Free Republic

Federal officials filed charges Friday against Jesse Jackson Jr. after the former congressman reportedly signed a plea deal for allegedly improperly spending hundreds of thousands in campaign funds. The paperwork was filed at the U.S District Courthouse in Washington. Jackson, who left the public eye last summer for treatment of bi-polar disorder and resigned from office in November, is not expected to make an appearance, but he offered a response in his first statement to the public in months.

Avigdor Lieberman responded Thursday to the recent indictment of fraud and breach of trust brought against him, saying he has been the target of suspicion and questioning for a long time now. Hinting that he has no intention of resigning, he said he hopes the matter will be settled as soon as possible. The Attorney General charged that Lieberman used his influence to promote the former Israeli ambassador to Belarus because the ambassador illegally leaked information about an investigation against him. "The investigation against me has been going on for sixteen years," said Lieberman. "From July 1996 there has not...

The Federal Bureau of Investigation unsealed an indictment in Tucson and offered a $1 million reward “for information leading to the arrest of four fugitives” wanted in connection with the death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, the Bureau’s Phoenix Division announced today. “Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, Ivan Soto-Barraza, Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes, and Lionel Portillo-Meza are charged with crimes including first-degree murder, second-degree murder, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, attempted interference with commerce by robbery, use and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence, assault on a federal officer, and possession of a firearm by a...

For the first time, federal officials revealed Monday that murdered Border Patrol agent Brian Terry and an elite squad of federal agents first fired bean bags -- not bullets -- at a heavily armed drug cartel crew in the mountains south of Tucson in December 2011. The announcement came as the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging five individuals allegedly involved in Terry's death. A sixth suspect has also been charged in a related incident. The U.S. is also offering a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the arrest of four outstanding suspects believed to...

On Tuesday morning the Wall Street Journal carried a very unusual op-ed. The author was a former Attorney General of the United States, Michael Mukasy, who had served on the federal bench for 18 years before taking on the top job in federal law enforcement. As a federal district court judge, Mukasey had presided over the trial of Omar Abdel Rahman, the “blind Sheik,” one of the original confederates of bin Laden, a vantage point from which the highly esteemed jurist became deeply acquainted with the intricacies of the jihadist network. As AG, Mukasey took on a key leadership role...

Two well-placed legal experts have independently told Palmetto Public Record they expect the U.S. Department of Justice to issue an indictment against South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on charges of tax fraud as early as this week. A highly ranked federal official has also privately confirmed rumblings of an investigation and possible indictment of the governor, though the official was not aware of the specific timeframe. Yesterday, Palmetto Public Record exclusively reported that the Internal Revenue Service has been investigating since March of 2011 the Sikh worship center run by Gov. Haley’s father. At least five lawsuits have been filed...

Va Gov. Bob McDonnell has been called out to perform his mandatory duty.  http://www.facebook.com/groups/53783122419/  Republican Party of Virginia BeachVirginia has the laws to civilly and criminally nail BHO on eligibility grounds. Does it have the patriots to do so?   http://www.facebook.com/groups/259834004101186/268642163220370/ All citizens have both duties and rights."Section 15. Qualities necessary to preservation of free government.That no free government, nor the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people, but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue; by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles; and by the recognition by all citizens that they have duties as well as rights, and...

The grand jury report in the Penn State case was revealed by accident?! The quote in the post title appears at the end of an article in the NYT about Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett: Mr. Corbett, as state attorney general, had begun an investigation in 2009 into allegations that a former Penn State assistant football coach had abused young boys, and that university officials might have covered up the scandal. He had convened a grand jury, and his prosecutors had taken testimony. But when he ran for governor, and even after he took office, he was obligated to keep the...

