was blessing the dogs over their backs “so God watches their back.”

    The dogs and their handlers got to know each other and settled in for lunch Tuesday.

    A second law-enforcement canine convention is planned for later this summer and another come fall with an obedience competition.

    The get-togethers and training are funded through a grant from Essex County Outreach. Training will be provided by Professional Canine Services of Middleborough.

    The sheriff’s dog Pasky is named after Deputy Sheriff Anthony “Pasky” Pasquarello, 37, who died of COVID-19 in December 2021. The Saugus resident was a 15-year veteran of the ECSD.

    Follow staff reporter Jill Harmacinski on Twitter/X @EagleTribJill.

    [ad_2]

    By Jill Harmacinski | Staff Writer

    Source link

  • Who will hear Donald Trump’s appeal?

    Who will hear Donald Trump’s appeal?

    [ad_1]

    During a May 31 press conference, former President Donald Trump said he plans to appeal his conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. 

    Even before he announced that intent, however, some people speculated about which justices might hear a Trump appeal. 

    “The appeals court,” one X user wrote, sharing a photo of five African American women in judicial robes. “I’m thinking the appeal won’t go well.” 

    The conservative X account Hodgetwins reshared that post, echoing the sentiment, “Trump is screwed on appeal.” 

    The photo spread beyond conservative accounts. 

    Liberal commentator and podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen also shared the viral photo of the five justices, though he did not echo the claim that the demographics of the photographed justices would affect the outcome of Trump’s appeal.

    “New: Trump’s appeal oral arguments will take place in front of the first all-Black women appellate bench,” he wrote on X May 31.

    (Screenshots from X.)

    Claims that the photo shows the justices who will hear Trump’s appeal are inaccurate.

    Experts told PolitiFact it is impossible to know now which New York justices might hear Trump’s appeal. 

    Legal experts familiar with New York’s appellate system said that because the case is a Manhattan case, a randomly selected panel of justices from New York’s Appellate Division, First Department would hear Trump’s appeal.

    The Appellate Division’s First Judicial Department includes 21 justices of the court, according to its website. They include 13 women and eight men, all from various racial and ethnic backgrounds. 

    The five justices in the viral photo — from left, justices Bahaati Pitt-Burke, Troy K. Webber, Presiding Justice Dianne T. Renwick, Tanya R. Kennedy and Marsha D. Michael — are on the court. But there’s no guarantee these five justices would hear an appeal.

    A panel of four or five, but most likely five, judges would be selected to hear the case, according to Daniel A. Warshawsky, a professor at New York Law School who worked in the Office of the Appellate Defender for 15 years.

    “The panel of judges that will hear and decide Trump’s appeal gets selected after the briefs are in and before oral argument,” said Sam Feldman, an attorney who specializes in criminal appeals in New York City. “It’s a random process. There’s no way to know now who will be on that panel.” 

    Brooklyn Law School professor Cynthia Godsoe agreed with Feldman. The most we can know right now, she said, is that the justices will likely be selected from the pool of First Department justices, unless the case gets moved for some reason — for example, Trump’s team petitions for it to be moved somewhere else.

    “It’s just a pure jurisdiction thing,” Godsoe said. Trump’s legal team “could file to move it, like they tried to move the trial, but (it’d be) highly unlikely, especially for an appeal,” she said. 

    The First Department shared this photo of five judges in a Feb. 14, 2024, press release that acknowledged the first time oral arguments before the Appellate Division’s First Department were heard “by an all African-American bench.”

    PolitiFact contacted the court and received no response before deadline.

    The appeals process will likely take time, experts said. 

    “After sentencing, his lawyers will file a notice of appeal,” Feldman said. “Then the appeal needs to be briefed, which can take many months.” 

    Trump’s lawyers will file a brief, the prosecution will file a responding brief and then Trump’s lawyers can file a reply, he explained. After that, the case would be scheduled for oral argument.

    “In an ordinary case it can take years between sentencing and oral argument in the appeal,” Feldman said. “Even if things move quicker in Trump’s case, I would be very surprised if the oral argument occurred before 2025.”

    Godsoe said that it was probably statistically unlikely that the justices in the viral photo shared by social media users would be the ones randomly selected to hear Trump’s case. With 21 justices, more than 20,000 different five-person panels could be randomly generated, statisticians confirmed to PolitiFact.

    If they were, however, Godsoe said she knew of no reason they wouldn’t be impartial justices. 

    There are ethics policies in place that help ensure justices can rule on cases without bias. And there’s nothing inherent in a person’s race or gender that means they will not, Godsoe said: “White men hear claims by people who are very different from them all the time.”

    “If there’s a conflict of interest or even an appearance of impropriety, (justices) could recuse themselves or be required to recuse themselves,” Godsoe said. That means Trump would get five randomly assigned judges from the First Department, “but if somehow one of them had a conflict, then they would be off the five and they’d put someone else, randomly, on.” 

    Our ruling

    Social media users shared a photo they said showed the justices who will rule on Trump’s appeal.

    The group justices who will rule on Trump’s appeal will not be assigned until Trump’s legal team has filed an appeal and briefs have been filed, experts told PolitiFact.

    It’s possible the justices in the photo would be randomly selected to hear Trump’s appeal, but that has not been determined. They are among 21 people who could be chosen for a four- or five-person panel and chances are statistically slim those exact five would be picked. 

    Based on what is known May 31, one day after a jury convicted Trump, we rate these claims False.

    PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

    RELATED: Trump guilty in NY trial: Can he still run for president or vote as a convicted felon?

    RELATED: Following guilty verdict, fact-checking Donald Trump on Biden’s role, being a ‘political prisoner’

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Police/Fire: Gloucester woman held, accused of driving stolen Audi while drugged

    Police/Fire: Gloucester woman held, accused of driving stolen Audi while drugged

    [ad_1]

    After a report of an Audi SUV driving erratically in the vicinity of the Bass Avenue traffic lights and East Main Street just after 5 a.m.last Monday, police arrested a 43-year-old Gloucester woman on charges of larceny of a motor vehicle; driving under the influence of drugs, a third offense; driving with a suspended license; negligent driving; a marked lanes violation; and receiving a stolen motor vehicle.

    Kimberly A. Ahearn, of 11 Chestnut St., Apt. 4, was ordered held without bail during her arraignment last Monday in Gloucester District Court. She was scheduled for a detention hearing this Monday, May 20, according to the district court’s clerk’s office.

    The person reporting the blue Audi SUV being driven erratically said it was “flying,” and believed it to be going in excess of 100 mph. The following driver said the Audi appeared to attempt to evade him, driving so fast and erratically he was no longer able to safely follow it.

