New: Another Jan. 6 defendant affiliated with the Oath Keepers is set to plead guilty — Mark Grods is scheduled to appear in court this afternoon s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2098…
Per newly unsealed docs, Grods' plea agreement with the feds includes cooperation, and they asked to keep his case secret while he testified before the grand jury s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2098…
Story: A member of the alleged Oath Keepers conspiracy will admit to stashing guns outside DC for Jan. 6, confirming the govt's longstanding allegation that the group came prepared for violence.
Grods agreed to cooperate with the government and testify before the grand jury as part of his plea deal. Prosecutors had asked a judge earlier this week to keep his case under seal until today buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
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NOW: Here is the unsealed indictment against the Trump Organization and CFO Allen Weisselberg. More to come. s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2098…
BREAKING, with more to come: The Trump Organization and longtime executive Allen Weisselberg are charged with carrying out a multiyear, million-dollar tax fraud scheme buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
New: Donald Trump wasn't personally charged in the indictment against his company and a longtime executive. But he's not off the hook just yet.
How to think about Trump's legal exposure going forward now that we have the latest indictment: buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
Now: SCOTUS has ruled that two Arizona voting restrictions (tossing out-of-precinct ballots and banning third-party collection of ballots) don't violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which broadly prohibits racial discrimination supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf…
This was a 6-3 decision, with Justice Alito writing the majority opinion, joined by the rest of the court's conservative wing.
The three liberal justices dissent. Kagan: "Today, the Court undermines Section 2 and the right it provides."
What did the court do?
- Upheld two challenged voting restrictions in Arizona
- Declined to adopt a clear test for how Section 2 applies going forward, but offered "guideposts" that interpret when it can apply more narrowly, making it harder to win other challenges in the future
Hello from the DC federal courthouse, where Mark Grods is about to plead guilty in the Oath Keeper conspiracy case. Grods is here in person, waiting for Judge Amit Mehta to take the bench.
Going over the terms of Grods' plea deal, Judge Mehta says that the estimated sentencing guidelines range at this point that Grods is facing is 51-63 months in prison
Grods will be allowed to go home to Alabama pending sentencing (no date for that yet, while he cooperates). No contact allowed with Oath Keepers or anyone charged in the related Oath Keepers conspiracy case, no firearms/weapons, no passport
Now: SCOTUS leaves in place the federal eviction moratorium, which is set to expire at the end of July. Roberts and Kavanaugh join Breyer, Kagan, and Sotomayor; the other conservatives would have lifted it asap after a lower court judge concluded it was unlawful (appeal pending)
Kavanaugh writes to make clear the CDC's decision to specify this would be the final extension is what swayed him not to intervene now. It seems safe to say the delay in SCOTUS responding to the challengers was at least in part the justices waiting to see what the CDC would do
Now: SCOTUS votes 5-4 to keep the federal eviction moratorium in place for now, with Roberts and Kavanaugh joining the court's liberal wing to reject an effort to immediately end it buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
Well this one slipped under the radar: There was a plea hearing yesterday for Jan. 6 defendant Robert Bauer (the court had said before this *could* convert to a plea hearing but didn't provide public notice that was happening). Waiting to get docs but he's a misdemeanor-only case
He got the same deal as the other misdemeanor-only defendants so far, pleading to one count of parading, picketing, demonstrating (max sentence 6 mos in jail) + $500 restitution
Ah and Bauer's co-defendant (and cousin) Edward Hemenway also entered a guilty plea yesterday, same terms. Sentencing for both men scheduled for Oct. 13
Hello from Judge Trevor McFadden's virtual courtroom, where there's a status hearing re: Jan. 6 defs Jenny Cudd and Eliel Rosa. AUSA says govt is weighing defense requests for a misdemeanor plea deal — Cudd/Rosa are charged w/ one felony, obstruction of an official proceeding
AUSA says plea negotiations have been "fruitful" so far, and all the lawyers are on board with asking for another extension of deadlines to allow for more time
There are a sizeable number of Jan. 6 cases a la Cudd/Rosa where people aren't charged with violence or leadership or conspiracy, but they are charged with one felony for obstructing Congress. Can they successfully negotiate down to a misdemeanor deal? TBD