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Monday said an indictment against three illegal immigrants accused of killing a border patrol agent sends a "clear message" to drug cartels and border smugglers. A federal judge unsealed a 14-count indictment against Manuel Osorio-Arrelanes and two other Mexican natives last Friday, accusing them of participating in the shooting that killed 40-year old Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in December. "This indictment also sends a clear message to those who would consider committing violence against the Border Patrol: we will not stand for aggression against our men and women in uniform

Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein announced Wednesday he intends to indict Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman later this week, Channel 2 reports. The indictment includes charges of fraud, breach of trust, money laundering and harrassing a witness. Weinstein said he will hold hearings before proceeding with the indictment in which Lieberman's lawyers can defend him. Lieberman's lawyer, Yoav Mani, and his assistant, Sharon Shalom, will also be indicted, according to the report. Police recommended Lieberman be indicted more than 18 months ago, but the Attorney-General’s Office postponed the move, saying it needed to be be fine-tuned, but pledging that it would be...

LEIDSCHENDAM, Netherlands – The prosecutor in the assassination case of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri says he has filed an expanded indictment. The indictment remains secret and the names of the suspects under investigation have not been released. But Hezbollah, a powerful Shiite militia, has said it believes some of its members may be named, and has warned the case could touch off renewed bloodshed in Lebanon.

The Associated Press MADRID, Spain Sept. 18 — Police have arrested several suspects on orders of a Spanish judge who is investigating al-Qaida links, the government said Thursday, a day after he issued the first known indictment against Osama bin Laden in the Sept. 11 attacks. The Interior Ministry said the arrests were made in the southern region of Andalusia and elsewhere in Spain, but it gave no details. News agencies and the Web site of the El Pais newspaper said three men were detained and that they are linked to Tayssir Alouni, a journalist for the Arabic-language TV station...

There was some head-scratching a couple of days ago over the Justice Department’s indictment of Jared Lee Loughner in the Tucson shootings case because he was not charged with the murders of Chief Judge John Roll and Gabriel Zimmerman, a legislative aide to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Instead, the indictment charges only the attempted murders of Representative Giffords and her two other aides, Ron Barber and Pamela Simon. (My column a few days back explained that there is no federal jurisdiction to charge murder or attempted murder in connection with the victims who were not federal officers.) I was interviewed by...

On Tuesday, we reported that Dr. Stuart Jeanne Bramhall, an American expatriate now living in New Zealand, has started an online petition to indict Sarah Palin. Since that report, Dr. Bramhall has responded to questions put to her in an email regarding the petition. What follows is the full text of questions related to the petition with her responses: SCE: What laws, specifically, do you allege she (Palin) violated? DR. BRAMHALL: There are federal statutes against incitement to riot, incitement to violence and incitement to murder - in which the Supreme Court has ruled that First Amendment protections do not...

Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall, an American expatriate currently living in New Zealand, has started an online petition to indict Sarah Palin. The online petition says: We, the undersigned, call on the Department of Justice to issue an indictment against former Alaska governor Sarah Palin for incitement to violence for designating Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords with a gun target image at her SarahPAC website at www.sarahpac.com. We believe there is ample evidence from Palin's public speeches and commentary that the image was used with the specific intent of inciting violence against Democratic congressmen labeled with these gun targets. We are also concerned...

The UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon says its prosecutor has issued indictments for the 2005 murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The names of the accused remain confidential for now, but are widely believed to include members of the armed Shia group Hezbollah. A pre-trial judge now decides whether to issue warrants. Last week, Hezbollah and its allies brought down Lebanon's government in a dispute over the tribunal. The group, which denies any role in the killing, has dismissed the tribunal as a US and Israeli plot that is designed to discredit it. It has demanded that Lebanon cease...

"Israel has made itself defenseless," award winning British journalist and author Melanie Phillips declared Monday on Israeli TV. "Hasbara is a Joke!" she said as she described Israel's self destructive strategy of continuing the failed peace process. "True and lies have been turned on their head," she said. "It was Britain itself that declared that on account of their unique claim to the Land Jews should be allowed to live in Israel and have a state." "The Young in Israel learn that that Israel was basically: "born in sin". Most of the animosity of British Aristocracy is fed by papers...

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, the man behind the publication of more than a 250,000 classified U.S. diplomatic cables, could soon be facing spying charges in the U.S. related to the Espionage Act, Assange's lawyer said today. "Our position of course is that we don't believe it applies to Mr. Assange and that in any event he's entitled to First Amendment protection as publisher of Wikileaks and any prosecution under the Espionage Act would in my view be unconstitutional and puts at risk all media organizations in the U.S.," Assange's attorney Jennifer Robinson told ABC News. Robinson said a U.S. indictment...