    Earlier that morning, at 4:15, police had gone to Edgemoor Road for a report of a woman ringing a homeowner’s doorbell, with the resident reporting the woman appeared “hammered.” This caller said the woman came from what appeared to be a dark-colored Audi SUV.

    The Audi was reported to have gone down East Main Street toward Zeke’s Restaurant. Officers spotted the vehicle and dispatch informed them the vehicle came back to an address on Eastern Point Boulevard. Police followed the Audi as it weaved down the road and nearly struck the curb. Police stopped the car just before the stop sign heading toward Bass Avenue.

    Police approached the driver and noted a strong odor of heavy brake use coming from the SUV. The officer reported recognizing the driver as she had several run-ins with police recently and in the past, the report said. She reportedly laughed hysterically when the officer tried to speak with her and eventually the officer was able to confirm her identity. When asked if the Audi belonged to her, she said she came out of her apartment on Chestnut Street, saw the vehicle with its keys in the cup holder, and took it, the report said. Police informed her this was a crime, which she denied and said she needed the vehicle to get around to do errands. Ahearn said she did not have her license on her and it was confirmed her license was suspended.

    When she got out to take field sobriety tests, police noticed she was not wearing shoes. Police said she showed signs of impairment while taking the tests. Police contacted the Audi’s owner who told police she did not give anyone permission to use her car. The owner was given a ride to the scene where she saw damage to the Audi’s front driver’s side bumper that had not been there before. Police subsequently arrested Ahearn.

    — Ethan Forman

    In other news taken from the logs of Cape Ann’s police and fire departments:

    GLOUCESTER

    Tuesday, May 14

    9:08 p.m.: Debris in the roadway was located on Rockland Street.

    6:40 p.m.: Police responded to a report from a Viking Street homeowner who said someone in a maroon sedan pulled in her driveway and started taking pictures of her house. She told police she came out from behind her vehicle and approached the man who told her he was taking pictures for FEMA. The man did not show any ID and left abruptly. She was unable to get the plate number of the sedan. Police were given a description of a man who was large in stature wearing a black shirt with the letters “OSI” on it. Police advised the woman to lock her doors and call if the vehicle returned.

    3:23 p.m.: Police responded to a disturbance at Good Harbor Beach on Thatcher Road.

    Crashes with property damage only were reported at East Main and Wall streets at 11:17 a.m., and on Grant Circle on Route 128 north at 2:40 p.m.

    12:14 p.m.: Peace was restored after a caller reported juveniles drinking on Good Harbor Beach on Thatcher Road.

    11:06 a.m.: Fraud was reported on Elizabeth Road.

    Monday, May 13

    10:42 p.m.: Police responded to a report of a disabled vehicle in the roadway on Concord Street.

    6:20 p.m.: A 27-year-old Gloucester resident was arrested on charges of possession of a Class B drug, larceny under $1,200, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after police responded to Oak and Warner streets for report of a person hitting another person with a bat.  Police also filed a complaint against a 53-year-old on a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon.

    5:29 p.m.: Police planned to file a criminal complaint against a Gloucester resident in relation to a report of past harassment/domestic assault and battery.

    4:24 p.m.: Police assisted the Fire Department with an active fire on East Main Street. The road was closed at Chapel Street. Officers arrived to find an outside structure fire. Traffic was detoured around the fire site and the Fire Department responded to extinguish it.

    3:35 p.m.: A caller from Staten Street reported his neighbor has a camera intentionally facing his backyard.

    Crashes with property damage only were reported on Grant Circle at 11:23 a.m., Prospect Street at 12:03 p.m., and Route 128 northbound at 3:19 p.m..

    10:57 a.m.: Police took a report of credit card fraud.

    10:26 a.m.: Police responded to a disturbance at the 1-4, C-2 lot on Rogers Street.

    4:16 a.m.: A disturbance was reported on Edgemoor Road.

    ESSEX

    Thursday May 16

    10:46 p.m.: Suspicious activity was reported at a Centennial Grove Road address.

    7:51 p.m.: A police investigation was conducted at an Essex Avenue address.

    Individuals were assisted on Western Avenue at 8:44 a.m., John Wise Avenue at 4:31 p.m. and Harry Homans Drive at 5:17 p.m.

    11:51 a.m.: A call was made for a community policing event at a Martin Street address.

    MANCHESTER

    Thursday, May 16

    6:23 p.m.: After a motor vehicle stop on School Street, a written warning was issued.

    2:25 p.m.: A report was made about lost and found property at a Beach Street address.

    1:49 p.m.: A disturbance was reported at a School Street address.

    Individuals were assisted on Highland Avenue at 11:53 a.m., and Central Street at 8:18 a.m. and 1:10 p.m.

    Police investigations were conducted on Crooked Lane at 9:41 a.m. and Federal Street at 11:40 a.m.

    9:40 a.m.: A fire alarm, reported at a Bridge Street address, was later determined to be a false alarm.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • ‘Happy Hacker’ Hamza Bendelladj wasn’t executed

    ‘Happy Hacker’ Hamza Bendelladj wasn’t executed

    [ad_1]

    Hamza Bendelladj — aka the “happy hacker” — was sentenced in 2016 to 15 years in prison for his role in developing and distributing what the FBI called “a prolific piece of malware” that caused the global financial industry hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. 

    But a recent Facebook post claims that Bendelladj, who earned his nickname because he was smiling after his arrest, was executed instead. 

    “Did you know?” reads text below an image of Bendelladj in the April 30 post. “This is Hamza Bendelladj, hacked 217 banks and more than 400 million USD. Donated everything to Africa and Palestine, executed with a smile.” 

    This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

    Bendelladj is still in prison. PolitiFact found him in the Federal Bureau of Prisons database of inmates. He’s housed at a facility in San Pedro, California, with a July 6 expected release date.

    In 2021, Agence France-Presse fact-checked a similar social media claim, which said that Bendelladj “extracted $4 billion from 217 different banks and donated it all to poor countries and Palestine. He was arrested in Bangkok and sentenced to 15 years in prison with a smile.” 

    But available court documents don’t give any indication of what Bendelladj did with the money he stole, Agence France-Presse reported. Police in Thailand, where Bendelladj was arrested in 2013 before he was extradited to the United States, said he told them he had “spent it on traveling and a luxurious life like flying first class staying in luxury places,” according to Agence France-Presse. 

    Al Jazeera said in a 2015 story, “Several reports online claimed that Bendelladj used the money to fund various Palestinian charities. … Following his extradition, rumors began to circulate online that Bendelladj was facing the death penalty for his crimes.” 

    Sixteen people have been executed since the federal death penalty was reinstated in 1988, according to the Washington-based Death Penalty Information Center. Bendelladj was not listed among the people executed. 

