Free Republic

CHICAGO — Jussie Smollett’s attorneys asked for a mistrial Thursday after the judge called their evidence irrelevant in front of the jury and “physically lunged” at one of the actor’s lawyers. The odd fracas came in the midst of the defense’s cross-examination of Olabinjo Osundairo, who claims he was paid to help Smollett stage the hate crime, as attorney Tamara Walker grilled him about his alleged homophobia and past derogatory remarks toward suspected gay men. Osundairo, 30, had just acknowledged he used the word “fruity ass” to refer to a man he suspected was gay and Walker asked if Smollett,...

As the Kyle Rittenhouse case goes down to the wire, there are credible reports that the jurors’ verdict count is a lot closer than many have been led to believe. The volatile situation outside of the Kenosha, Wisconsin courtroom was reported by Newsmax, which relates that sources have informed it the current verdict count is split. The Newsmax reporter pointed to several media reports that indicate they overheard Kyle Rittenhouse’s attorney Mark Richards saying that he believes the jury is at a ‘6-6 split.’ The startling report comes amidst reports of juror intimidation and even an attempted report that would...

After repeated denials by the State in the Rittenhouse case, that they knew nothing of compressing, doctoring or altering video, ‘handbrake was spotted on the DA’s screen. For everyone asking “what is handbrake” is used for compressing & converting videos. It was found on Kraus’s laptop meaning he may have purposely converted the video to the lower resolution version using handbrake. “Handbrake was on one of the prosecutions laptops since January 2021. This can be used to compress footage. Krause lied when he said he didn’t know how to do any of those actions. I’ve moved from negligence or incompetence...

Judge Bruce Schroeder of the Kenosha County Court accused prosecutors of a “grave constitutional violation” in the murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse on Wednesday morning after they tried to comment on his earlier reactions to testimony in the case. Rittenhouse stunned observers by taking the witness stand in his own defense, something that defendants rarely do in such trials. He recalled the events of Aug. 25 last year, when he fired on members of a mob attacking him during a Black Lives Matter riot. As he began to describe the events leading to the shootings, he broke down, and the...

One potential juror in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse wondered out loud during jury selection why anyone would need a “machine gun.” On August 25, 2020, Rittenhouse was carrying a legally owned semi-automatic Smith & Wesson M&P rifle. Another juror expressed how “scared” she was to be so close to where Rittenhouse lived. And still another said she couldn’t be impartial because her family wasn’t impartial. And so went jury selection in the most consequential American self defense case in years.These people aren’t alone. According to now former Rittenhouse attorney, Robert Barnes, who did pre-trial polling, fully two-thirds of potential...

The embezzlement trial of attorney Michael Avenatti, who is accused of stealing millions in settlement money from clients, ended in a mistrial Tuesday as U.S. District Judge James. V. Selna ruled that federal prosecutors failed to turn over relevant financial evidence to Avenatti, the Associated Press reported. The trial was the second in recent months for Avenatti, who captured the nation's attention when he represented adult film actress Stormy Daniels in a lawsuit against then-President Donald Trump. Selna scheduled a tentative new trial date for October 12 and another hearing is set for September 2. In July, Avenatti was sentenced...

BRANDON Mitchell, the BLM-supporting juror in Derek Chauvin's trial, has been accused of lying to infiltrate the ex-cop's case. A criminal defense attorney said that Mitchell sitting on the jury gives Chauvin's team a "slam dunk reason" to overturn his conviction. In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, attorney Jonna Spilbor accused Mitchell of lying to get on the jury. "The irony is not lost that most people lie to get out of jury duty," Spilbor said. "I think what we have here is somebody who lied to get on jury duty, specifically for this case, because we now...

The human symbol of why Derek Chauvin needs a new trial in the death of George Floyd is now holding up his hands, backing away, and claiming, hey, don’t look at me, I don’t even remember that George Floyd t-shirt I wore to a Washington, D.C., rally. But wait, there’s more. Juror #52, Brandon Mitchell, a podcaster and basketball coach, was outed recently as a BLM supporter who went to Washington, D.C., for the anniversary of the March on Washington – an event whose speakers featured (naturally) Al Sharpton, along with George Floyd’s brother and sister and other people who...

The attorney for Derek Chauvin, Eric Nelson, has filed motions for a new trial and for a hearing to impeach the verdict based on jury misconduct (a so-called Schwartz Hearing under Minnesota law). Nearly a dozen bases are cited for a new trial, but not the recent revelations about juror Brandon Mitchell wearing a BLM t-shirt at a rally and opining that people should get on juries “to spark some change.”The Associated Press lists the reasons the motions cites for a new trial:Nelson cited many reasons in his request for a new trial. He said Judge Peter Cahill abused the...