The DOJ is running up against the limits of the civilian justice system After the initial spate of chest-beating, we hadn’t heard much from the Justice Department about the case of would-be Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad and the many ways it illustrates how splendidly the criminal justice system performs in terrorism cases — even the cases of enemy combatants who could otherwise be held indefinitely and interrogated for intelligence purposes. Now comes word from the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York that Shahzad has been indicted. He is charged with ten terrorism counts, ranging from...

Detroit News cannot be posted as per copyright complaint. Sorry. Go to Drudge Report for the link to the article. It is worth the effort. Here is the heading to search for: Indictment: Militia members sought to 'levy war' against USA...

CHICAGO – Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his brother were charged Thursday in a fresh corruption indictment that contains no new allegations of misconduct but that prosecutors hope will help avoid delays to the start of Blagojevich's trial. The new indictment only adds charges based on the same allegations the Blagojeviches have faced for months, including scheming to sell or trade the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama's election to the White House and a variety of political fundraising abuses. The new charges are an attempt by prosecutors to ensure that a legal controversy now before the U.S....

One year ago today, Rod Blagojevich became the first sitting Illinois governor to be impeached and booted out of office by a 59-0 vote of the Illinois Senate in Springfield. Now, the 53-year-old Democrat and his lawyers are waiting for the next shoe to drop in legal wranglings related to allegations that he attempted to sell the Illinois senate seat once held by Barack Obama.According to the Chicago Tribune, federal prosecutors said Wednesday that a revised indictment against Blagojevich should be returned by late next week. That news prompted me to write a parody based on the 1980 song, "Reunited,"...

Detroit (AP) - A Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day was indicted Wednesday on charges including attempted murder and trying to use a weapon of mass destruction to kill nearly 300 people. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, was traveling from Amsterdam when he tried to destroy the plane by injecting chemicals into a package of pentrite explosive concealed in his underwear, authorities say.

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- The Israeli Police's National Fraud Unit recommended that the state prosecutor indict Avigdor Lieberman in a money-laundering scheme. In a brief turned over Sunday to the Attorney General's office, the police recommended that the foreign minister be indicted on charges of bribery, fraud, money laundering, witness harassment and obstruction of justice, Ha'aretz reported. The investigation has been ongoing for several years, but picked up steam after Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu became the third largest political party in the country in last February's elections. Lieberman petitioned the Supreme Court to speed up the investigation after he became foreign minister.

Reports: Wife of Rep. Conyers threatened with indictment @ 3:42 pm by Michael O'Brien Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers, the wife of longtime Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) received a letter Tuesday indicating a pending indictment from federal authorities on corruption-related charges. Conyers received a pre-indictment letter instructing her to reach a plea deal with prosecutors by the end of the week or face charges, according to Detroits two papers, the Free Press and News. The investigation involves whether Conyers took bribes to switch her vote on a $1.2 billion contract with Synagro Technologies to handle disposal of Detroit's sludge. Conyers,...

Mose Jefferson seeks dismissal of racketeering indictmentby Michael Kunzelman, The Associated Press Monday June 08, 2009, 2:11 PM NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A former Louisiana congressman's brother asked a federal judge Monday to dismiss the racketeering conspiracy case against him, his girlfriend and two of his relatives, calling it a politically motivated prosecution. Arthur Lemann III, one of Mose Jefferson's lawyers, claims the case against his client is fueled by "the high tide of the public outrage" over the separate corruption charges against his brother, former Rep. William Jefferson, whose trial in Virginia is scheduled to start Tuesday. "In the...

New Orleans Black Leaders Accuse Letten of Racism in Indictmentsby Christopher Tidmore With the indictment of former New Orleans City Councilwoman Renee Gill Pratt's on racketeering and money laundering charges, murmurs of discontent with U.S. Attorney Jim Letten have begun to emerge from several quarters in the local black community. The accusation that the region’s senior prosecutor has disproportionately pursued corruption allegations in the African-American community continues to be levied. When Senator Mary Landrieu recommended the reappointment of Letten, a career prosecutor but also a GOP appointee of President George W. Bush, Danatus King, president of the New Orleans Branch...