    We rate claims he was executed False.

     

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Many police agencies have 2 officers for drug analysis

    Many police agencies have 2 officers for drug analysis

    [ad_1]

    U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin spoke about the fentanyl crisis in a March 7 media call ahead of the State of the Union, alongside the Waukesha police chief, who attended President Joe Biden’s speech with Baldwin. 

    Fentanyl is an extremely powerful synthetic opioid, known for its ability to kill in small doses. The drug is commonly mixed into drugs such as heroin and cocaine, but can also be found in pressed pills and even in marijuana, police say.

    PolitiFact has looked at claims regarding fentanyl and accidental overdoses before, when envelopes containing unknown substances were sent to elections officials in 2023. 

    According to a Nov. 10, 2023, fact-check, although fentanyl is dangerous, and it can be lethal in small doses, it must enter the bloodstream to have an effect. The drug isn’t absorbed well by the skin, meaning it must be snorted through the nose, ingested or injected with a needle. 

    People also cannot get sick by being in a room with powdered fentanyl, because it doesn’t easily vaporize. A source in the fact check said to cause toxicity from breathing it in, “You would probably have to be in a wind tunnel with dunes of fentanyl around you.” 

    But people can get sick if they touch the drug and then touch their mouth, nose or eyes.

    In 2022, there were over 1,400 opioid-related deaths in Wisconsin, many of them tied to fentanyl, according to a February 2024 PolitiFact. 

    During the call, Baldwin made a claim that initially had us — and probably others — scratching our heads: 

    “We’re facing situations these days where you have to have two officers in the evidence room in case there’s an accidental (fentanyl) exposure. We are facing situations where first responders have been exposed to fentanyl at the crime scene and that is scary and we need to provide the support, the tools, the test strips, and all the training necessary to keep our first responders safe so that they can keep all of us safe.”

    Why would two officers need to be present to test a drug? 

    Is it a safety precaution or something else?

    Many agencies have policies to have two officers present during drug analysis

    When we asked Baldwin’s team about the claim, press secretary Alanna Conley pointed us toward the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Department, which recently shared its policies with Baldwin. 

    Sheriff Cory Roeseler said in an email to PolitiFact Wisconsin that several years ago someone was exposed during testing of a suspected narcotic, which ended up having fentanyl in it.

    “As a result our testing procedure changed. First we started using two officers, one in the room where the drugs are being tested and one outside the room in the event that there was an exposure,” he said. 

    “Second we purchased a specific chamber to use to test the drugs so that it might limit any potential exposure and this chamber is vented/filtered. Lastly, we have Narcan readily available in our testing area in the event that there was an exposure where it might be needed.”

    He said there have been exposures for at least one deputy, who was transporting a drug in to be processed, and another for a corrections officer, who was exposed during booking and had to be hospitalized.

    The Sheboygan sheriff’s department isn’t the only agency that uses two people when narcotics are being handled. 

    Jim Palmer, a member of the Board of Directors for the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group, said in an email that “the practice of having two individuals work in an evidence room as a safety precaution has become increasingly common.”

    He said that a second person can be used in handling certain types of dangerous evidence, according to standards created by the group. The standards also recommend the use of gloves, a respirator, a fume hood and having naloxone available. 

    Palmer pointed to the Madison Police Department, whose guidance takes the standards into account. 

    According to the department’s document on handling evidence and contraband, “the best practice is to be paired up with at least one other officer.” 

    “The second ‘safety officer’ will not be directly involved in the testing, handling or packaging of the drug, but can perform other support functions such as computer entries.”

    Waukesha Police Capt. Dan Baumann said his department handles drugs similarly, given that so many different substances can be cut with fentanyl. 

    There is the evidence room, and within that, there is a smaller processing room about the size of an office bathroom. In that smaller room, there’s a hood providing a gentle amount of filtered air. 

    “An officer that would stand outside the room, and then an officer that stands on the inside of the room that’s actually collecting and packaging the evidence, testing it, weighing it and all that fun stuff,” Baumann said in a phone call with PolitiFact Wisconsin.

    There is also Narcan on hand, in case there is a large enough exposure. 

    “Somebody with medical training is going to be present with you, just in case something were to happen,” he said. “We’re going to take all precautionary measures.”

    The Milwaukee Police Department has a similar policy, according to its controlled substances procedures: 

    “The ‘buddy system’ shall always be used when testing suspected controlled substances, regardless of the type or quantity. Two members shall be present, one to test and one to witness,” the procedures document says. 

    Our ruling

    Baldwin said police are “facing situations these days where you have to have two officers in the evidence room in case there’s an accidental (fentanyl) exposure.” 

    In Wisconsin, there is guidance from the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group to have two officers present, and several agencies have guidance calling for one officer inside the room where drugs are being handled and tested, and another stands outside to ensure the other is safe. 

    We rate this claim as True.

     

     

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Milwaukee mayor says the city “never defunded the police.”

    Milwaukee mayor says the city “never defunded the police.”

    [ad_1]

    Republican U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde is criticizing large cities for how much they are spending on law enforcement.

    As in, not spending enough.

    Hovde tweeted out a clip of an interview on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show podcast on Feb. 25, 2024 where he mentioned conversations he had with Milwaukee voters and criticized the movement to “defund the police,” calling it the “dumbest idea of the last 100 years.” 

    Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson responded to Hovde on X, saying Milwaukee “never defunded the police.” 

    In his tweet, Johnson included a page of the 2023 proposed budget for the Milwaukee Police Department showing an increase in funding from the $280 million adopted in 2022, to more than $300 million. 

    That’s a piece of evidence, but is it the full picture?

    Funding for police in previous budgets

    We contacted Johnson’s office for backup, and spokesman Jeff Fleming responded by using the Wikipedia definition of the phrase “defund the police,” which describes it as “removing funds from police departments and reallocating them to non-policing forms of public safety and community support, such as social services, youth services, housing, education, healthcare and other community resources.”

    Previous fact-checks have described “defund the police” as a movement to reduce funding to law enforcement and invest in community services such as social services, youth services and public housing. 

    Fleming said any reduction to the police department’s funding in the past was a result of “across the board cuts” or “transfer of significant numbers of employees out of MPD to the new Department of Emergency Communications. No money has been taken from the police and reallocated for other non-policing forms of public safety.”

    In previous budgets, positions within the police department also were eliminated through attrition.

    Fleming also shared a chart from the city’s budget office showing funding for police at the highest levels since 2018 –  at $304 million in the adopted budget for 2024. We went back to each year mentioned in the chart and verified its accuracy. 

    The lowest amount of funding the department received during that time was in 2022 when it received $280 million. 

