obstruction of justice

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SCOTUS: Obstruction Charges for Capitol Rioters Now Trickier

Court finds charge must come with proof of an effort to tamper with documents

(Newser) - The Supreme Court on Friday made it harder to charge Capitol riot defendants with obstruction, a charge that also has been brought against former President Trump. The justices ruled that the charge of obstructing an official proceeding, enacted in 2002 in response to the financial scandal that brought down Enron...

He Bought 800 Castor Beans, Told the FBI It Was a Goof
He Bought 800 Castor Beans,
Told the FBI It Was a Goof
in case you missed it
Apr 9, 2022 2:20 PM CDT

He Bought 800 Castor Beans, Told the FBI It Was a Goof

Except it wasn't, and Ishtiaq Ali Saaem has been sentenced for obstructing justice

(Newser) - A 37-year-old man with a PhD in biomedical engineering from Duke told law enforcement agents in Massachusetts that he had meant to buy one packet of castor beans in June 2015, not 100 packets. He also said he wanted the beans in order to do some decorative planting around his...

It's a Bad Omen for Matt Gaetz
It's a Bad Omen for Matt Gaetz
Jan 13, 2022 8:21 AM CST

It's a Bad Omen for Matt Gaetz

Ex-girlfriend reportedly testifies before grand jury in sex trafficking probe

(Newser) - An ex-girlfriend of Rep. Matt Gaetz on Wednesday testified before a grand jury investigating the Florida Republican for alleged sex trafficking, various outlets report. The former Capitol Hill staffer was seen arriving at a federal courthouse in Orlando, where a grand jury is known to be meeting. "All I...

Man Accused of Selling Fake Vax Cards: 'I'm Gonna Be Rich'

Amar Shabazz of Maryland is facing charges of mail fraud, obstruction of justice

(Newser) - In April, Amar Shabazz was released from prison after time served for possession of child porn. By October, Shabazz's Maryland residence had been raided by authorities, and the 23-year-old is now facing new charges, this time for allegedly selling hundreds of fake vaccine cards, reports the New York Post...

R. Kelly Was on Suicide Watch After Conviction
R. Kelly
Now Facing
a Second Trial
Oct 21, 2021 12:30 PM CDT

R. Kelly Now Facing a Second Trial

He was temporarily put on suicide watch after his conviction

(Newser) - A federal judge on Wednesday ordered R&B superstar R. Kelly to stand trial in Chicago on child pornography and obstruction of justice charges next year after the scheduled sentencing for his conviction in an earlier sex trafficking trial in New York, per the AP . US District Judge Harry Leinenweber...

His Mission: Nabbing Pedophiles. Now, His Own Charges

Vigilante 'predator hunter' Kyle Swanson indicted after January 'sting' went south

(Newser) - Kyle Swanson says he was inspired by Chris Hansen, of To Catch a Predator fame, to set up his own vigilante group to expose suspected pedophiles, typically by luring them to sites in St. Louis, then showing the confrontations on his YouTube channel and other social media. But, like Hansen...

DOJ Appeals Judge's Order on Trump Obstruction Memo

Agrees to release part of it, doesn't want to release the whole thing

(Newser) - The Biden administration said Monday that it would appeal a judge's order directing it to release in its entirety a legal memo on whether President Trump had obstructed justice during the Russia investigation. But it also agreed to make a brief portion of the document public, the AP reports....

Judge Orders Trump Obstruction Memo Released

Justice Department has until May 17 to file any motion to stay the order

(Newser) - A federal judge has ordered the release of a legal memorandum the Trump-era Justice Department prepared for then-Attorney General William Barr before he announced his conclusion that then-President Trump had not obstructed justice during the Russia investigation, the AP reports. The Justice Department had refused to give the March 24,...

Husband Who Helped Wife Fake Her Death Learns His Fate
The Evidence Suggested She
Fell From a Cliff. It Was Planted
in case you missed it
Apr 11, 2021 9:30 AM CDT

The Evidence Suggested She Fell From a Cliff. It Was Planted

Rodney Wheeler gets 8 months of home confinement for helping wife fake death

(Newser) - A West Virginia man will spend eight months in confinement for helping his wife fake her own death. Rodney Wheeler called 911 on May 31, 2020, to report that his wife had fallen from a steep cliff some 1,400 feet above West Virginia's New River. After days of...

