Russian Policy Researcher Acquitted of Lying about 2016 Trump Campaign

???A Russian expatriate public policy researcher was acquitted this week in federal court in Alexandria, Va., of lying to the FBI during the 2016 investigation of whether the Russian government tried to help Donald Trump get elected president.

???The acquittal was a second loss for special counsel John Durham in his investigation of how the FBI handled its inquiry of the Trump-Russia affair.

???Igor Danchenko was prosecuted as a follow-up to the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation.

???His attorneys successfully argued that Danchenko did not answer FBI agents’ questions the way they wanted but that he did not lie to them.

???He provided information to a private investigator hired by the Democratic National Committee to investigate the Trump campaign’s ties to the Russians. The private investigator’s report, called the Steele dossier, revealed that a Trump campaign advisor communicated occasionally with Russian agents.

???Although some of the Steele dossier made unproven assertions, it contained enough evidence for the FBI to question Danchenko, who was the main source of the information.

???Prosecutors presented evidence showing Danchenko lied when he said the former president of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce made an anonymous phone call to him implicating Trump staff members in colluding with the Russians.

??Prosecutors did not deny Danchenko received an anonymous phone call but they said Danchenko knew it was not the former Russian-American Chamber of Commerce president.

???Prosecutors also said Danchenko lied when he denied that some of his information came from a volunteer for the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. The volunteer was Charles Dolan, a public relations executive.

???Danchenko’s attorneys argued their client might have made ambiguous statements during multiple FBI interviews but that his answers were technically true.

???In one example, FBI agents asked Danchenko whether he ever talked to the Clinton campaign volunteer. The two exchanged emails about the Steele dossier but they never spoke orally, which prompted Danchenko to answer “no” to the FBI question.

???Defense attorneys said Danchenko’s pattern of ambiguous statements were inadequate evidence for a criminal conviction.

???Stuart A. Sears, an attorney for Danchenko, said at a hearing last month, “If Rudy Giuliani says he believes the 2020 election was fraudulent, that doesn’t make it a false statement. He believes it.”

???The jury deliberated nine hours before returning a not guilty verdict on all four of the felony false statement charges.

???Coming only five months after another acquittal of someone the special counsel accused of being a conspirator in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, the Danchenko case represents a major defeat for Durham.

???He was appointed in 2019 by then-Attorney General William Barr to double-check how the FBI conducted the Trump-Russia probe. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and called the FBI investigation a witch hunt.

???Barr was motivated to appoint a special counsel after a Justice Department inspector general’s report accused the FBI of a series of unprofessional tactics, including using unproven evidence to seek court approval for secret surveillance of a former Trump campaign advisor.

???Durham criticized the FBI during the trial. His team tried to portray FBI agents and analysts who testified as incompetent, such as by failing to properly check out tips.

???Durham’s critics suggest he committed some of the same mistakes in gathering evidence he blamed on the FBI.

???Danchenko did not testify at the trial. His defense team called no witnesses, instead focusing on undercutting the prosecution’s evidence as a politically-motivated attempt to attack Trump’s detractors.

???For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: [email protected] or phone: 202-479-7240.

Biden’s Pardon of Marijuana Offenders

Revives Advocacy Group Disputes

???President Joe Biden’s announcement this month that he would pardon all offenders convicted of federal marijuana possession charges has renewed public disputes between Washington, D.C.-area groups that advocate for changes in the laws.

???The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws responded to Biden’s order with a statement that said, "We are pleased that today President Biden is following through on this pledge and that he is also encouraging governors to take similar steps to ensure that the tens of millions of Americans with state-level convictions for past marijuana crimes can finally move forward with their lives."

???A different response came from the marijuana anti-legalization advocacy organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana, or SAM.

???SAM officials agree possession of small amounts of marijuana should be decriminalized but continue to warn against the drug’s dangers.

??SAM President Kevin Sabet said that "we should also not be selling highly potent THC products, nor should we promote and encourage use among young people." THC is the active ingredient in marijuana.

