Tag: corey lewandowski
District Of Columbia Bar Counsel Urges Disbarment Of Rudy Giuliani

District Of Columbia Bar Counsel Urges Disbarment Of Rudy Giuliani

Rudy Giuliani, ex-New York mayor and personal Trump lawyer, “weaponized his law license” in a constitution-undermining gambit to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Pennsylvania, violating the terms of his law license, a D.C. Bar’s disciplinary counsel declared on Thursday.

Lead prosecuting attorney Hamilton “Phil” Fox, whose Office of Disciplinary Counsel brought forth the charges, argued that since Giuliani’s election-subverting crusade in Pennsylvania was part of a large scheme to undermine democracy, only the most severe sanction — losing his license to practice law in the jurisdiction — would be appropriate.

“I think the seriousness of misconduct calls for only one sanction, and that is the sanction of disbarment,” Fox told the D.C. Bar.

The finding, panel chairman Robert C. Bernius said, was “preliminary and nonbinding,” reached after a week of testimony from Giuliani and other witnesses, including Bernard Kerik, a former Trump adviser; Trump lawyer Christina Bobb; and disgraced ex-senior Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski, who was accused of — and indicted for — sexual harassment.

“What Mr. Giuliani did was use his law license to undermine the legitimacy of a presidential election, to undermine the basic premise of the democratic system that we all live in, that has been in place since the 1800s in this country,” Fox said.

Giuliani, Fox alleged during the turbulent first hearing, spearheaded former President Trump’s nationwide effort to overturn his defeat, partaking in legal crusades — in particular, a frivolous and ultimately futile lawsuit in a Pennsylvania federal court — baselessly alleging voter fraud.

“Mr. Giuliani was responsible for filing a frivolous action asking a court in Pennsylvania to deny millions of people the right to vote,” Fox said, noting that many had marched and died for voting rights.

Giuliani, the panel’s complaint, alleged sought audacious and extraordinary relief in his Rolodex of post-election litigations in Pennsylvania and other states, including orders barring the certification of the 2020 presidential election results and “[a] declaration that Donald Trump was the winner of the legal votes cast in Pennsylvania in the November 3, 2020, election and thus the recipient of Pennsylvania’s electors.”

In a tense questioning session during the hearing, Giuliani repeated false 2020 election fraud allegations and accused the Biden administration of persecuting him.

“Mr. Giuliani has testified on several occasions that he believes there was a conspiracy. There was a conspiracy, and he was the head of it,” Fox countered.

On Thursday, Fox insisted that “Any lawyer that engages in this kind of misconduct, harming the country as this has done, has at least got to realize that his or her law license is at risk.”

He also noted that Giuliani’s election denialism was unbecoming, especially considering his “distinguished” career “twenty years ago” as a former U.S. attorney and federal prosecutor.

“It’s like there are two different people. I don’t know if something happened to Mr. Giuliani or what,” Fox said.

Giuliani took umbrage at the recommendation and — ignoring his attorney’s advice — launched into a tirade when the proceedings wrapped up, lambasting the panel for permitting Fox to present what he called a “typical, unethical, cheap attack.”

“The fact you advocate another side in a case does not make you a traitor. I have put my life up and at risk for democracy,” Giuliani barked.

I’ll put my work on democracy … up against Mr. Fox and anyone else. For that man to engage in that kind of a personal attack when there was no record of that, and for you to allow him to do that, I consider an outrage,” he added.

Giuliani’s attorney, John Levanthal, formerly a New York judge, accused the panel of putting for politicized argument and argued for a lighter disciplinary measure, noting that the Pennsylvania fraud lawsuit at issue was rejected.

The D.C. Bar will consider written statements from Fox and Giuliani before issuing its recommendation to the D.C Court of Appeals, which will then make its decision after deliberations.

This process, the Washington Post notes, could take up to a year.

GOP Donor Accuses Lewandowski Of 'Sexually Graphic' Harassment At Vegas Fundraiser

GOP Donor Accuses Lewandowski Of 'Sexually Graphic' Harassment At Vegas Fundraiser

Reprinted with permission from AlterNet

A longtime aide to former President Donald Trump is facing accusations of misconduct after allegedly inflicting brazen, repeatedly rejected sexual overtures, including physical contact, on a female Republican donor.

According to Politico, Trashelle Odom — wife of Idaho executive John Odom — is accusing Corey Lewandowski of "making unwanted sexual advances" toward her at a charity event that was held in Las Vegas, Nev., this past weekend. Odom "alleges that Lewandowski repeatedly touched her, including on her leg and buttocks, and spoke to her in sexually graphic terms" while they were at the event.A donor and longtime aide for former President Donald Trump is facing accusations after allegedly making sexual advances toward a female victim.

Speaking to Politico, Odom recounted what occurred on September 26 when she crossed paths with Lewandowski.

"On the evening of September 26 in Las Vegas, Nevada, I attended a dinner to support a charity and spend time with wonderful friends," Odom said in a statement to the publication. "He repeatedly touched me inappropriately, said vile and disgusting things to me, stalked me, and made me feel violated and fearful," she said in reference to Lewandowski.

Odom went on to explain why she is speaking out about the encounter. "I am coming forward because he needs to be held accountable," she continued. "I am blessed to have a loving husband and family behind me. I want other women to know that you can be heard, too, and together we can stop terrible things like this from happening."

Odom's attorney has also released a statement detailing his client's account. According to the attorney, Lewandowski aggressively pursued Odom as he made advances "approximately 10 times."