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago said it will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. today to announce public corruption charges. Sources say it is expected to be an indictment of an elected official. Details to come.

"**** OHIO RETURNS INDICTMENT AT 12:30 PM EST 4/25/09**** "http://www.riseupforamerica.com/ Further details unknown at this point.

No further details yet.

While many groups have sought by civil actions to force Barack Obama to produce his birth certificate, someone new has emerged onto the scene to use another avenue to force that same production. Georgia resident Carl Swensson, has used his influence by way of his website RiseUpForAmerica.org to advance a criminal complaint against President Barack Obama. Swensson is using the Magna Carta as his basis for the authority to form this citizens grand jury. The Magna Carta is the bill of rights formed on British Law. Over the weekend the 25 sworn Jurors took testimony from many sources, and then...

President Obama has been named in dozens of civil lawsuits alleging he is not eligible to be president, with one man even filing a criminal complaint alleging the commander-in-chief is a fraud, and now a citizen grand jury in Georgia has indicted the sitting president. The indictment delivered to state and federal prosecutors yesterday is one of the developments in the dispute over Obama's eligibility to be president under the U.S. Constitution's requirement that presidents be "natural born" citizens. Orly Taitz, a California attorney working on several of the civil actions, also announced she has filed another Quo Warranto case...

While the Obamanation sashays through the elegantly appointed rooms of London, rubbing well-creamed elbows with other global socialists and tyrants, the One has been indicted by a citizen grand jury in Georgia.The indictment was delivered to state and federal prosecutors yesterday.This morning, I spoke to Georgia resident Carl Swensson, whose work is detailed on his Rise up for America website. The computer specialist says he got tired of the issues over Obama's eligibility, as well as his performance in office. So, over the weekend he assembled 25 jurors who took sworn testimony from several sources, including attorney Orly Taitz, and...

Stockbridge, Georgia- The questions over the eligibility of Barack Hussein Obama to occupy his current position as President of the United States continue to be raised. After being presented with evidence in the matter, a citizens' grand jury convened by Carl Swensson in Georgia has returned an indictment against Barack Hussein Obama aka Barry Soetoro aka Barry Sutoro. Reportedly the sealed indictment, scheduled to be delivered to prosecutors on Monday, includes counts of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. "It's a done deal, and the people of the State of Georgia demand action on this matter," said Carl Swensson after...

Illinois Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich now promises he will appear before the Illinois Senate today and give his own closing argument. I can hardly wait. This man has become a caricature of himself; no cartoonist can capture the essence of his weirdness as well as Blago himself. This should be good.

CHICAGO – Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich says he is not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing and plans to stay on the job. In his first official statement since his arrest on corruption charges last week, Blagojevich (blah-GOY'-Uh-vich) says he will fight until he takes his "last breath." ... The Democratic governor says he intends to "answer every allegation in a court of law."

Blagojevich refuses to budge NBC Nightly News VIDEO: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/vp/28200681#28200681&gt1=43001

Prosecutor who had Cheney indicted yells at judge By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer RAYMONDVILLE, Texas – A county prosecutor who brought indictments this week against Vice President Dick Cheney and others pounded his fist and shouted at the judge Friday during a routine hearing. Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra asked Presiding Judge Manuel Banales to recuse himself from the case, which alleges abuse at federally run prisons. Attorneys for the vice president and other defendants leapt to their feet in objection as Guerra pounded the table and accused Banales of giving the defendants special treatment. "Now all...

McALLEN, Texas – Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been indicted on state charges involving federal prisons in a South Texas county that has been a source of bizarre legal and political battles under the outgoing prosecutor. The indictment returned Monday has not yet been signed by the presiding judge, and no action can be taken until that happens. The seven indictments made public in Willacy County on Tuesday included one naming state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. and some targeting public officials connected to District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra's own legal battles. Regarding the indictments...