    Further, in 2020, several aldermen pushed the city to explore a 10% cut in the police budget for 2021, but no such budget amendments were proposed or voted on. 

    That’s not to say police haven’t been negatively impacted by Milwaukee city budgets. 

    The 2021 budget cut 120 police positions under then-Mayor Tom Barrett. Johnson, as Common Council president, was among those who voted in favor of the budget. 

    Also, Johnson’s tweet does not mention the number of sworn officers has decreased in Milwaukee from 1,864 in 2019, despite spending more on police. 

    In this year’s budget, the Police Department’s average sworn strength would increase to about 1,645. The increase is a product of a requirement in a 2023 state law that boosted funding for local governments across the state but also required Milwaukee to increase police sworn strength. 

    The city is spending more on police in this current budget, at $304 million, than any other department. And that was the case 15 years ago when the city was spending $230 million on police.

    The total 2024 City of Milwaukee budget is $1.92 billion.

    Our ruling

    When responding to a claim about Democrats defunding the police, Johnson said Milwaukee “never defunded the police.” 

    The city of Milwaukee has continued to fund the police department through multiple budgets and for years no department has gotten more funding than police.

    However Johnson does not mention the reduction in recent years of sworn police officers because of across-the-board cuts.

    Our definition of Mostly True is a statement that is accurate but needs clarification or additional information. That fits here.

      

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Evers correct correctional officer classes largest ever

    Evers correct correctional officer classes largest ever

    [ad_1]

    Wisconsin’s prisons have been making big headlines over the last year for their lockdowns, rodent infestations and soaring staffing shortages. 

    To improve prison conditions and attract more staff, state lawmakers passed a pay raise for state employees last summer that boosted starting wages for corrections officers to $33 an hour. Wages could be as high as $41 an hour depending on location and shift.

    During a Feb. 11 appearance on WISN-TV’s “Upfront” program, Gov. Tony Evers claimed the pay raise is helping attract more people to the profession and producing record-high officer training classes.

    “We’re having the largest classes of correctional officers we’ve ever had before,” Evers said.

    However, Evers acknowledges that large class sizes haven’t yet solved the staffing shortages, saying, “We’re getting there.”

    The Wisconsin Department of Corrections said its training program for correctional officers has had a spike in graduates over the past six months.

    But is Evers correct that recent classes have been the largest ever? And, since Evers suggested they were making a major dent in shortages, we’ll touch on how the graduates stack up against soaring high vacancy rates.

    Correctional officer training program sees increased graduates

    People interested in becoming correctional officers must undergo a six-week training academy called the Facility Staff Training and Support Program before they can start security work at prisons across the state.

    The program is held at the Department of Corrections’ training center in Madison or at local academies, which currently are held at Green Bay Correctional Institution and Dodge Correctional Institution.

    A Feb. 21 graduation ceremony at Madison College for newly certified corrections officers had 214 graduates, according to the Department of Corrections.

    In a Department of Corrections press release, Secretary Kevin Carr said that was the department’s largest graduating class since at least 1981. The previous graduating class on Dec. 15 had 144 graduates.

    Graduate numbers have been increasing. In 2023, the state saw 568 graduates from multiple training classes, and in 2022, the total was 285 graduates, according to the Department of Corrections.

    Department of Corrections data shows staffing shortages shrinking

    Staffing vacancies for all state prisons reached a peak of 35% last August and have since been trending down, according to Department of Corrections data.

    Shortages have been especially tight at Waupun and Green Bay Correctional Institutions, where inmates’ movement has been limited since March and June because of low staffing.

    After the pay raise took effect in October, vacancies started trending down and currently sit at 26%. But that is still a relatively high vacancy rate for the prisons. Pre-pandemic rates consistently sat around 15% and didn’t go above 20%.

    In his interview, Evers mentions the pay bump has helped statewide staffing shortages, but places such as Waupun—where the vacancy rate is 56%—are still struggling. 

    Our ruling

    During a TV interview, Evers claimed pay raises for correctional officers had led to “the largest classes of correctional officers we’ve ever had before.”

    The governor acknowledged that conditions aren’t perfect yet and work remains to solve prison and staffing conditions.

    In February, the Department of Corrections graduated its largest training class to date with 214 graduates and the last class had 144 graduates.  

    And as graduating classes increase, staffing shortages at state prisons are trending down after peaking last summer.

    We rate this claim True.

     

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • PolitiFact – Who is Alexander Smirnov, and what does his indictment mean for the GOP impeachment inquiry?

    PolitiFact – Who is Alexander Smirnov, and what does his indictment mean for the GOP impeachment inquiry?

    [ad_1]

    With one arrest, some politicians and pundits speculated that the evidence that President Joe Biden accepted a bribe disappeared. But did it?

    Tuning into cable news networks, the answer depended on which channel you consulted. 

    On MSNBC, FBI informant Alexander Smirnov’s indictment was characterized as a “spectacular embarrassment” to Republicans’ continuing effort to impeach Biden. 

    “The special counsel, Republican appointee, leading the case against Hunter Biden, who was appointed by Donald Trump now says that that guy — this informant they hung their entire claim on about the bribe — he lied,” Chris Hayes, host of “All In,” said Feb. 15.

    On Feb. 16, Fox News host Sean Hannity said the informant’s indictment made Democrats “giddy,” with Biden and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., calling for the impeachment inquiry to be dropped. 

    “There’s a lot to unpack here,” Hannity said. He described the FBI informant’s story as “a very, very small part of what is a large body of evidence” supporting the impeachment inquiry and said. “None of this negates the fact that Joe Biden lied about his knowledge of his son’s business dealings.”

    House Republicans have spent years investigating the Biden family’s business dealings and, in 2023, formally launched an impeachment inquiry into Biden. Throughout the investigation, Republicans have characterized Smirnov’s allegations that Biden accepted a $5 million bribe as vice president as central to the impeachment effort. As of Feb. 23, their investigation has produced no evidence that Biden engaged in wrongdoing or accepted a bribe. 

    Who is this informant, and what does it mean for Republicans’ impeachment case? Here’s what we know:

    Who is Alexander Smirnov?

    Alexander Smirnov became an FBI “confidential human source,” or FBI informant, in 2010, according to the indictment. Court filings have revealed little about Smirnov, 43: He previously lived in California and he has lived in Las Vegas since 2022. It is unclear where Smirnov was born. 

    Smirnov was repeatedly told he must provide truthful information to the FBI, but he “provided false derogatory information to the FBI” about Biden and his son Hunter, the indictment said. 