She Faked a 'Traumatic Death.' That Just 'Made Matters Worse'

W. Va's Julie Wheeler gets year sentence for cliff fall scheme, on top of another sentence of 42 months

(Newser) - She thought she'd avoid jail by faking her death. Instead, she'll spend an extra year behind bars on top of an earlier sentence of 3.5 years. Julie Wheeler—who was found hiding in a closet last spring, days after her husband claimed she'd fallen from a...

4 Guards Face Prison After Inmate's Beating

Alabama corrections officers are charged

(Newser) - Four former corrections officers have been charged in the 2018 beating of an inmate in Alabama. A male prisoner was taken down by officers at the Bibb Correctional Facility in Brent, Ala., on Sept. 12, 2018, after running out of his cell. Jordan Thomas, Kevin Blaylock, and Sgt. Keith Finch...

Trump Defends Snubbing of 'Kangaroo Court'
Schiff Issues a Warning
After Witness No-Show
the rundown
Oct 8, 2019 11:05 AM CDT

Schiff Issues a Warning After Witness No-Show

He sees obstruction of justice while Trump slams 'kangaroo court'

(Newser) - The White House took the controversial step Tuesday of ordering a key witness in the Ukraine controversy not to testify before Congress, and President Trump quickly defended the move on Twitter. "I would love to send Ambassador Sondland, a really good man and great American, to testify, but unfortunately...

Sheriff Gave Would-Be Killer Coaching, Indictment Says

Target had audio of law enforcement official using 'racially insensitive language'

(Newser) - "You ain’t got the weapon, you ain’t got nothing to go on," a North Carolina sheriff allegedly said in coaching someone about how to get away with killing a former deputy. "The only way we find out these murder things is people talk. You can’...

Justice Dept. Tells Mueller to Limit Testimony to His Report

His official statement 'will be the Mueller report itself'

(Newser) - Robert Mueller is due to testify before Congress in nationally televised hearings Wednesday—but America may not hear anything new from the former special counsel. A Justice Department official tells Politico that the department has told Mueller to restrict his testimony to the portions of his 448-page report on Russian...

DOJ Releases Full Transcript of Phone Call to Flynn's Attorney

A shorter version came out in the Mueller report

(Newser) - Now you can read every "uh" and "uhm"—and a few other, lengthier words—spoken by one of President Trump's attorneys to a Michael Flynn attorney in a voicemail, ABC News reports. On Friday, the special counsel's office put out a fuller transcript of the...

Trump Asked, Twice. McGahn Said No Way

The former White House counsel angered the president

(Newser) - Don McGahn just can't seem to shake his old boss. President Trump has twice asked the former White House counsel to deny that he thought Trump obstructed justice with the Mueller probe—and McGahn refused both times, insiders say. The White House first asked him after reading a pre-release...

Only Trump's Office Prevented Charges: Former Prosecutors

Hundreds sign letter disagreeing with Barr

(Newser) - Attorney General William Barr said there isn't the evidence to charge President Trump with a crime. Hundreds of former federal prosecutors disagree. They've signed a letter saying that the findings of Robert Mueller's investigation would have resulted in charges against anybody who wasn't president, the Washington ...

Mueller Objected to Barr's Summary of His Report

Special counsel wrote to AG to complain

(Newser) - After William Barr's summary of Robert Mueller's report led President Trump to claim he had been exonerated, a frustrated Mueller wrote to the attorney general to complain about how his findings had been portrayed. The special counsel told Barr that the March 24 memo he had provided to...

'Massive Win' for Trump: 7 Takes on Mueller Report

One big question was unanswered

(Newser) - Attorney General William Barr released his summary of Robert Mueller's findings Sunday, and reactions split predictably along party lines. According to Barr, Mueller found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, but did not exonerate him on allegations of obstruction of justice. President Trump and his...

Feds: Vice Squad Cop Forced Women to Have Sex

Ohio's Andrew Mitchell also accused of lying to feds, covering up crimes

(Newser) - A longtime police officer forced women to have sex with him under threat of an arrest, pressured others to help cover up crimes, and lied to federal investigators when he said he'd never had sex with prostitutes, according to charges unveiled Monday. Columbus vice squad officer Andrew Mitchell, 55,...

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