???SAM says marijuana use results in increased risk of psychosis and gastrointestinal problems that include persistent vomiting. They also say fatal traffic accident rates increase among people who use marijuana.

???Marijuana is listed as a Schedule I drug by the Drug Enforcement Agency, meaning a conviction could result in serious criminal punishment.

???"There are thousands of people who have prior federal convictions for marijuana possession, who may be denied employment, housing, or educational opportunities as a result," Biden said in a statement. "My action will help relieve the collateral consequences arising from these convictions."

???The announcement fulfills Biden’s campaign promise to decriminalize marijuana possession but also represents a big shift in federal drug policy.

???States began legalizing marijuana for medicinal use 25 years ago and for recreational use in 2012. Colorado was the first with a law that allows adults to purchase as one ounce of retail marijuana or eight grams of oils or other concentrate.

???Conservatives in Congress blocked attempts to decriminalize marijuana under federal laws until Biden’s executive order this week. About 6,500 people have been convicted of federal marijuana possession offenses since 1992, according to White House figures.

???Biden’s order also directs the Justice Department to consider downgrading marijuana from a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act.

???Biden is recommending to state governors that they pardon marijuana offenders convicted under their local laws. Most marijuana convictions were made under state laws.

???"Just as no one should be in a federal prison solely due to the possession of marijuana, no one should be in a local jail or state prison for that reason, either," Biden said.

???For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: [email protected] or phone: 202-479-7240.

Senators Want to Prosecute Russians

For War Crimes Against Ukrainians

???The Justice Department is headed toward a policy revision on prosecuting war criminals as Congress seeks ways to punish Russians for atrocities in Ukraine.

???A Senate panel last month raised the possibility of extending U.S. jurisdiction against Russian military personnel to hold them personally responsible if they enter the United States.

???Current federal law allows the Justice Department to prosecute war criminals only if they are Americans or commit offenses against Americans. Otherwise, they are extradited to countries where they are wanted.

???Now the Senate Judiciary Committee is showing bipartisan support for more aggressively tracking down and prosecuting foreign war criminals, particularly the Russians who are blamed for torture and mass murders of Ukrainians.

???“We must not look away, we must face this squarely,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

???The prosecutions would create a dangerous dilemma for U.S. foreign policy and the Justice Department.?

???International policies normally dictate that arrests of foreigners who committed crimes in other countries are considered an intrusion into their home countries’ sovereignty, perhaps even an act of war.

???Senators who spoke during the hearing said the atrocities coming out of Ukraine require a new approach.

???Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said the United States needs to “let the Russians know you follow [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s orders at your own peril.”

???Ukrainian prosecutors claim to have documented nearly 35,000 war crimes by Russians.

???Some of them were revealed last month after Ukrainians retook the city of Izyum from Russian occupiers.

???The once picturesque city of more than 45,000 was nearly destroyed. In a forested area outside of town, authorities discovered mass graves of about 450 of the city’s residents.?

???The bodies included children, people with their hands tied behind their backs, some with crushed skulls and others with faces mutilated beyond recognition.

???The Senate is considering a declaration that Russia is a state sponsor of terrorism.

???The declaration refers to countries that federal law defines as having "repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism.” The list includes Cuba, Iran and North Korea.

???Inclusion on the list results in tough sanctions, such as controls on exports to the listed countries of all consumer products that could potentially be used by their military, prohibitions on economic assistance and opposition to loans from the World Bank or other international financial institutions.

???The designation also removes diplomatic immunity to allow families of terrorist victims to file lawsuits against state sponsors of terrorism is U.S. courts.

???Other proposals would allow the Justice Department to prosecute war criminals who enter the United States regardless of where they committed the offenses, even if no Americans were victimized.

???Some of the senators recommended prosecuting Putin.

???“At the least, in my view, he could be tried and convicted in absentia,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.

