New: Michael Riley, a 25-year veteran of the US Capitol Police, is facing a two-count indictment for obstructing the Jan. 6 investigation by urging an unnamed rioter to take down posts online from the day and for deleting his own Facebook messages s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2108…
"Hey [Person I], im a capitol police officer who agrees with your political stance. Take down the part about being in the building they are currently investigating and everyone who was in the building is going to charged. Just looking out!"
A US Capitol Police officer has been charged with attempting to obstruct the Jan. 6 investigation by directing a rioter to delete Facebook posts and deleting his own messages. buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
Michael Riley is about to make his first court appearance, stay tuned.
Riley is appearing by video for his initial appearance before US Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey, dial-in info attached:
The govt is okay letting Riley go home for now while his case is pending, conditions include:
- no firearms in possession/home
- any travel requires notification/no int'l travel without court approval
- weekly check-ins
- no contact with certain people the govt will specify
Riley won't be arraigned today because his lawyer says they haven't had time to go over the indictment, that'll happen at a later hearing
His case will be assigned to US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, and that's who he'll appear before for the arraignment (for now set for Oct. 26) and whatever comes next. That's a wrap, typical for a short initial appearance.
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Hello from the DC federal courthouse, where Rudy Giuliani is waiting to get through security as jury selection is set to begin this a.m. to determine how much in damages he'll owe two Georgia election workers who sued him for defamation. Stay tuned.
And jury selection is just getting underway in Rudy Giuliani's damages trial -- Judge Beryl Howell, who was not amused that Giuliani was not in the courtroom at 9am when they were supposed to begin, is presiding
After a few hiccups related to the list of prospective jurors, *now* voir dire is officially underway in the defamation damages trial against Rudy Giuliani
BREAKING: A Colorado judge has ruled that Donald Trump can appear on 2024 ballots - she found that he *did* engage in insurrection by inciting the Jan. 6 attack, *but* that the Constitutional prohibition does not apply to the presidency. More to come. assets.bwbx.io/documents/user…
NEW: A Colorado judge found Donald Trump engaged in insurrection by inciting the Jan. 6 attack.
But she held the Constitution's insurrectionist ban didn't apply to a president/the presidency, meaning he'll appear on 2024 ballots.
Lawyers for the Colorado voters who brought the insurrection disqualification case against Trump say they'll appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court. Whoever loses there can petition SCOTUS to intervene bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Today at 10am: Prosecutors will make their case before a DC federal judge for a partial gag order restricting what Donald Trump can say about the election obstruction case against him.
On how as long as Donald Trump is facing criminal charges and civil claims in court, what he says and does in the outside world can have consequences in a courtroom: bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Chutkan begins by swiftly resolving an issue raised by the govt over how to handle a future defense survey of the potential jury pool in DC. Judge is okay with defense agreement to give advance notice, timing, sample size, doesn't see need to micromanage further at this point
Justice Clarence Thomas's 2022 financial disclosure is in, noting three trips w/ expenses paid for by Harlan Crow:
Thomas notes 2014 sale of properties to Crow (1st reported by ProPublica), saying he "inadvertently" didn't realize that should be reported assets.bwbx.io/documents/user…
Justice Samuel Alito's 2022 disclosure is also out now:
No travel reported paid for by individuals, no note re: ProPublica reporting on earlier luxury trip reimbursed by GOP donor Paul Singer (Alito has publicly defended this/denounced the reporting)assets.bwbx.io/documents/user…
Justice Clarence Thomas:
- reported three 2022 trips w/ expenses paid for by Harlan Crow
- said he "inadvertently" didn't realize he had to report 2014 property sales to Crow
- defended not reporting earlier "personal hospitality," private plane trips bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Hello on this humid late August a.m. from the DC federal courthouse, where Judge Tanya Chutkan will hear arguments and is expected to set a trial date in Trump's 2020 election obstruction case. Special counsel wants to start Jan. 2. Trump wants April 2026: bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Judge Chutkan is on the bench and starts by saying that *neither* trial date proposal is "acceptable" -- DOJ wants Jan. 2, Trump wants April 2026.
Says trial sched can't depend on a defendant's personal and professional obligations, so Trump will have to make a date work
Chutkan says she is taking into account Trump's other cases and trial schedules, but explains why other arguments for a 2026 trial date don't fly -- SCOTUS has said time of investigation doesn't mean defense gets same time for prep, comparisons to other J6 cases aren't on point
Hello on this not-too-hot August morning from the DC federal courthouse, where Donald Trump is expected to appear for a 4pm arraignment. It is obviously many hours until 4pm but here we are! A few streets are closed so far, barricades still going up, much heavier police presence https://t.co/UxzL1blKgWtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
The most popular employee at the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse continues to be Legend the bomb-sniffing dog, hard at work. I can't take photos inside so you'll have to take my word that she's also adorable. A Very Good Dog.