Washington
Judge knocks down Hunter Biden’s bid to use Trump ruling to get federal tax case dismissed
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Monday denied Hunter Biden’s latest bid to dismiss the tax charges against him, setting the stage for his trial to begin next month in California.
Citing a ruling in Florida that threw out a separate prosecution of former President Donald Trump, Hunter Biden’s lawyers had urged the judge to dismiss the case accusing him of a four-year scheme to avoid paying at least $1.4 million in taxes.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon tossed Trump’s classified documents case last month because she said special counsel Jack Smith, who filed those charges, was illegally appointed by the Justice Department. The Justice Department is appealing that ruling.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers had argued the same logic should apply in his case, which was brought by a different Justice Department special counsel.
But U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi noted in his ruling that he had already rejected a previous challenge by Hunter Biden to the appointment of special counsel David Weiss. The judge said there is “no valid basis for reconsideration” of that decision.
Scarsi, who was appointed to the bench by Trump, had accused Hunter Biden’s lawyers of making “false statements” in their court filing urging the judge to dismiss the case. At issue was a defense comment that no charges were brought in the investigation until after Weiss was named special counsel in August 2023.
The judge noted that Weiss had not yet been named special counsel when he charged Hunter Biden with misdemeanor tax offenses as part of a plea deal that fell apart last year. Scarsi ordered Hunter Biden’s lawyers to explain why they should not be sanctioned.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers responded that they have “never tried to mislead” the court.
In his order Monday, the judge said he would not sanction defense lawyers after they amended their filing. But the judge wrote that the defense’s “conduct warrants an admonition: candor is paramount.”
A hearing in the case is set for Wednesday, when the judge is expected to hear arguments over what evidence the prosecution and defense can present to jurors.
Alabama
State says law cannot block people with certain felony convictions from voting in election
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama says a new state law expanding the list of felonies that cause a person to lose their right to vote won’t be enforced until after the November election and asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit over the effective date.
The Alabama attorney general office wrote in a Friday court filing that the new law, which has a Oct. 1 effective date, cannot be used to block people from voting in the upcoming election, because the Alabama Constitution prohibits new election laws from taking effect within six months of the general election.
“The Plaintiffs ask the court to order that a new law may not be enforced until after the November 5, 2024 General Election. But there is no need for such an order, because the law in question will not be enforced until after the election,” lawyers for the state wrote in the filing responding to the lawsuit.
The Campaign Legal Center had filed the lawsuit last month in Montgomery Circuit Court seeking to clarify that the new law cannot block people from voting in the November election. The center argued that there had been a lack of guidance from the state. Without clarity, they argued, it is setting up a confusing situation for voters and registrars to figure out who can and cannot vote in November.
HB100 adds that a conviction for attempting, soliciting or conspiracy to commit one of the more than 40 crimes that currently cause a person to lose their voting rights, will also be considered a disqualifying crime. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two men, both convicted of attempted murder years ago, who would lose their right to vote under the expanded list.
The state wrote that the two men are “free to vote” in the upcoming election, but “after that election, however, they will be disqualified and will not be able to vote lawfully unless their voting rights are restored.”
Alabama allows many people convicted of disqualifying felonies to apply to have their voting rights restored if they have completed their sentences, parole and probation and paid all court fines and court-ordered restitution. Some convictions, such as murder, do not allow a person to get their voting rights back.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall similarly sent an Aug. 7 memo to state district attorneys saying the state law should not be enforced until after the election. He wrote that it “will be vigorously enforced in all future elections.”
The Alabama voting ban on people with felony convictions first dates to the Jim Crow-era 1901 Alabama Constitution, which was designed to keep Black people and poor white people from voting. The Constitution said people convicted of felonies of “moral turpitude” shall lose their right to vote but did not define those crimes. After years of debate and litigation, Alabama lawmakers in 2017 approved a list of more than 40 offenses — including murder, robbery, assault, felony theft and drug trafficking — that would bar someone from being able to vote.
Louisiana
School teacher charged with child sex trafficking and other crimes
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A New Orleans school teacher has been charged with sex trafficking involving a 16-year-old girl, federal authorities said Monday, adding that they want the public’s help to determine whether there are more victims.
A federal complaint filed in New Orleans last week charges Aaron Terod Johnson, 36, with child sex trafficking and other crimes.
An affidavit filed last week by an investigator for the Department of Homeland Security says the victim said she met the teacher on Facebook and that he arranged to pick her up in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The victim told the investigator the teacher drove her to an apartment in New Orleans and paid her to have sex with him in March. Evidence cited in the affidavit includes Facebook Messenger messages between the victim and Johnson and video of Johnson’s car captured at points in Louisiana and at the Mississippi state line, indicating he had traveled to and from Mississippi in mid-March.
Johnson is in federal custody, according to court records. A public defender appointed to represent him after the court determined that he couldn’t afford a lawyer declined immediate comment Monday.
Authorities did not identify the school where Johnson taught or whether it was public or private.
