By Andrea L. Moseley The time to raise our hands and cast a vote in the general election is just a few short months away. I am watching eagerly to see how DoJ proceeds with campaign election crime investigations and prosecutions arising from this election cycle. I...
Scam PACs and COVID-19: Defending against allegations and prosecutions (Part 3)
by Andrea Moseley One of the most difficult things to do as a white-collar criminal defense attorney is defend a client against allegations in an area of the law that is vague. This is especially true when the prosecution of certain types of crime have little history...
Scam PACs and COVID-19: Defending against allegations and prosecutions (Part 2)
By Andrea Moseley Two weeks ago, I published the first installment in this blog series. This series focuses on parallels and differences between issues surrounding political fraud and COVID-19 fundraising fraud. In this series, I will continue to explore DoJ policies...
Insider Trading on the Coronavirus? Not So Novel, After All
By Sara Kropf There have been heartwarming stories of good deeds during the coronavirus pandemic, from the adorable (kids helping elderly neighbors) to the downright heroic (doctors and nurses risking their own lives). But one particularly viral (pun intended)...
Is DOJ Stuck With Its Positions in the “Updated” Roger Stone Sentencing Memo?
By Sara Kropf The Department of Justice’s “supplemental and amended” sentencing memorandum in the Roger Stone criminal case is nothing short of extraordinary. You can find a copy of the updated Stone memo here. Lots of commentators have hit the high points about this...
The Search Warrant for Lawyer Michael Cohen’s Office – How Did That Happen? DOJ Policies Reviewed
By: Sara Kropf On April 9, 2018, news broke that the FBI had raided the office of President Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen. Apparently the search was the result of referral from Special Counsel Mueller’s team to the SDNY U.S. Attorney's Office. When I saw the news,...
Hell Hath No Fury Like a Misled Judge: The Aaron Schock Case
By: Sara Kropf Elected officials under government investigation try to avoid indictment like any other white-collar client. They know that if charged with a crime, it will be nearly impossible to win re-election. Once indicted, though, they fight back, and fight back...
Fight the Power, Part II: The Sheldon Silver Case
By: Sara Kropf In Part I of this series, I pointed out that DOJ uses the media as a tool to punish defendants. It publicizes indictments, without equally publicizing acquittals and dismissals. This post is the second in a series exploring how defense lawyers are...
Protecting the Unindicted Co-Conspirator – Bridgegate, Continued
By: Sara Kropf In North Jersey Media Group, Inc. v. United States, the Third Circuit addressed another interesting legal issue that arose within the Bridgegate scandal in New Jersey. You can read more about that case here. The media’s right to access information about...
An Open Letter Thanking the McDonnell Team (Or, Why We Can’t Give Up)
By: Sara Kropf Dear Governor McDonnell’s Legal Team: As you probably know, the government decided not to retry Governor Bob McDonnell yesterday. This is big news. It follows his victory in the Supreme Court. He won. You won. Was this the best paragraph you've ever...