MASAXET said:

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aggiehawg said:

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Point being, attorneys are given wide latitude in opening statements. Judges very seldom interrupt them and I mean very seldom.

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That is highly dependent on the judge so I would not necessarily agree with that as a blanket statement. I'm not familiar enough with Ellis to say if this is a big deal or not, especially since he interrupted both sides' opening statements. He may be one of the ones more prone to that, which is not all that unusual

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I suppose this is true, but Its never happened in my experience. I've gotten opposing counsel to object once (which was by design to make him look like a whiny *****), but I've never seen a judge intervene sua sponte in state or federal court.

MASAXET said:

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aggiehawg said:

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Point being, attorneys are given wide latitude in opening statements. Judges very seldom interrupt them and I mean very seldom.

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That is highly dependent on the judge so I would not necessarily agree with that as a blanket statement. I'm not familiar enough with Ellis to say if this is a big deal or not, especially since he interrupted both sides' opening statements. He may be one of the ones more prone to that, which is not all that unusual

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You have been dressed down by a judge during an opening statement? I never was.

blindey said:

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MASAXET said:

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aggiehawg said:

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Point being, attorneys are given wide latitude in opening statements. Judges very seldom interrupt them and I mean very seldom.

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That is highly dependent on the judge so I would not necessarily agree with that as a blanket statement. I'm not familiar enough with Ellis to say if this is a big deal or not, especially since he interrupted both sides' opening statements. He may be one of the ones more prone to that, which is not all that unusual

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I suppose this is true, but Its never happened in my experience. I've gotten opposing counsel to object once (which was by design to make him look like a whiny *****), but I've never seen a judge intervene sua sponte in state or federal court.

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Judge Hughes twice and Gilmore once in So. Dist. of Texas. State judge in Beaumont was known for interjecting as well but I didn't see it in person.

FWIW, I get the impression Hughes and Ellis are very similar in their approaches in a lot of ways

I can tell you from personal experience that a certain judge mentioned on this thread (that I will not name by name) will interrupt your opening statement even if he is completely on your side. Roll Tide

aggiehawg said:

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MASAXET said:

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aggiehawg said:

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Point being, attorneys are given wide latitude in opening statements. Judges very seldom interrupt them and I mean very seldom.

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That is highly dependent on the judge so I would not necessarily agree with that as a blanket statement. I'm not familiar enough with Ellis to say if this is a big deal or not, especially since he interrupted both sides' opening statements. He may be one of the ones more prone to that, which is not all that unusual

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You have been dressed down by a judge during an opening statement? I never was.

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No and I didn't say that. My first chair when I was second chair was interrupted, but not dressed down (judge asked "counsel to please confine to evidence that will be presented"). Seen opposing counsel interrupted on a couple occasions as well, but I wouldn't call any of them being dressed down.

BMX Bandit said:

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I can tell you from personal experience that a certain judge mentioned on this thread (that I will not name by name) will interrupt your opening statement even if he is completely on your side. Roll Tide

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Don't worry, I know - which is exactly why I made my comment

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/31/politics/mueller-investigation-foreign-agent-referrals-new-york/index.html

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Exclusive: Mueller refers foreign agent inquiries to New York prosecutors

Special counsel Robert Mueller has referred a collection of cases to New York federal prosecutors concerning whether several high-profile American lobbyists and operatives failed to register their work as foreign agents, according to people familiar with the matter....

Since the spring, Mueller has referred matters to SDNY involving longtime Democratic lobbyist Tony Podesta and his work for his former firm, the Podesta Group, and former Minnesota Republican Rep. Vin Weber and his work for Mercury Public Affairs, the sources said.

One source said that former Obama White House counsel Greg Craig, a former partner at law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, is also part of the inquiry.

None of the entities involved have been charged with wrongdoing, and there is no indication the SDNY inquiry will result in criminal charges.

t's not clear whether they are considered one case or separate matters, these people said, though all involve inquiries into whether the men improperly performed work on behalf of groups associated with Ukraine without registering with the Justice Department as foreign agents....

At least one of the matters, involving Podesta, was referred to SDNY by Mueller's team shortly before the FBI executed searches of Cohen's home, office and hotel room in early April, according to the sources, though there is no sign that the timing was related to the Cohen investigation. It couldn't be determined if the other matters were referred at the same time.

It's also not clear exactly why Mueller referred the matters to federal prosecutors in New York. Both Mercury and Skadden have offices in Manhattan, though Weber and Craig are based in Washington, DC, and performed the work in question while based in offices there. Podesta and his former firm are also based in Washington. SDNY, however, could claim jurisdiction for reasons such as the location of banking transactions associated with the activity under examination....

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CNN reporting, so Podesta's name is not in the headline.