Judge knocks down Hunter Biden’s bid to use Trump ruling to get federal tax case dismissed
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Monday denied Hunter Biden’s latest bid to dismiss the tax charges against him, setting the stage for his trial to begin next month in California.
Citing a ruling in Florida that threw out a separate prosecution of former President Donald Trump, Hunter Biden’s lawyers had urged the judge to dismiss the case accusing him of a four-year scheme to avoid paying at least $1.4 million in taxes.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon tossed Trump’s classified documents case last month because she said special counsel Jack Smith, who filed those charges, was illegally appointed by the Justice Department. The Justice Department is appealing that ruling.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers had argued the same logic should apply in his case, which was brought by a different Justice Department special counsel.
But U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi noted in his ruling that he had already rejected a previous challenge by Hunter Biden to the appointment of special counsel David Weiss. The judge said there is “no valid basis for reconsideration” of that decision.
Scarsi, who was appointed to the bench by Trump, had accused Hunter Biden’s lawyers of making “false statements” in their court filing urging the judge to dismiss the case. At issue was a defense comment that no charges were brought in the investigation until after Weiss was named special counsel in August 2023.
The judge noted that Weiss had not yet been named special counsel when he charged Hunter Biden with misdemeanor tax offenses as part of a plea deal that fell apart last year. Scarsi ordered Hunter Biden’s lawyers to explain why they should not be sanctioned.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers responded that they have “never tried to mislead” the court.
In his order Monday, the judge said he would not sanction defense lawyers after they amended their filing. But the judge wrote that the defense’s “conduct warrants an admonition: candor is paramount.”
A hearing in the case is set for Wednesday, when the judge is expected to hear arguments over what evidence the prosecution and defense can present to jurors.
Alabama
State says law cannot block people with certain felony convictions from voting in election
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama says a new state law expanding the list of felonies that cause a person to lose their right to vote won’t be enforced until after the November election and asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit over the effective date.
The Alabama attorney general office wrote in a Friday court filing that the new law, which has a Oct. 1 effective date, cannot be used to block people from voting in the upcoming election, because the Alabama Constitution prohibits new election laws from taking effect within six months of the general election.
“The Plaintiffs ask the court to order that a new law may not be enforced until after the November 5, 2024 General Election. But there is no need for such an order, because the law in question will not be enforced until after the election,” lawyers for the state wrote in the filing responding to the lawsuit.
The Campaign Legal Center had filed the lawsuit last month in Montgomery Circuit Court seeking to clarify that the new law cannot block people from voting in the November election. The center argued that there had been a lack of guidance from the state. Without clarity, they argued, it is setting up a confusing situation for voters and registrars to figure out who can and cannot vote in November.
HB100 adds that a conviction for attempting, soliciting or conspiracy to commit one of the more than 40 crimes that currently cause a person to lose their voting rights, will also be considered a disqualifying crime. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two men, both convicted of attempted murder years ago, who would lose their right to vote under the expanded list.
The state wrote that the two men are “free to vote” in the upcoming election, but “after that election, however, they will be disqualified and will not be able to vote lawfully unless their voting rights are restored.”
Alabama allows many people convicted of disqualifying felonies to apply to have their voting rights restored if they have completed their sentences, parole and probation and paid all court fines and court-ordered restitution. Some convictions, such as murder, do not allow a person to get their voting rights back.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall similarly sent an Aug. 7 memo to state district attorneys saying the state law should not be enforced until after the election. He wrote that it “will be vigorously enforced in all future elections.”
The Alabama voting ban on people with felony convictions first dates to the Jim Crow-era 1901 Alabama Constitution, which was designed to keep Black people and poor white people from voting. The Constitution said people convicted of felonies of “moral turpitude” shall lose their right to vote but did not define those crimes. After years of debate and litigation, Alabama lawmakers in 2017 approved a list of more than 40 offenses — including murder, robbery, assault, felony theft and drug trafficking — that would bar someone from being able to vote.
Louisiana
School teacher charged with child sex trafficking and other crimes
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A New Orleans school teacher has been charged with sex trafficking involving a 16-year-old girl, federal authorities said Monday, adding that they want the public’s help to determine whether there are more victims.
A federal complaint filed in New Orleans last week charges Aaron Terod Johnson, 36, with child sex trafficking and other crimes.
An affidavit filed last week by an investigator for the Department of Homeland Security says the victim said she met the teacher on Facebook and that he arranged to pick her up in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The victim told the investigator the teacher drove her to an apartment in New Orleans and paid her to have sex with him in March. Evidence cited in the affidavit includes Facebook Messenger messages between the victim and Johnson and video of Johnson’s car captured at points in Louisiana and at the Mississippi state line, indicating he had traveled to and from Mississippi in mid-March.
Johnson is in federal custody, according to court records. A public defender appointed to represent him after the court determined that he couldn’t afford a lawyer declined immediate comment Monday.
Authorities did not identify the school where Johnson taught or whether it was public or private.
