A Judge Told The Defense In The Russian Troll Farm Case To "Knock It Off" With Attacks On Mueller
Source: BuzzFeed News
The federal judge handling special counsel Robert Mueller's prosecution of Russian entities and individuals accused of meddling in the 2016 election told the defense on Monday to "knock it off" with attacks on Mueller's office.
Since prosecutors filed charges of election interference in February, the lead attorney for defendant Concord Management and Consulting, Eric Dubelier, has used strong, and at times pop culture-laden, language in his pleadings. The rebuke from US District Judge Dabney Friedrich came three days after Dubelier filed court papers that questioned the trustworthiness of Mueller's office. Dubelier compared the government's arguments to a line from the movie Animal House: "Flounder, you can't spend your whole life worrying about your mistakes! You f**ked up ... you trusted us. Hey, make the best of it."
Friedrich, who set Monday's hearing roughly two hours after Concord's latest filing appeared on the docket Friday, was not amused. Concord's recent filings were "unprofessional, inappropriate, and ineffective," Friedrich told Dubelier, and the defense's "relentless personal attacks" on the special counsel's office and others involved in the case would not play a role in her decision.
"It's undermining your credibility in this courthouse," Friedrich said.
Read more: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetillman/russian-troll-farm-robert-mueller-lawyer
And from the Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/russian-firm-indicted-in-mueller-probe-accuses-trump-appointed-judge-of-bias/2019/01/07/194a79e0-129f-11e9-803c-4ef28312c8b9_story.html?utm_term.13ea7afc46a9
A federal judge on Monday sharply criticized the U.S.-based attorney for a Russian company indicted in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's investigation, and the attorney fired back that the judge showed "bias" against him.
The fiery exchange threatens to complicate the already complex prosecution of Concord Management and Consulting, which was indicted in February along with its owner, Russian businessman Yevgeniy Prigozhin, and other Russian individuals and companies. They are accused of financing and overseeing a social media operation to disrupt the 2016 U.S. election.
Concord's defense team had asked a court to rule on its demand to share with Prigozhin -- known as "Putin's chef" because of his close ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin -- millions of pages of evidence turned over by Mueller prosecutors. Under a court protective order, sensitive evidence in the case must be reviewed first by a U.S. government "firewall" counsel before being released to any non-U.S. national, including co-defendant Prigozhin, in part because of his alleged ties to Russian intelligence.
SNIP
Friedrich, who said last year she would reconsider the question of sharing evidence with Prigozhin when the case was further along, scheduled a hearing for March 7 to do so.
And from Twitter:
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1082317915528007681.html
Some fireworks in court this morning as a judge criticized the lawyer representing Concord Management & Consulting in the special counsel Russian troll farm case for his language and harsh words about Mueller's office in filings -- "unprofessional, inappropriate, and ineffective"
The judge told attorney Eric Dubelier that his strategy was "ineffective" and that his approach to filings -- including pop culture quotes (see: assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5676...) and accusing Mueller's office basically of lawlessness -- was "undermining your credibility in this courthouse"
SNIP
riversedge
(70,172 posts)ffr
(22,665 posts)Stupid isn't a legal argument, especially when you're notified that it's harming your credibility with the judge.
This is how media journalists should frame such childish behavior too.
Me.
(35,454 posts)Don't quote animal house
Hekate
(90,616 posts)lancelyons
(988 posts)The fact that these attorneys representing a russian company and oligarch and putin buddy would slander the DOJ and Special Counsels office is crazy. the fact that Russia and russians would have equal standing in our courts to even put up this defense is crazy.
EndGOPPropaganda
(1,117 posts)Money money money
Money money money
Reed Smith is not making themselves look good here. Just making themselves look greedy and traitorous.
madville
(7,408 posts)See the evidence against them and have competent representation. That's what our whole system is based on. I remember when it was reported that this was not ideal for Mueller's team, that the accused Russians actually hired a US law firm to represent them and show up for the initial hearing, it was unexpected. It forces the prosecution to share their evidence with the defense and the accused through discovery and I don't think they really want to do that.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)The defense now has a Sixth Amendment basis for appeal.
The "unbelievably bad defense lawyer" ploy can be strategic.
pnwmom
(108,972 posts)jberryhill
(62,444 posts)He even made a comment to that effect.
Takket
(21,549 posts)How the fuck does Rudy Giuliani still have a job after TWICE admitting on air his client committed a crime?
Now I know
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)...sometimes a longshot is all you got.
EndGOPPropaganda
(1,117 posts)Can the partners at Reed Smith be happy about their colleague making them look bad by selling America out to Putin for money?
https://www.democraticunderground.org/100211299138
Law firm page
https://www.reedsmith.com/en/professionals/d/dubelier-eric-a
EndGOPPropaganda
(1,117 posts)jberryhill
(62,444 posts)Because the check doesn't bounce.
EndGOPPropaganda
(1,117 posts)That's the problem.
We should heap scorn upon them for accepting money from Russia to attack America.
Just as we would have if during WWII, American law firms were taking money from Hirohito's cronies.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)You either buy into that notion of procedural fairness or you dont, I suppose. Rule of law and all that.
jmowreader
(50,543 posts)Dabney Friedrich is one of Trump's judicial appointees. She's made it clear on a couple of occasions she's not going to put up with Trump's shit.
The paragraph the Otter quote is in is even stranger...
I've been reading a lot of court documents while studying sovereign citizen asshattery, and I don't think I've ever seen the term "just peachy" in one before. In fact, I've seen more cogent arguments in the "Coyote v. Acme" briefs they have new law students produce in their "Legal Writing 101" courses.
sharedvalues
(6,916 posts)To create chaos.
To get lawyers writing insane things to normalize judicial insanity to make Americans distrust judges.
Still In Wisconsin
(4,450 posts)GetRidOfThem
(869 posts)"Water? Like out of the toilet?'
Still In Wisconsin
(4,450 posts)It's what plants crave!!
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)BigmanPigman
(51,581 posts)Putin's chef won't be happy...tsk, tsk.
DIAVED11
(2 posts)"unprofessional, inappropriate, and ineffective"