BMX Bandit said:

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I can tell you from personal experience that a certain judge mentioned on this thread (that I will not name by name) will interrupt your opening statement even if he is completely on your side. Roll Tide

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That reminds me of a funny story. The Hubs is, of course, a Razorback. He was on Razorbacks' message boards for years. There was a particularly mouthy Razorback lawyer who practiced in Dallas and one night, he just went off on a federal judge that had pissed him off that day. Named the judge, time of the hearing, you name it. Unhinged.

So I start dictating to The Hubs what to post, sparring with the guy but also warning him that the district rules would not be friendly to him. The exchange went on for about two hours before the Dallas lawyer suddenly snapped that he would be in a lot of trouble if those posts ever came to the attention of that judge. Then the deletions started as he could delete his posts but not the ones The Hubs had quoted.

This guy had always something of a jerk poster so The Hubs was enjoying this immensely. When the lawyer threw in the towel and PM'd him to request similar edits, The Hubs acquiesced and accommodated him. (With some urging on my part.)

The next day, as other posters came back to the thread it was a combo of "what the hell happened?" and "Summary?" And for several years, even that lawyer believed The Hubs was a firefighter/lawyer.

CNN in lock step

Do these people not know what a Vera Wang custom wedding dress costs? To be worn one time? Can be two times that ostrich jacket.

Very great story !

From behind a paywall

Quote:

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Mr. Asonye told jurors that they would hear from Mr. Manafort's employees, including his bookkeeper, and Mr. Manafort's tax preparers, who would testify that they had been misled or that Mr. Manafort had directed them to falsify documents. "None of this happened by accident," Mr. Asonye said.

In response, Mr. Zehnle said the accounts in Cyprus were set up only at the request of his clients; that Mr. Manafort had reported $27 million in income to the U.S. government from the years at issue; and that Mr. Manafort believed his employees had access to all of his financial records and were handling them appropriately.

"Paul Manafort did not come up with this," Mr. Zehnle said.

Mr. Zehnle also said the case had only arisen because the government was being misled by Mr. Gates, whom he accused of "embezzling millions" from his long-time employer and pointing the finger at Mr. Manafort as a way to "save himself."

"Rick Gates is their foundation," Mr. Zehnle said. A lawyer for Mr. Gates couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

The jury was seated earlier Tuesday after prosecutors from the special counsel's office and lawyers for Mr. Manafort rejected about 20 potential jurors. That left a jury of 12 and four alternates, who were sworn Tuesday afternoon as Mr. Manafort looked on wearing a dark suit.

Around 100 potential jurors had earlier filled the courtroom as U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis read aloud the allegations by Mr. Mueller's prosecutors.

Tuesday morning, Judge Ellis rejected Mr. Manafort's request to bar prosecutors' use of about 50 documents from Mr. Manafort's years of consulting work in Ukraine. Still, the judge told prosecutors to work with Mr. Manafort's team to remove documents that weren't necessary to show Mr. Manafort earned the income at issue for work he performed and to remove documents that prosecutors don't plan to elicit further testimony about.

"I don't want a data dump," Judge Ellis said in front of a large courtroom packed with dozens of journalists, including from overseas publications.

Around a dozen protesters stood outside the courthouse beside video cameras, holding signs with slogans including "It's Mueller time," and "was the $18k karaoke machine worth it?" That was an apparent reference to one of the expensive purchases Mr. Manafort allegedly made that prosecutors said they planned to describe at trial.

The day ended with the testimony of Tad Devine, a longtime political consultant who worked with Mr. Manafort in Ukraine. Mr. Devine helped Mr. Manafort on the campaign of Viktor Yanukovych, who led a pro-Russia party to victory in Ukraine in 2010, before he was ousted in 2014.

Mr. Devine described himself as a friend of Mr. Manafort's, saying he "worked harder than everybody."

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Hughes is an interesting guy. I remember one time when I was a clerk I had to make an appointment with him and meet him about a criminal case where years later, a convicted defendant was trying to hide/discharge monetary criminal penalties. He was polite as he could be with me, but you could see him preparing to lose his **** on this defendant the second I walked out of the room. Sure enough, defendant was ordered to appear (I think the next day). It did not go well for him.

Long story short, Hughes struck young clerk me as a terrifying man.

With respect to Vanessa Gilmore.... no comment.

But I've never been interrupted by a judge or had a counter party interrupted by a judge. Maybe it's just the nature of cases we work?

These people cannot even help themselves anymore. Just flat out lie

"Now I'm told that Donald Trump is watching the proceedings very carefully. As he was flying down to Florida this evening where he is going to be holding a campaign rally tonight I'm told he was watching the proceeding on television."

First off there are no TV cameras in the courtroom, the Judge barred all electronic devices, including phones.