    In June 2020, Smirnov claimed that in 2015 or 2016, executives at Burisma — a Ukrainian energy company that once employed Hunter Biden — said they paid $5 million each to Joe Biden and Hunter when Joe Biden was still vice president so that Joe Biden would remove then-Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin and end a Shokin-led criminal investigation into Burisma.

    In June, Republicans and Democrats reviewed a redacted form with Smirnov’s allegations and said the FBI had described him as “highly credible.” At the time, the FBI made clear the allegations were unverified. 

    These bribery allegations were a central part of House Republicans’ continuing impeachment case against Biden. 

    What does the indictment accuse Smirnov of?

    Smirnov’s bribery claims “were fabrications,” according to the indictment. Smirnov was indicted on one count of making a false statement to a government agent and one count of falsifying records in a federal investigation, when Smirnov knowingly caused the creation of a false entry on an FBI 1023 form used to document his bribery allegations. 

    The indictment said Smirnov had contact with Burisma executives in 2017, after Biden’s vice presidency ended and after Shokin — who was widely considered corrupt and ineffective — was fired in February 2016. 

    “In other words, when (Biden) had no ability to influence U.S. policy and when (Shokin) was no longer in office,” the indictment said. 

    Prosecutors said Smirnov “transformed his routine and unextraordinary business” with Burisma executives “into bribery allegations against Public Official 1, the presumptive nominee of one of the two major political parties for President, after expressing bias against Public Official 1 and his candidacy.”

    In the indictment, Biden is referred to only as “Public Official 1” and his son Hunter is described as “Business Person 1.” 

    As they asked the court to keep Smirnov detained Feb. 20, prosecutors said Smirnov has “extensive foreign ties, including, most troublingly and by his own account, contact with foreign intelligence services, including Russian intelligence agencies, and has had such contacts recently.”

    Special Counsel David Weiss, a Trump appointee, brought the charges against Smirnov, who, if convicted, could face 25 years in prison. 

    What is Hunter Biden’s link to Burisma? 

    Hunter Biden joined Burisma’s board in 2014. At the time, his father, then the vice president, publicly represented U.S. policy in Ukraine. 

    Hunter, a lawyer and businessman, had no particular expertise in energy or Ukraine. His Burisma ties were public knowledge in 2014 and have been scrutinized for years. 

    Hunter left Burisma’s board in 2019, when Biden launched his campaign for president.

    Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, talks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 13, 2023. (AP)

    Were Smirnov’s allegations crucial to impeachment? 

    Smirnov’s allegations that Biden accepted a $5 million bribe while vice president were a key element of Republicans’ Biden investigation. 

    In May, House Republicans subpoenaed the FBI for the record — called an FD-1023 form — that documented Smirnov’s allegations against Biden. FBI agents use FD-1023 forms to record unverified reporting from confidential human sources.

    Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight Committee that has been investigating the Biden family’s business dealings, told Fox News’ Jesse Watters that the form was “a very crucial piece of our investigation.”

    House Republicans, from left, Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, Rep. Jim Jordan and Rep. Jason Smith make a statement to reporters about their impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 5, 2023. (AP)

    In response, Christopher Dunham, an FBI official, wrote that a 1023 form does not “validate the information, establish its credibility, or weigh it against other information known or developed by the FBI.”

    “The mere existence of such a document would establish little beyond the fact that a confidential human source provided information and the FBI recorded it,” Dunham wrote. 

    After Republicans threatened to hold the FBI director in criminal contempt of Congress, the agency in June allowed lawmakers to privately review Smirnov’s statements in the 1023 form. Smirnov’s identity was then unknown. In July, against the FBI’s wishes, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, obtained and released the form.

    When Republicans announced a formal impeachment inquiry into Biden in September, then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy listed Smirnov’s claims among the “serious and credible allegations” against Biden. 

    “Even a trusted FBI informant has alleged a bribe to the Biden family,” McCarthy said. He also said that eyewitnesses have testified that Biden, as vice president, “joined on multiple phone calls and had multiple interactions” that were lucrative for Hunter Biden and Hunter’s associates. McCarthy also cited foreign payments to Biden family members and associates as cause for alarm. 

    The evidence Republicans have provided so far, including during the impeachment inquiry, has not proved Biden engaged in wrongdoing, however.

    A convoluted maze of financial records released by House Republicans shows that Biden family members and associates received $20 million in payments from sources with ties to foreign countries. About $5 million of that went to Hunter Biden and other Biden family members, with the rest going to Biden family business associates. 

    The bank records show no evidence that any payments went to Joe Biden, who was vice president when some of the payments occurred. 

    In January, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, an Oversight Committee member, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that the 1023 form documenting Smirnov’s statements was the “most corroborating evidence” Republicans had supporting allegations that Biden accepted a multimillion-dollar bribe.

    (Internet Archive)

    The response to Smirnov’s indictment

    After Smirnov’s indictment, Comer said in a statement to PolitiFact that the impeachment inquiry “is not reliant” on Smirnov’s claims. Jordan also walked back his earlier statement. 

    “Bank records don’t lie,” Comer said, adding that the records show millions of dollars in payments to the Bidens, from people or businesses linked to Russia, China, Romania, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. 

    The committee’s four memos of bank records neither claim nor prove that Biden accepted a bribe. 

    Comer said witness testimony shows that “the Bidens were selling Joe Biden as the brand” and that “Biden knew about and participated in his family’s business schemes.”

    PolitiFact and other news outlets reported that Republicans misconstrued, oversold or misrepresented what they learned from testimony provided by Devon Archer, one of Hunter’s former business associates. Another witness, Tony Bobulinski, has made unproved allegations that Biden was involved in one of his family’s business ventures.

    Protesters in the audience wear T-shirts with the face of House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., and the words, “No Evidence,” on them as the committee begins an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, Sept. 28, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP)

    An October poll found that 35% of adults said they believe Biden has acted illegally regarding Hunter’s overseas business dealings, and 33% said he acted unethically, The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research reported.

    The White House pointed PolitiFact to Biden’s Feb. 16 response to Smirnov’s indictment: “He is lying,” Biden said of Smirnov. 

    The impeachment inquiry, “should be dropped,” Biden said. “It’s been an outrageous effort from the beginning.” 

    Raskin and Oversight Committee Democrats called for Republicans to end the inquiry. Raskin said the indictment “demonstrated how key evidence at the heart of House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry is based on a lie.”

    With a narrow House majority, Republicans would need nearly all party members to impeach Biden, and GOP lawmakers say they do not have the votes. Even then, to remove Biden, the Democratic-majority Senate would have to vote to convict. 

    PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

    RELATED: Largest share of foreign payments went to Biden associates, not kin, House GOP memos show

    RELATED: Transcript of Devon Archer testimony doesn’t back key claims about Joe and Hunter Biden

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • PolitiFact – Yes, Minnesota incarcerates far less people than Wisconsin

    PolitiFact – Yes, Minnesota incarcerates far less people than Wisconsin

    [ad_1]

    The number of people incarcerated in Wisconsin is getting more and more attention, especially due to claims of overcrowding and understaffing for the number of people behind bars. 

    During an event hosted on Feb. 1, 2024, in Madison by advocates for incarcerated people in Wisconsin,state  Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, compared Wisconsin to other nearby states that incarcerate fewer people. 

    In particular, she mentioned Minnesota, which “incarcerates about a third of the number of people Wisconsin does.” 

    Is that true? 

    Wisconsin does incarcerate far more people than Minnesota 

    Data from the Minnesota Department of Corrections and the Wisconsin Department of Corrections show that, yes, Wisconsin does have far more people incarcerated than Minnesota, as of the end of June 2023. 

    According to the Minnesota DOC data, there were a total of 8,274 people incarcerated in state prisons about mid-way through the year. 

    And in Wisconsin, there were 21,332 people incarcerated in state prisons around that same time. 

    One third of 21,332 is about 7,110 people. 

    So Minnesota has more than one-third of the number of people incarcerated in its prisons, but Roy’s estimation really wasn’t far off. 

    For reference, Wisconsin’s population is about 5.9 million people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, while Minnesota’s population is about 5.7 million. 

    When asked for more information about the claim, Jalen Knuteson, an aide to Roy, sent over a host of information regarding prison populations from the Prison Policy Initiative, which had slightly different numbers, from earlier in the year. 

    According to information from the Initiative, as of May 2023, Wisconsin had about 20,000 people in state prisons. 

    And for Minnesota, the Prison Policy Initiative listed 8,000 people in state prisons. 

    Using those numbers, 8,000 is more than one-third of 20,000 as well. 

    So while Wisconsin does have far more people in prisons across the state, Minnesota’s number of incarcerated people isn’t quite as low as one-third of Wisconsin’s numbers. But Roys didn’t claim that the number was exact, only about one-third. 

    Roys, too, weighed in over the phone.

    “The bottom line is that we are so far out of step with our peer states like Minnesota,” she said. “We’ve been incarcerating between double and triple the rate of folks. It’s just way too many.” 

    Wisconsin incarcerates more people, not because people are committing more crimes, but because of revocations for rule violations by people on community supervision after being released from custody, according to an Oct. 26, 2023 report in the Green Bay Press-Gazette. About 30% of all new admissions in the state between 2000 and 2020 were for revocations. 

    Revocations are strongly associated with substance abuse issues, the report said. 

    Our ruling

    Roys claimed that Minnesota has about one-third the number of people incarcerated than Wisconsin. 

    As of the end of June last year, the most recent data available, Wisconsin had 21,332 incarcerated people, compared to the 8,274. That is about one third.

    We rate the claim True. 

     

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • PolitiFact – Fact-checking claims about what special counsel report said about Biden

    PolitiFact – Fact-checking claims about what special counsel report said about Biden

    [ad_1]

    Special counsel Robert Hur on Feb. 8 released his long-awaited report into President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents. Social media users then parsed Hur’s words from the report to make unfounded claims about the report’s conclusions. 

    Hur said in his report he declined to prosecute Biden, but noted there was evidence Biden willfully retained classified documents. The report’s contents also touched off a primetime news conference in which Biden defended himself from Hur’s many descriptions of Biden’s faulty memory.

    We fact-checked some of the claims. 

    “DOJ says Biden is unfit and (too) incompetent to stand trial.”

    — Feb. 9 Instagram post

    “Federal government declares Biden mentally unfit for office, senile in damning report.”

    — Benny Johnson, Feb. 8 Facebook post

    These characterizations are inaccurate.

    Hur’s report made several references to Biden’s “poor memory,” writing that his memory “was significantly limited” during interviews with the special counsel. Hur cited that as one reason he declined to prosecute the president.

    Hur wrote about Biden’s “diminished faculties and faulty memory” and said Biden couldn’t remember when he was vice president or the year his son Beau died. The president denied these allegations.

    Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor who is now president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, said the report did not declare Biden unfit or incompetent to stand trial.

    “Incompetence is a legal term and means a criminal defendant does not understand the nature of the proceedings and is unable to assist in his or her defense. That is not what Hur said,” Rahmani said. “Nor did Hur address Biden’s suitability to hold public office. It would have been inappropriate for him to do so.”

    Ric Simmons, an Ohio State University law professor, agreed the special counsel never said Biden was incompetent to stand trial or unfit for office.

    “It said that a jury might be sympathetic to him because of his age and that his memory issues might make it harder to prove all the elements of the crime,” Simmons said.

    The report also never said Biden was mentally unfit for office, Simmons said. 

    “The special counsel would have no way of ascertaining this,” he said.

    Simmons said the report also did not use the word “senile,” despite its many references to Biden’s memory.

    “This might fit in with some definitions of ‘senile,’ which is defined as a loss of mental functions due to old age, but it does not fit the usual connotation of senility, which is an inability to perform basic mental tasks,” Simmons said.

    Special Counsel Robert Hur, seen here when he was a U.S. attorney in Baltimore in 2019, released a report Feb. 8, 2024, into President Joe Biden’s handling of classified materials. (AP)

    “Based on findings from his Justice Department, Joe Biden is identified as a criminal not suitable for trial.”

    —  Feb. 9 Instagram post

    The report neither identified Biden as a criminal, nor exonerated him. 

    Hur suggested Biden might have committed a crime, writing, “Our investigation uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen.”

    The report referred to documents related to Afghanistan and to handwritten notebooks from Biden’s time as vice president. But Hur declined to prosecute, saying “we conclude that the evidence does not establish Mr. Biden’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”

    Simmons said although the report said there was sufficient evidence to charge Biden with a crime, Biden wasn’t identified in the report as a criminal.

    “A prosecutor never ‘identifies’ someone as a criminal. They merely bring charges if they think there is sufficient evidence to convict,” Simmons said.

    Hur wrote that getting a conviction would face several hurdles: 

    • Because the documents in question are almost 15 years old and about Afghanistan, a conflict that has ended, Biden’s defense would strongly question whether they still contained sensitive national security information.

    • Biden was allowed to have the documents in his home while he was vice president through 2016 and again as president. “It may be difficult to convince a jury they should care” about his “brief illicit possession of documents,” Hur wrote.

    • Biden would likely present himself to a jury as “a sympathetic, well-meaning elderly mean with a poor memory.” It would not be easy persuading a jury to convict him of a serious felony “that requires a mental state of willfulness,” Hur wrote.

