Roger Stone was arraigned in D.C. federal court today. As expected, Stone entered a plea of not guilty. An arraignment hearing is for the purpose of advising the defendant of the present charges against him, allow him to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty plus state additional terms of the defendant’s pre-trial release. Stone had to give up his passport and cannot contact any witnesses. If he violates the terms, he goes to jail pending his trial date. As for Stone, he is slowly learning what it means to be a defendant. Stone voiced concerns about being arrested in the early morning hours with over 20 FBI agents. His specific concern was that he was arrested with more force than Osama Bin Laden. By the way, Osama Bin Laden was shot to death during the raid on his house. The courtesy of affording a white -collar defendant the ability to turn himself in with his attorney at his convenience is exactly that… a courtesy. It is not mandatory, as Stone discovered. Now the real reason why … [Read more...] about Roger Stone’s Fate at a Trial Will be Decided by Blacks
Trump
Roger Stone Gets His Comeuppance in the Mueller Investigation
Trusted Donald Trump aide Roger Stone got his long awaited comeuppance for his behavior in the special prosecutor’s Trump Russia investigation. Stone was arrested at his office in the wee morning hours of Friday, January 25. While Roger Stone may have been expecting an indictment, nothing prepared him for the manner in which he was arrested. Mueller’s team sent a strong and serious message to Trump confidante, Roger Stone, by arresting him at 4 a.m. much like everyday street criminals, mob bosses and narcotic dealers are arrested. Of course, following his arrest, Stone complained about the nature of the arrest with over 29 FBI furloughed agents coming to his house to take him into custody. Stone for his part declared his innocence. The lack of common prosecutorial courtesies usually afforded to white collar clients/defendants to conveniently turn themselves in with their lawyer upon indictment shows the seriousness of the case and the possible indication of a flight risk by … [Read more...] about Roger Stone Gets His Comeuppance in the Mueller Investigation
White House Gangsta in Chief Needs to Leave
The federal government shutdown has now gone into two missing paychecks for workers without any resolution. It started as Trump’s demand that Mexico would pay for the wall. Then it advanced to American taxpayers would need to pay for the wall. Mexico likely laughed at the suggestion of their paying for it. And now it has snowballed into a hostage take over situation of over 800,000 federal government workers plus contract workers being furloughed until presumably American taxpayers pay for the wall. Trump has placed America at risk in food safety, air safety, health safety, economics, intelligence and basic human rights. While the focus at times has been on federal government workers in the DC, Maryland and Virginia area, federal employees work in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. Large numbers of workers are located in Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginian and Iowa –Trump Red states. There are government contractors who are not government employees who … [Read more...] about White House Gangsta in Chief Needs to Leave
The Extreme Hypocrisy of the Republican Party
The Republican party was once known as the party of Abraham Lincoln. Now it is known as the party of Donald Trump, a reality star, creator of the birther movement and race baiter in Chief. Time and time again, the Republican party has shown its hypocrisy in the Trump era by failing to speak out against racism and bigotry. The other day, Congress failed to censure Iowa Representative Steve King for saying “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization—how did that become offensive?” To answer King’s statement, white supremacy was offensive to many persons as far back as Abraham Lincoln’s time. The House passed a resolution condemning white supremacy but failed to rebuke King. Every Republican House member should have requested a vote on censuring King, if not seeking his resignation. It is not enough just to fail to appoint him to committees. Steve King should have been asked to resign for his hideously racist comments. Time and time again, the Republican party fails to … [Read more...] about The Extreme Hypocrisy of the Republican Party
2018- A Year of Sex, Lies, Guns and Trump
Every new year, we look back towards the past year to see the good, bad and ugly. If 2018 can be boiled down to a theme—it would be sex, lies, guns and Trump. Trump fits into all three categories. Guns were rampant again this year with no end in sight in terms of gun control. On February 26, 2018, in Parkland, Florida, one of the safest towns in the U.S. , a school gun shooting occurred and 17 persons died including teachers and students. This time may have been different than previous gun shootings in that it galvanized students to hold the March for Our Lives on March 25, 2018. It once again raised the issue of gun control. Like in so many times and years before, no meaningful gun legislation occurred. On June 29, five journalists were shot and killed at the Annapolis Gazette in Annapolis, MD. Throughout the Trump administration, Donald Trump has shouted chants that the media is the enemy of the state. Our constitution’s first amendment is freedom of the press. Yet, the … [Read more...] about 2018- A Year of Sex, Lies, Guns and Trump
Why I Will Never Forget 9/11
Seventeen years ago, the worst attack on American soil occurred with terrorists hijacking four planes resulting in the loss of almost 3,000 lives and additionally more than 6,000 injured in New York City at the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon and Shanksville, PA. Everyone who was living at the time and old enough to remember, recalls what they were doing at those moments. And we must never forget the loss of lives and the way our society has changed forever as a direct result of the terrorist assault on American soil. Many others died later from illnesses due to the exposure to the dust in the attacks. Those who lost their lives were Americans and others from 90 countries. At the time of the attacks, I lived on Capitol Hill and worked nearby in downtown Washington, D.C. I was rushing late for a deposition to be held at my office. When I arrived to the office, in hurry mode, I ordered the court reporter to go to the conference room and told my client I would be with her … [Read more...] about Why I Will Never Forget 9/11