Slamming jurors, rewarding convicts: Fuels for a new White House scandal
Former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik in 2007. Credit: AFP via Getty Images/Don Emmert
U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe of Pennsylvania heads the 1,100-member independent Federal Judges Association, which declares as one of its chief goals "sustaining our system of justice through civics education and public outreach."
They may look to start reaching out and educating Justice Department officials.
On Monday, Rufe called an "emergency" meeting to discuss President Donald Trump's intervention in politically sensitive cases. “There are plenty of issues that we are concerned about,” Rufe told USA Today. “We’ll talk all of this through.”
One day earlier, it was disclosed that 1,100 former Justice Department professionals had signed a letter demanding the resignation of Attorney General William Barr.
Their protest stems from the controversy surrounding a recently convicted felon and longtime Trump friend, self-proclaimed "dirty trickster" Roger Stone. Four prosecutors quit the case after department higher-ups withdrew their memo to a judge asking that Stone serve 7 to 9 years in prison.
This has become a scandal all its own.
The stench of self-serving official action is growing as pungent as it did in the Ukraine uproar.
Most uniquely, Trump has aimed his Twitter abuse at the forewoman of the jury that convicted Stone, who awaits sentencing.
"Pretty obvious he should (get a new trial)," the president tweeted from his perch on high, "based on the unambiguous & self outed bias of the foreperson of the jury."
The lead juror, a lawyer named Tomeka Hart, indeed indicated an anti-Trump view in social media postings. She's also a Democrat and former Memphis, Tennessee, school commissioner, as she disclosed during jury selection.
The relevant question is whether Hart's opinions tainted her civic duty regarding Stone.
Either way, the prosecution had a pretty clear-cut case. Stone's own texts showed him tampering with a witness and seeking to obstruct Congress, as charged.
Stone bragged during the 2016 campaign about his contacts with fugitive WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange regarding hacked emails. He even told a then-ally to "do a Frank Pentangeli." That's a "Godfather" movie reference to falsely recanting congressional testimony.
Claiming juror bias may be a good strategy for Stone's lawyers to pursue in court. But Trump from his high perch is convicting Hart in the court of public opinion — less than a week after Barr said publicly the president's tweets make it "impossible" for the AG to do his job.
Is the White House tampering with the case? Sure looks like it.
Will this succeed? Results are always a question for Trump, who never got Ukraine to announce his desired investigation of Joe and Hunter Biden.
Still, if Joe Biden fails in the Democratic presidential primaries, Trump may boast — perhaps baselessly — that he smeared him out of contention.
It certainly looks like he and Barr are trying to get former national security adviser Michael Flynn off the hook despite his guilty plea, for which sentencing repeatedly has been delayed. Barr now has Jeff Jensen, the U.S. attorney in St. Louis and a Trump appointee, helping "review" Flynn's case.
When a politician faces special interests, no interests are more special than those of your friends and acquaintances.
On Tuesday, Trump announced more of his pardons and commuted sentences.
One was awarded as expected to Bernard Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner, fervent Trump supporter and close aide of ex-mayor and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
Kerik served 3 years for tax fraud in a case related to an allegedly mob-tied construction executive and lying to the White House while being vetted to serve as Homeland Security secretary.
Trump, as long expected, commuted the 14-year sentence of former Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges involving the selling of a U.S. Senate seat. Blagojevich was a contestant on Trump's show "Celebrity Apprentice."
In case you thought this wasn't personal, the president blamed the harsh term on his own perceived foes in law enforcement, including ex-FBI Director James Comey.
So Trump has been doing some public outreach of his own — by showing a stunningly permissive stance on corruption, depending on the defendant.
The political storm over the courts has just begun.
Dan Janison is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