    • Biden’s cooperation with the investigation would likely cause some jurors to think he kept the documents by mistake.

    Because the government was unlikely to get a conviction at trial, “we decline prosecution,” Hur wrote.

    RELATED: Biden won’t be charged in classified documents case, but special counsel report questions his memory 

    RELATED: Biden classified documents: What special counsel report says about ‘willful retention’ 

    RELATED: President Biden said he didn’t have highly classified documents. The special counsel says otherwise. 

    RELATED: Trump says he ‘cooperated far more’ than Biden in classified documents cases. Pants on Fire!

    RELATED: Fact-checking Joe Biden about sharing classified materials, keeping them in lockable cabinets 



    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • OPINION: This cannot wait: We need concrete solutions to fight school shootings right now – The Hechinger Report

    OPINION: This cannot wait: We need concrete solutions to fight school shootings right now – The Hechinger Report

    [ad_1]

    I’m principal of a high school with a well-known name, only because it’s the site of one of the most devastating school shootings in recent American history: Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

    I’m also a mother, a neighbor and a witness to the enduring scars left by gun violence in our schools.

    As a member of the National Association of Secondary School Principals’ Recovery Network, I participated in a congressional roundtable on gun violence following October’s deadly massacre in Lewiston, Maine.

    I offered my assistance and my plea for something that is desperately needed in our country: concrete solutions to fight school shootings. Urgent, comprehensive action must be taken to prevent such tragedies and adequately support those who have already suffered through them.

    Even as I advocate for change, the recent shooting in Perry, Iowa, and the death of the principal who tried to save children’s lives serve as stark reminders that our nation continues to grapple with the devastating toll of gun violence.

    Almost six years ago, our school community in Parkland, Florida, was shattered. Seventeen lives were tragically cut short, with 17 others injured.

    That horrific nightmare is my reality. At the time, I was a principal in a nearby school; my son was in eighth grade in Parkland. As I received the harrowing text from him about a “code red” at his school, I was engulfed in a terror that no parent, educator or student should ever experience.

    It’s a fear that still lingers in the halls of Stoneman Douglas and in the hearts of our community.

    Related: Marjory Stoneman Douglas students give legislators a civics lesson

    In the aftermath of this national tragedy, I was tasked to take over leadership at Stoneman Douglas to guide the school in its recovery. Shortly after being appointed, I was contacted by and subsequently became a part of the Principal Recovery Network (PRN), consisting of educators who have faced school shootings. Our mission is to help schools through the healing process, a path we are still navigating at Stoneman Douglas.

    The harsh reality is that school shootings have become alarmingly routine. As of mid-January, we’ve already had three school shooting deaths in 2024. The number of incidents has been rising dramatically since 2015. Last year alone, there were 136 incidents of gunfire on school grounds, with 66 students and educators killed and 158 more injured.

    These numbers are not just statistics; they represent communities torn apart, futures lost and a growing need for resources to aid in recovery.

    There are steps we can take right now to help. Federal programs like Project SERV, which provides critical support to schools affected by violence, are a lifeline. However, with a mere $5 million allocated last year amidst myriad shootings and other disasters, Project SERV’s funding is grossly insufficient.

    An increase in these resources is imperative, not just for the immediate aftermath of violence but for the long-term healing and security of our schools.

    The presence of school resource officers (SROs) trained specifically to work in educational environments is also crucial. At Stoneman Douglas, our SROs have been pivotal in both preventive measures and in aiding our recovery efforts.

    SROs provide more than just security; they offer stability and guidance in an environment rife with threats and trauma.

    Related: OPINION: We know what would prevent many school shootings. Why don’t we do it?

    Yet, as discussions in Congress on fiscal year 2024 appropriations unfold, it’s disheartening to witness proposals for drastic cuts in federal education funding. The House’s suggestion to slash that funding by 28 percent is not just disconcerting, it’s dangerous.

    Such reductions would cripple our education system, exacerbate already alarming teacher shortages and compromise school safety. It’s crucial to maintain, if not increase, funding for programs that are vital for professional development, mental health support and school safety.

    My ask to the members of Congress and to all stakeholders in our children’s futures is straightforward: prioritize the safety and well-being of our students and educators.

    We must work together to ensure that no more school communities experience the horror that we did at Stoneman Douglas.

    That means we must enact policies that prevent gun violence in schools and provide adequate resources for addressing trauma and fostering recovery and resilience.

    As we continue to rebuild and strengthen our school community, we look to our leaders for action. The safety of our schools, our educators and the children who are the future of our nation depend on it.

    Michelle Kefford, a longtime educator, is principal of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. She is a member of the National Association of Secondary School Principals Recovery Network.

    This story about school shootings was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s newsletter.

    The Hechinger Report provides in-depth, fact-based, unbiased reporting on education that is free to all readers. But that doesn’t mean it’s free to produce. Our work keeps educators and the public informed about pressing issues at schools and on campuses throughout the country. We tell the whole story, even when the details are inconvenient. Help us keep doing that.

    Join us today.

    [ad_2]

    Michelle Kefford

    Source link

  • PolitiFact – Trump ‘exonerated’ by Epstein docs? Here’s what they do (and don’t) say about the former president

    PolitiFact – Trump ‘exonerated’ by Epstein docs? Here’s what they do (and don’t) say about the former president

    [ad_1]

    Soon after a federal court unsealed documents stemming from a lawsuit related to financier and registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, some Donald Trump supporters trumpeted what they said was great news for the former president.

    “#BREAKING: Epstein documents confirm that Donald Trump did not visit Jeffrey Epstein’s home or island,” one viral Instagram post said Jan. 3. “Clears Trump of all wrongdoing,” read another.

    Former Trump security adviser Michael Flynn and conservative commentators Charlie Kirk and Benny Johnson each said Trump had been “exonerated” by the case files.

    But experts said the case files neither incriminate nor exonerate Trump, who is running to be the Republican presidential nominee in 2024. Trump currently faces four indictments and 91 felony charges in cases across several states, but none of them involve Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

    Trump and Epstein — both powerful and affluent, with homes in South Florida and New York — had a social relationship at one time, according to photos and news articles.

    Flight logs released as evidence in the 2021 sex trafficking trial of convicted Epstein companion Ghislaine Maxwell show that Trump flew seven times in the 1990s on Epstein’s private jet, the Miami Herald reported. 

    In 2002, Trump told New York magazine that  Epstein was a “terrific guy.” But the men later fell out. In 2019, after Epstein was charged with sex trafficking minors, Trump told reporters: “I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.”

    The documents released in January stem from Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre’s 2015 lawsuit against Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison on sex trafficking and other charges. 