"Mrs. Odom stated that over the course of the dinner, Mr. Lewandowski tried to hold her hand, and she pushed his hand away. He touched her leg, and she moved it away. He grabbed her napkin off her lap and tried to touch her leg again, and she pulled her dress over her leg, to move his hand away and cover her skin," Odom's attorney wrote in the statement.

"He touched her back and she tried to get away," the statement continued. "He described an area where he was sore from a workout, on the side of his butt, but he demonstrated this by touching her there—on the upper side of her rear end. Lewandowski tried to touch her approximately 10 times, and Mrs. Odom always rebuffed him."

In wake of the latest allegations, David Chesnoff, the Las Vegas-based attorney representing Lewandowski, also released a brief statement in response to the situation. However, he did not directly address Odom's allegations. "Accusations and rumors appear to be morphing by the minute and we will not dignify them with a further response," he said.

EDITOR'S NOTE: On Wednesday evening, the Trump apparatus announced that the former president has severed ties with Lewandowski, according to this tweet posted by New York Times correspondent Maggie Haberman:

Donald Trump

Trump Fires Pentagon Advisors, Appoints Cronies And Denies Briefings To Biden

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

On Friday, the White House fired nine members of the Pentagon's Defense Business Board and installed people loyal to President Donald Trump, Politico reports. At the same time, Trump's Pentagon officials have refused members of President-elect Joe Biden's transition team to meet with officials at U.S. intelligence agencies.

The aforementioned board members were all fired via form letter email that told them that their terms had expired — even though that wasn't true for three of the members — and they were neither given any warning nor thanks for their service.

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Impeachment Inquiry: How Democratic Counsel Dismantled Lewandowski

Impeachment Inquiry: How Democratic Counsel Dismantled Lewandowski

Americans have good reason to suspect Donald Trump of committing various and serious crimes, but they have no immediate means to hold him accountable. Rising frustration over this malefactor’s impunity was only exacerbated by the latest House Judiciary Committee hearings — which featured two empty chairs and an insolent, prevaricating witness named Corey Lewandowski.

When those hearings ended after six tendentious hours, the public judgment on Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the committee chairman, and his Democratic members, was harsh. Lewandowski, Trump’s former campaign manager, simply refused to answer questions even though he had no legal right to do so, and he ought to have been held immediately in contempt. Republicans on the committee mocked and interrupted the hearing, acting openly as stooges for the White House.

And with few exceptions, the Democrats couldn’t advance their express purpose: to communicate the damning findings of the Mueller Report — the same objective they failed to accomplish when that report’s author finally delivered his stilted testimony before the committee last July.

Although Nadler himself doesn’t hesitate to say that Trump should be impeached, the obstacles he faces are formidable. Speaker Nancy Pelosi surely agrees, but she is reluctant to endorse anything beyond an “impeachment inquiry” — at least not without a solid public consensus that protects her most vulnerable members. But the usually savvy speaker has created a political cul-de-sac. Without her strong support, the impeachment inquiry cannot develop any momentum, and until it gains speed, there will be no firm majority for putting Trump on trial.

That is why the educational purpose of the hearings is so important — and why the usual political grandstanding must be set aside so they can succeed. How that might work became visible only toward the conclusion of the long confrontation with Lewandowski.

Following hours of nasty exchanges between the witness and House members that produced very little, the Democrats turned over the questioning of Lewandowski to Barry Berke, a highly competent criminal defense attorney. Penetrating and implacable, Berke shook Lewandowski’s arrogance, destroyed his credibility, and demonstrated his guilty knowledge of what Trump had asked him to do — namely, to force then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to kill the Mueller probe.

Aided by video clips, Berke showed how Lewandowski had lied on national television when he claimed that he would testify voluntarily before the special counsel. In fact, he first claimed his Fifth Amendment protection and then negotiated a grant of immunity. He also lied when he said on television that nobody in the White House had asked him to approach Sessions on Trump’s behalf. And as he made that admission, Lewandowski angrily retorted that he had no “obligation” to tell the truth to the American people. He will now be known forever as an unrepentant liar — the perfect Trump servant.

Even more important, however, was Berke’s skillful interrogation showing how Lewandowski attempted to conceal the mission Trump had assigned him — by seeking to meet Sessions outside Justice Department headquarters. He didn’t want any log or record to document his actions. Ultimately he had failed to carry out Trump’s wishes, while attempting to get others to do the dirty work.

All of Lewandowski’s mendacities and maneuvers demonstrated, as Berke explained, that he knew what Trump had asked him to do was unethical and unlawful. Certainly that was the conclusion reached by Mueller, who listed Lewandowski’s misadventure as one of several clear instances of obstruction of justice. (Even though never carried out, that scheme was a felonious conspiracy to obstruct justice.)

In the end, Lewandowski was reduced to whining that unlike Berke, he “never had the privilege to attend Harvard Law School,” so he had no way of knowing whether Trump’s instructions were illegal. There is no word for that except pathetic.

Beyond his decimation of a malevolent clown, Berke’s tour de force provided a model for how Nadler should proceed. Going forward, the chairman should let Berke question the witness first — and only permit the members to get their five minutes of fame when the counsel is finished. And he must move now, with the backing of his committee, to sanction the contemptible Lewandowski as well as the two witnesses who failed to show up.  They are assaulting the Constitution, which he and his fellow House members swore to uphold.

Duty calls.