???The senators sought input from Justice Department and Homeland Security Department officials on their plans for prosecuting war criminals.

???Eli M. Rosenbaum, director of war crimes enforcement for the Justice Department, said there’s a loophole in U.S. laws on terrorism.

???There are 21 laws against various forms of terrorism but none that would allow prosecution for crimes against humanity, which normally refer to government-sponsored offenses against civilians. They can include mass murder, slave trade, genocide or sex crimes.

???“Russian and other war criminals who come here should not be able to escape criminal justice,” Rosenbaum said.

???For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: [email protected] or phone: 202-479-7240.

D.C. Deputy Mayor Investigated

After Assault Charge in Arlington

???A District of Columbia deputy mayor resigned under pressure last week after he was charged with assault and later alleged to be violating a city administration rule by living outside Washington, D.C.

???D.C. Deputy Mayor of Public Safety and Justice Christopher Geldart was charged with assault this month after an altercation with a personal trainer outside a Gold’s Gym in Arlington.

???He was arraigned in court this week in Arlington.?

???Dustin Woodward, the personal trainer, said Geldart assaulted him during a minor traffic dispute.

???He says Geldart hit his girlfriend’s parked car with the door of his own vehicle in the gym’s parking lot in the 3900 block of Wilson Boulevard. During the argument that followed, Geldart is accused of grabbing Woodward by the neck.

???Video obtained by Fox5 television shows Geldart pushing Woodward, who then shoves the deputy mayor’s arms away.

???Woodward filed a criminal complaint with the Arlington County magistrate’s office, claiming assault and battery.

???An Arlington County police report said, “The suspect and male victim became engaged in a verbal dispute after the door of the suspect’s parked vehicle struck the vehicle the victim was entering.”

???The police report listed Geldart as living in Falls Church, Va. D.C. law requires that all city government employees earning more than $150,000 a year must live in the District if they were hired after 2019.

???When Mayor Muriel Bowser nominated Geldart to become a deputy mayor in 2019, he listed his home address in D.C.’s Ward 6.

???The discrepancy in home addresses prompted a second investigation by the D.C. government.

???For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: [email protected] or phone: 202-479-7240.

D.C. Attorney General Sues Chemical Co.

That Made Pesticide Linked to Cancer

???The District of Columbia attorney general is suing a chemical company he accuses of contaminating local rivers with a pesticide linked to cancer.

???He blamed water runoff that contained the pesticide chlordane with increased rates of liver cancer, miscarriages, depression and bone-marrow diseases among residents, particularly along the Potomac and Anacostia rivers.

???Small exposures to the pesticide manufactured by Illinois-based Velsicol Chemical is believed to cause short-term disruptions to the central nervous system, such as blurred vision, headaches, tremors and insomnia.

???D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine said at a press conference that Velsicol officials knew chlordane could damage the health of persons exposed to it but instead engaged in “misinformation and deception” while continuing to sell the pesticide.

???Velsicol was the only manufacturer of chlordane for killing insects beginning in 1945 until the federal government banned it in 1988. By that time, about 30 million homes and other locations had been treated with it.

???The health effects continue with the worst of them falling on low-income minority residents who live near the rivers, Racine said.

???“The history of our country is such that whenever there is trash that needs to be disposed of or there are things that could hurt people, it always went to where people had less power,” Racine said. “And, yes, that means Black and Brown communities.”

???The lawsuit says chlordane accumulates “over time in fish, birds, and mammals, and is found in food, air, water, soil and sediment.” It cited Poplar Point on the Anacostia River as one of the worst local contamination zones.

???D.C. residents “are exposed to chlordane from eating contaminated food such as marine life, breathing contaminated air, or drinking contaminated water,” the lawsuit says.

???Part of the evidence for the lawsuit is drawn from a 2016 assessment of the 38 miles of rivers and streams that run through the District of Columbia. It found that 20 miles were “not in compliance with the water quality standards for chlordane.”

???For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: [email protected] or phone: 202-479-7240.