    Giuffre’s case was settled in 2017, but the Miami Herald went to court to gain access to the previously sealed records. U.S. District Court Judge Loretta Preska of the Southern District of New York on Dec. 18 ordered the release of 150 names that had previously been named in court documents as Jane or John Does. The newly released documents include 250 records. 

    Although Trump is mentioned in some of these documents, the records provide neither a smoking gun that he was involved in wrongdoing nor that he was, as his supporters have claimed, “cleared.”

    “I think it would be premature to suggest that the information ‘exonerates’ him,” said Daniel Medwed, a Northeastern University law professor. The documents establish Trump as being in Epstein’s orbit but don’t in themselves implicate him in wrongdoing, Medwed said.

    Here’s what we know.

    Who is mentioned in the documents?

    The documents mention many high-profile figures besides Trump, including former President Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, lawyer Alan Dershowitz, magician David Copperfield and the late singer Michael Jackson.

    They also name victims, actual and potential witnesses and Epstein employees. 

    Being mentioned in the documents does not mean a person is accused of any wrongdoing. No list of Epstein clients has been released, contrary to some social media posts.

    What do the documents say about Trump?

    Trump is mentioned six times in the documents. One of those mentions shows him being accused of sexual wrongdoing, but the documents also call that accusation’s credibility into question. Here is a summary of the six mentions:

    • In a May 18, 2016, deposition, on Page 19 of 179, one of Epstein’s alleged victims, Johanna Sjoberg, told attorneys she traveled with Epstein, Maxwell and Giuffre on Epstein’s plane and stopped in Atlantic City, (New Jersey,) where they “went to one of Trump’s casinos.” 

    The flight was headed to New York, but Sjoberg said the pilots told her they had to land      in Atlantic City because of a storm, Page 79 shows. She said when she relayed this to Epstein, “Jeffrey said, ‘Great, we’ll call up Trump and we’ll go to’ —  I don’t recall the name of the casino but — ‘We’ll go to the casino.’” 

    Later in the deposition, on Page 113, an attorney asked Sjoberg whether she gave a massage to Trump. She replied no.

    •  In a 2009 video deposition, on Page 3 of 5, Epstein employee Juan Alessi testified that he once drove Maxwell to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, where Maxwell got a “facial or massage.” 

    He also said he saw Trump at Epstein’s home, but that Trump didn’t stay there, unlike other celebrities.

    “He would come, have dinner. He never sat at the table,” Alessi said on Page 5. “He eat with me in the kitchen.” When asked if Trump ever had received massages at Epstein’s home, Alessi said, “No, because he’s got his own spa.” 

    • In a 2016 filing by Dershowitz, on Pages 19 and 20 of 27, the former Harvard Law School professor said Epstein’s “little black book” of contacts and phone numbers included many celebrities, including Trump.

    Dershowitz also referred to testimony from an Epstein employee who said Trump visited Epstein’s residence frequently, but that he had little information about him. An attorney asked the employee, Alfredo Rodriguez, this question:

    “Assuming he’s a frequent visitor to Mr. Epstein’s home, and that he’s a friend of Mr. Epstein’s, and that his name is circled in this book, do you infer that he was engaged in criminal sexual abuse of minors?”

    “No,” Rodriguez replied. 

    • A footnote on Page 7 in a March 2017 filing from Epstein’s attorneys referred to several news articles and read: “Mr. Epstein’s name has been widely linked in the press with prominent individuals such as Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew. His personal appearance at the trial of this case would predictably be the focus of massive media attention, of both the mainstream and gutter variety.”

    • In a June 21, 2017 letter, an attorney for Dershowitz asked then-U.S. District Court Judge Robert Sweet to make public emails and attachments concerning Epstein accuser Sarah Ransome.

    Ransome’s allegations included that she had been forced to have sex with Dershowitz, a claim that Dershowitz denied. 

    “The Emails,” Dershowitz’s attorney wrote on Page 2 of 16, “will demonstrate that Ms. Ransome’s inflammatory, salacious, and defamatory testimony concerning the Intervenor and others is false and that the deponent is not credible.” 

    The unredacted emails showed that Ramsome corresponded with New York Post writer Maureen Callahan and called Trump a pedophile. She also said Trump had sexual relations with many of Epstein’s girls, including a friend of hers who had sex with Trump at Epstein’s New York mansion on “regular occasions.” But on Oct. 23, 2016, Ransome emailed Callahan again to retract all her claims about Trump and others. The relevant passages are found on Pages 4, 10 and 16 of the document.

    • In a Jan. 16, 2016, videotaped deposition released Jan. 9, Giuffre said Dershowitz had to have known what was going on at Epstein’s home because he visited frequently and saw all the young girls around. The relevant passages are found on Pages 153 and 154 of the 223-page document.

    “If you walked foot into Jeffrey Epstein’s house and you went in there and you continued to be an acquaintance of his, then you would have to know what was going on there,” Giuffre said.

    “So, Donald Trump was — in your mind, you believe — a witness to the sexual abuse of minors?” an attorney asked Giuffre.

    “I don’t think Donald Trump participated in anything,” she responded. “That would have to be another assumption. I never saw or witnessed Donald Trump participate in those acts, but was he in the house of Jeffrey Epstein. I’ve heard he has been, but I haven’t seen him myself, so I don’t know.” Lawyers also asked Giuffre the same question about other public figures seen at Epstein’s home. 

    Do the documents mean Trump has been exonerated?

    Nothing in the new documents implicates Trump in a crime involving Epstein, but to say he’s been “exonerated” is a mischaracterization, legal experts told PolitiFact.

    “There is a difference between the failure of evidence to implicate a person as opposed to evidence that fully exonerates that individual,” Medwed said. 

    Dave Aronberg, a Democratic state attorney in West Palm Beach, Florida, said the documents neither incriminate nor exonerate Trump.

    “The documents provide bits and pieces of information without much context or corroboration,” he said. “Prosecutors aren’t moved by guilt by association, unless it’s backed by solid evidence.” 

    Some of the posts claiming Trump was exonerated shared a screenshot of a transcript in which a witness, Giuffre, testified to not seeing Trump at Epstein’s home or private island. 

    But that transcript was not among court documents released in January. It came from a 2,000-record batch  that was made public in 2019.

    Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct with women before. At least 19 women have alleged misconduct in recent years. Trump has not been criminally charged in any of those cases.

    In May, a civil court jury found Trump liable of sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll, an advice columnist and journalist, in 1996, and for defaming her. It awarded Carroll $5 million in a verdict Trump is appealing. Trump faces a second defamation lawsuit involving Carroll over comments he made in 2018.

    PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

    [ad_2]

    Source link