Criminal Justice & Policing
Fees for police body camera footage lead to ‘pretty steep’ charges thanks to new law
Public records advocates say an Arizona law that allows police departments to charge hourly rates to review body-worn camera footage before releasing it is leading to massive fees for the public and potentially illegal charges. But the law’s main proponent said that’s just a sign that it’s working as intended, because the whole point was […]
DOJ looks to revive classified documents case against Trump, argues judge’s dismissal was ‘flawed’
WASHINGTON — U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith has asked a federal appeals court to reverse the dismissal of a case alleging former President Donald Trump mishandled classified documents at his Florida home after he left the Oval Office. The appeals process could take months, likely closing the door on any movement in the classified documents […]
Arizona ‘fake electors’ use anti-SLAPP defense, claim First Amendment privilege
PHOENIX (CN) — Donald Trump allies including Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Republican leaders argued Monday that an indictment accusing them of conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election should be dismissed under Arizona’s newly amended anti-SLAPP statute, barring prosecutions intended to inhibit free exercise of First Amendment rights. Fourteen of the 16 remaining defendants in Arizona’s […]
Trump asks New York judge to delay felony sentencing past Election Day
Former President Donald Trump asked a New York court Thursday to delay until after November’s presidential election his sentencing for the 34 state felonies the court convicted him of in May. Judge Juan Merchan scheduled a sentencing hearing for Sept. 18. But that date overlaps with early voting in the presidential election and gives Trump […]
Added delays in store for Trump in 2020 election interference case
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith was granted more time on Friday before having to give an outline on the next steps his office is taking in the 2020 election interference case against former President Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nominee. The delay pushes the case proceedings further into the thick of the presidential race, […]
First guilty plea in AZ fake elector case comes from GOP activist Lorraine Pellegrino
The first of Arizona’s 11 fake electors has pleaded guilty of attempting to undermine the will of voters in the state in 2020 to keep former President Donald Trump in office, even though voters in Arizona — and nationwide — rejected him and instead chose Joe Biden. Conservative activist Lorraine Pellegrino, who previously served as […]
Jenna Ellis, former Trump attorney, cuts deal with prosecutors in AZ fake electors criminal case
Conservative media personality and former Donald Trump campaign attorney Jenna Ellis has made a deal to cooperate with Arizona prosecutors in their case against the state’s GOP fake electors who sought to keep Trump in office even though he lost the election. Ellis, who was censured in Colorado last year for making false statements about […]
Mayes: Defendant in AZ fake elector case has flipped, will testify for the prosecution
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is planning to announce next week that one of the 18 defendants in the state’s fake elector case will become a witness for the prosecution. In April, the fake electors were indicted by a grand jury for signing bogus documents claiming that Donald Trump won the 2020 election, after Trump’s […]
Alabama man pleads guilty to threatening to ‘execute’ Maricopa County election workers
An Alabama man pleaded guilty on Friday to sending threatening messages to Arizona election workers in Maricopa County during the 2022 Arizona primary elections. Brian Jerry Ogstad, 60, admitted to sending multiple threatening messages over social media, including explicit threats of violence and execution against election workers. He faces a maximum sentence of five years […]
In Pima County, rifts over how much to help the feds patrol the border
All Arizonans this fall could decide whether to boost the role of local police in border enforcement, as Republicans placed a measure on the statewide ballot that would empower cops to arrest people suspected of being undocumented. But the issue is also playing out locally this year, highlighting critical disagreements among law enforcement in Arizona over just how much to […]
Justine Wadsack speeds into scandal by trying to be the victim
Everything about state Sen. Justine Wadsack’s SpeederGate incident is just chef’s-kiss perfect and terribly, terribly wrong as it keeps spooling out. The Arizona Fraternal Order of Police just revoked its endorsement of Wadsack after she was pulled over for speeding (fast enough to face a criminal charge, even) and later started yelping about “political persecution” when she […]
Police org revokes endorsement of Justine Wadsack for ‘impugning’ police
A police organization has rescinded its endorsement of a Republican state senator after she accused police of politically targeting her after issuing her a speeding ticket for driving more than 70 miles per hour on a road with a 35 mile per hour speed limit. Wadsack was pulled over on Friday, March 15, just after […]