If you're a news program with any pretense of journalistic integrity, how can you: Mention "George Floyd" six times during today's show; but... fail to mention even once the major news about the trial of the man that a jury convicted of murdering George Floyd. Namely, that one of the jurors was a BLM supporter who: Who denied to the judge before being selected as a juror that he had attended any rallies against police brutality, whereas he had attended one while wearing a BLM hat, and a T-shirt that read "Get Off Our Necks--BLM." [See screencap.] Reportedly told the...

One juror: "I did not want to go through rioting and destruction again and I was concerned about people coming to my house if they were not happy with the verdict."

s: JURY HAS REACHED VERDICT IN FORMER MINNEAPOLIS POLICEMAN DEREK CHAUVIN'S MURDER TRIAL -COURT

On the menu today: a look at Maxine Waters and the long road that led to a California congresswoman possibly forcing a mistrial in the most high-profile police-brutality case in decades. CNN’s assessment, in an “analysis” piece written by White House reporter Stephen Collinson, front and center on their homepage: “Waters’ Comments on Chauvin Trial Expose Republican Hypocrisy.” Yeah, sure, go with that, fellas. In case you missed it, here’s what Maxine Waters said: Representative Maxine Waters (D., Calif.) told demonstrators to “stay in the street” and become “more confrontational” if former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is acquitted of...

The trial of Derek Chauvin, the police officer accused of killing George Floyd, is entering its final moments. The jury will begin deliberating soon as the defense has finished its closing arguments. Whether they are able to return a verdict at all is a question we will eventually have an answer to.In all of this, one thing is supposed to be clear. The jurors are supposed to be able to do their duty without pressure and threat. Yet, CBS News has already begun the process of doxxing them, and it’s hard to overstate how dangerous this is..@jamieyuccas reports on the...

The judge in the George Floyd murder case refused a defense request to immediately sequester the jury Monday, the morning after the killing of a Black man during a traffic stop triggered unrest in a suburb just outside Minneapolis. The request came from the attorney for former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin. Defense attorney Eric Nelson argued that the jurors could be influenced by the prospect of what might happen as a result of their verdict. “Ultimately, your honor, the question becomes will the jury be competent to make a decision regardless of the potential outcome of their decision,” Nelson...

A California judge with ties to Planned Parenthood told a jury this week that David Daleiden is guilty of trespassing. The statement from Judge William Orrick came at the conclusion of a month-long trial against Daleiden, Sandra Merritt and others with the Center for Medical Progress who helped to release undercover videos of Planned Parenthood allegedly selling aborted baby body parts for profit. Planned Parenthood filed the lawsuit accusing them of more than a dozen crimes, including trespassing, breach of confidentiality, wiretapping and conspiracy. The trial is separate from a criminal case against Daleiden and Merritt launched by former California...

A federal judge lambasted former national security adviser Mike Flynn in court Tuesday, threatening to upend a proposed agreement between him and prosecutors that he should receive a lenient sentence after his extensive cooperation with investigators. “I’m not hiding my disgust—my disdain—for this criminal offense,” said U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan. He questioned whether Mr. Flynn had truly accepted responsibility for his crimes, including lying to FBI agents, and suggested he might require incarceration, despite prosecutors’ contention that Mr. Flynn deserves no jail time. Judge Sullivan seemed especially troubled by Mr. Flynn’s lobbying work for Turkish interests and his...

Russian bots pushed out tweets about the death of Mollie Tibbets, the University of Iowa student who was missing for several weeks, just after the news broke regarding the verdict of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and the guilty plea of the president’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, according to a new report. The Independent reports that bots believed to be linked with Russia began posting about Tibbets’ death just minutes after Manafort was found guilty on eight counts of fraud on Tuesday. The tweets were analyzed by the Alliance for Securing Democracy, a group that is known for tracking...

Dan Rather warned Wednesday night that if you think Tuesday was a shock with the Cohen guilty plea and Manafort's conviction, then "stay tuned." The former news anchor said other things Mueller is working on will "make yesterday pale by comparison." "Always keeping in mind that Mueller knows so much more than he has shown," Rather said in an interview with CNN's Don Lemon. "If you think [Cohen guilty plea, Manafort conviction] was a shock to our democratic system, just stay tuned. Because the other things Mueller is working on, and sooner or later we'll find out what they are,...

On 'The Jimmy Dore Show' Ron Placone, Stef Zamorano, and Jimmy Dore discuss an NBC News article which gleefully reported that the conviction of Paul Manafort for tax fraud was the first successful "public test" of Robert Mueller's investigation. "The problem with this is, you can't charge the sitting president with a crime, and Trump will never be impeached," Dore said. "Get that out of your head, that will never happen. Well, maybe if they found collusion, like if there was evidence of him being a Manchurian candidate to help Russia at the expense of the U.S., then maybe, maybe,...