The ten protestors outside the Manafort courthouse were really effective.



The soy boy in this picture is Bill Christeson and he has been among the placard-carrying protesters who have appeared at all of Paul Manafort's past hearings.









Multiple angle shots, same 10 protestors eventually got tire and had to rest, until the TV cameras started rolling again. Earning those checks.

Immunity my ass. So this scumbag is MIA for 5 months, and hysteria broke out when somebody claimed he was getting immunity. Five months and not a peep and now they roll this out that Mueller has pushed these three prosecutions to the SDNY? Whatever Manafort did as far as illegal lobbying goes, you can be sure Tony Podesta and crew did that ten fold if not more. So three members of the Podesta are getting lawyered up and we will see what happens.

He'll plead out to a ten grand fine for a FARA violation and walk, if anything.

VaultingChemist said:

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Could Mueller be a double agent? Doing work for the dems and cons?

Why not the DC USA? The lobbying work should have occurred there. Not saying the SDNY doesn't have jurisdiction if Podesta, Craig and Weber have residences there but just curious to me. Podesta and Mercury were unindicted co-conspirators in the Manafort DC case.

aggiehawg said:

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Why not the DC USA? The lobbying work should have occurred there. Not saying the SDNY doesn't have jurisdiction if Podesta, Craig and Weber have residences there but just curious to me. Podesta and Mercury were unindicted co-conspirators in the Manafort DC case.

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I read somewhere they have a task force at the SDNY that is totally plugged in to the international banking and specialize in the banking, money laundering, shell game with the corporate satellites, that Lobbyists use to hide themselves.

Maybe it's true or maybe just wishful thinking. But supposedly they are the best at going after them

Just checked. Craig lives in the DC area, not NYC. I am not saying this referral was made to bury it and still claim higher ground talking points but I can't dismiss it out of hand either.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/01/trump-urges-attorney-general-sessions-to-stop-mueller-probe-right-now.html

Quote:

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Trump urges Attorney General Sessions to stop Mueller probe 'right now'

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Quote:

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• President Donald Trump on Wednesday called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to end Robert Mueller's Russia probe "right now," escalating his attacks on the inquiry.
• "Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now," the president wrote in a post on Twitter. "Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA!"
• The president's attacks on the special counsel have escalated in recent weeks. Trump's attorney, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, made headlines on Monday saying that "collusion is not a crime."

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"lovely Lisa Page"

Anyone else see that? She has flipped and everyone involved in the "insurance policy" should be scared shltless.

Bonfire1996 said:

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"lovely Lisa Page"

Anyone else see that? She has flipped and everyone involved in the "insurance policy" should be scared shltless.

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Was it sarcasm?

TexAgs91 said:

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Bonfire1996 said:

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"lovely Lisa Page"

Anyone else see that? She has flipped and everyone involved in the "insurance policy" should be scared shltless.

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Was it sarcasm?

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Maybe maybe not. Her first day of testimony behind closed doors appeared to reveal a lot different take on the whole ordeal, than what Strzok delivered, then on day two it almost sounded like a handler got to her and she was less forth coming.

Time will tell

Prognightmare said:

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Podesta wrapped up in the Witch hunt?

Quote:

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In a July 13, 2017 email to numerous FBI officials (some of whom are redacted), Strzok says he wants to keep the privileges he had while serving as the deputy assistant director (DAD) in the counterintelligence division (CD) of the FBI:

"Broadly, I need to be able to act at least in the capacity of my old CD DAD job approve NSLs [national security letters], conduct [redacted] declassify information, [redacted] agent travel, requisitions, etc. Of those, the most problematic and one of the most essential is declassification authority."

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Quote:

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FBI Assistant Director of the counterintelligence division, William Priestap, responded:

"In answer to your initial question, while assigned to the Special Counsel's office, you will retain your CD DAD authorities, to include declassification authority. Since you will take your non-transferrable declassification authority with you, CD will work to obtain another declassification authority slot for the DAD who is chosen to replace you. Assuming the 7th floor approves, you will remain on CD's books as a fourth (floating) DAD. When you move on from your DAD position, your DAD slot will revert back to HRD."

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Unsure what all of those acronyms are.

Quote:

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Judicial Watch President, Tom Fitton, says, "These new emails show anti-Trump FBI official Peter Strzok's 'assignment' gave the Mueller Special Counsel operation special authorities to target President Trump. We know Strzok can't be trusted and the Special Counsel should tell us if Strzok abused his special authorities to target President Trump."

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Sara Carter

RoscoePColtrane said:

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Judge Ellis just dressed down the Mueller team and told them to stop using the word oligarch in the trial to describe everyone Manafort associated with and they will not be warned again.

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The report I heard was that he even mentioned Soros by name as an example of a rich guy who is not an oligarch.