The Associated Press is reporting that Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been indicted on charges “related to the alleged abuse of prisoners in Willacy County’s federal detention centers. The indictment criticizes Cheney’s investment in the Vanguard Group, which holds interests in the private prison companies running the federal detention centers. It accuses Cheney of a conflict of interest and “at least misdemeanor assaults” on detainees by working through the prison companies. Read the article at ObamaHood.org

SAN FRANCISCO -- Federal authorities in San Francisco unveiled an indictment today against 29 people allegedly tied to a street gang, accusing the group of engaging in murder, drug trafficking, witness tampering, car theft and extortion. Those indicted include alleged senior leaders in the San Francisco faction of the Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 gang, which originated in Los Angeles, has ties to El Salvador and is renowned for its savage tactics, federal prosecutors said. Most recently, authorities say, members of San Francisco's 20th Street clique of the gang have been tied to at least five slayings in the city, including...

The son of a Democratic Tennessee state legislator surrendered to authorities in connection with the hacking of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's e-mail, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

A west Texas grand jury investigating allegations that members of a polygamist sect sexually abused girls indicted three more people Tuesday, raising the number of defendants in the case to nine. Each of the sect members indicted Tuesday by the Schleicher County grand jury was charged with sexual assault of a child, and two face an additional charge of bigamy, state Attorney General Greg Abbott said in a statement. Abbott's office has taken over prosecution of the case from local authorities in the tiny county. The names of those charged were not immediately released, but none had been charged previously....

Republican Sen. Norm Coleman said Wednesday he would give away $20,000 in campaign contributions because they came from a political action committee tied to indicted Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens. The decision comes as Coleman's Democratic challenger, Al Franken, began airing a statewide radio ad highlighting ties between Coleman and Stevens. Coleman's campaign manager Cullen Sheehan said the senator will donate the money to childhood cancer research. The specific recipients haven't been selected, a campaign official said. His decision follows that of at least five other Republican senators who are shedding contributions from Stevens' Northern Lights PAC. "The senator believes firmly...

Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator and a figure in Alaska politics since before statehood, was indicted Tuesday on seven counts of failing to disclose thousands of dollars in services he received from a company that helped renovate his home.

Does the Milberg criminal case point to a broader ill in the securities class-action industry? That’s a question being raised by U.S. Rep. John Boehner, the Republican leader in the House. In this letter expected to be sent to the House Judiciary Committee today, Boehner (pictured) asks the committee to investigate whether plaintiffs lawyers routinely pay kickbacks to shareholder clients, as Milberg is alleged to have done. The firm denies wrongdoing. Four of its former-once-senior partners have pleaded or agreed to plead guilty. The letter highlights comments that former Milberg partner William Lerach made to the WSJ earlier this year:...

Federal grand jury indicts polygamous sect leader for allegedly fleeing prosecution SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A federal grand jury indicted the leader of a polygamous sect Wednesday, accusing him of fleeing to avoid prosecution on Utah sex charges. The one-count indictment covers a five-month period in 2006, although Warren Jeffs was believed to be on the run for a longer stretch before his arrest in August during a traffic stop near Las Vegas. Jeffs also faces trial in southern Utah in April on charges of rape as an accomplice for his alleged role in the ceremonial marriage of a...

For Detroit, news last week that its mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, had been indicted on numerous charges – including the felonies of perjury and obstruction of justice – were the kind of kick to the chest that the city could have done without. Kilpatrick came to office as the face of youth and energy, a former legislator called the “hip-hop mayor.” It was hoped that he would reinvigorate the city, and restore confidence in her. Housing, as it did everywhere else, boomed. The city sought out new business and new opportunities. Citizen confidence was restored, and an improbable sense of civic...

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick did not attend Easter services at his church this morning.

Judge refuses to toss out indictment against La. congressman2/6/2008, 6:07 p.m. CST The Associated Press ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A judge has refused to toss out an indictment against a Louisiana congressman accused of taking bribes, rejecting the argument that the indictment unconstitutionally infringed on his privileges as a congressman. The ruling Wednesday could prompt a delay in the trial of Rep. William Jefferson, D-Louisiana, who faces up to 235 years in prison on bribery and other charges. According to court papers, defense lawyers have indicated they will likely appeal the ruling. Normally defendants are only allowed to appeal such...