Justice Matters with Glenn Kirschner

The Biden administration just revealed additional proof that the Trump campaign colluded with Russian intelligence to cheat/gain unfair advantage in the 2016 presidential election. It turns our that Paul Manafort, Trump's campaign chairman, provided confidential polling data and campaign strategy information to Konstantin Kilimnik who then provided it to Russian intelligence. But even more importa...

Search warrants require that law enforcement authorities have probable cause to believe that there is evidence of a crime in the place or thing to be searched. When the FBI and the Department of Justice apply to a federal judge for a search warrant to seize and search the cell phone of a sitting member of Congress, that is a very big deal. Here's an explanation of the search warrant process and wh...

Derek Chauvin presented the testimony of medical examiner/forensic pathologist Dr. David Fowler. He offered different (and often unsupportable) opinions than all other experts on George Floyd's cause and manner of death. Here's a takedown of his testimony and why he likely lost more points than he won for the defense.  For our newly launched Team Justice and Justice Matters merchandise shop, pleas...

Several medical expert witnesses have testified in the Derek Chauvin trial involving the murder of George Floyd. One witness was a standout: expert Pulmonologist Martin Tobin. Dr. Tobin put together for the jury the 1-2-3 of George Floyd's death in a way no other medical witness has thus far. Here is a deep dive review of why Dr. Tobin's testimony was so compelling.   For our newly launched Team J...

Prosecutors just nearly tripled the charges against Matt Gaetz close friend and ally, Joel Greenberg, with Greenberg's trial just around the corner - set for June. This looks like the typical prosecutorial squeeze play, with federal prosecutors looking to flip Greenberg on Gaetz. Here's how things are likely to play out . . .  For our newly launched Team Justice and Justice Matters merchandise sho...

There is mounting evidence that Donald Trump's gross mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic resulted in thousands, indeed hundreds of thousands, of avoidable COVID-19 deaths. It's time for state authorities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to open investigations to hold Trump, Kushner, Pence and others Trump administration officials accountable for avoidable deaths. It's time for a...

The New York Times reported that Congressman Matt Gaetz is the "subject" of a sex trafficking investigation that was initiated some months ago by the Bill Barr Department of Justice. Importantly, the Times reported that Gaetz himself confirmed that DOJ prosecutors told his lawyers that he was a subject of the investigation. The term "subject" has a specific definition in accordance with DOJ rules...

Billion-dollar defamation suits continue to mount against Fox News. Dominion Voting Systems is the latest plaintiff to sue Fox for defamation. Fox's litigation position will be challenging given that one of its marquee guests, Sidney Powell, has also been sued for defamation and has admitted in her reply to the suit that "reasonable people" would not have credited what she said. The federal govern...

Prosecutors announced in a recent court filing that they have "substantial evidence" that the Oath Keepers militia group was involved in a conspiracy to attack the US Capitol on January 6. Here is an explanation of the law of conspiracy and why this important development moves things in the direction of justice. Please consider becoming a #TeamJustice patron at: https://www.patreon.com/glennkirsch...

For those of us who worked at the Department of Justice, we were shocked when we saw former Acting DC US Attorney Michael Sherwin give an interview to 60 Minutes discussing the evidence in the ongoing investigation in the Capitol attack. DOJ rules prohibit commenting on ongoing investigations without prior approval from the DOJ leadership. Given the new CNN reporting, we now know that Sherwin DID...

The Department of Justice has strict guidelines that generally prohibit federal prosecutors from commenting on pending criminal investigations. Nevertheless, the Trump/Barr installed Acting US Attorney Michale Sherwin went on 60 Minutes and gave a strange and unorthodox interview. This video reviews the US Attorneys' Manual provisions governing Disclosure of Information Concerning Ongoing Investig...

As featured in today's Huffpost, "The Democracy Pledge" is a grassroots citizens' group designed to put companies, businesses and corporations on the record and on the spot by documenting which ones support democracy and which do not. The initiative was founded by Glenn Kirschner as part of his Team Justice endeavors, designed to encourage full citizen participation in the fight for democracy and...

Four years ago, Bill O'Reilly asked then-President Donald Trump if Vladimir Putin is "a killer?" Trump refused to condemn Putin but instead criticized American, saying, "you think our country's so innocent?"  Four years later, an American President finally answers the question, this time from George Stephanopoulos, "Is Vladimir Putin a killer?" Here's how President Joe Biden answered the same ques...

The FBI just arrested Julian Khater and George Tanios for participating in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. These two insurrectionists were charged with nine counts, including assaulting the late US Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, as well as assaulting two other police officers. However, court documents reveal that they have not been charged with the homicide of Officer Sicknick.  As...

One of the leaders of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, Jacob "Q Shaman" Chansley, filed a motion seeking release pending trial. In the event there's any doubt that the courts are taking these criminal cases against the Trump supporters who attacked the US Capitol seriously, Judge Lamberth's 32-page order denying Chansely's request to be released from jail pending trial should lay those doub...

Merrick Garland is an experienced public corruption prosecutor and perhaps the country's primmer domestic terrorism prosecutor. Republicans likely are going to rue the day Mitch McConnell unconstitutionally deprived Judge Garland of his confirmation hearing when President Obama nominated him to be a Supreme Court justice. At long last, it feels like justice just might be coming. And #JusticeMatter...

Former Minneapolis Police Office Derek Chauvin (along with three other officers) is charged in connection with the homicide of George Floyd. In the first installment of this daily video log, I take on a few of the issues that will be addressed on day one of jury selection, scheduled to begin on Monday, March 8, 2021.  There are many tactical and legal issues surrounding the trial. The overarching...

In three related stories:  1.Veteran Federal prosecutor (and my friend and colleague) Channing Phillips takes over as Acting US Attorney for the District of Columbia, dislodging Bill Barr acolyte Michael Sherwin.  2. Today's Senate hearing reveals that Pentagon officials - including Gen. Charles Flynn - brother of former Trump National Security Advisor and admitted felon Mike Flynn - refused to se...

It's undeniable that there were significant law enforcement and security failures at the US Capitol on January 6. FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about what the FBI knew and when it knew it.  Although these are serious issue, the Republican Senators did their best to inject a good bit of levity (albeit unintentionally), asking about everything BUT the...

Steve Bannon may have won a battle by accepting a Trump pardon to help him get out of his federal prosecution. But Bannon may end up losing the war, as he's now being criminally investigated by New York District Attorney Cy Vance. Importantly, not only is a presidential pardon inoperative against state court prosecutions, but the US Supreme Court has said that accepting a pardon is akin to a confe...

Senator Ron Johnson tells outrageous lies during the Senate hearing into the January 6 attack of the US Capitol. Indeed, CNN reported: "Ron Johnson just dropped a ridiculous conspiracy theory at the Senate Capitol attack hearing."  Johnson's lies clearly were designed to give aid and comfort to the insurresctionists. In this video we tackle the following question: do Johnson's lies constitute the...

Today was a good day for justice in America: 1. The Supreme Court FINALLY ruled that former President Donald Trump's taxes and financial records must be giving to NY District Attorney Cy Vance; 2. The Supreme Court refuses to hear the Republican challenge to the Pennsylvania election results; and 3. Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland gives senators a masterclass in justice, fairness and equa...

On the eve of his confirmation hearing for Attorney General, Merrick Garland released the opening statement he will deliver at the beginning of tomorrow's hearing.  Judge Garland's announced priorities are a salve for a nation bruised and battered after year's of disregard for the rue of law by former AG Bill Barr and the unabated political corruption of the Trump Administration. Here is a preview...

Donald Trump may need to add a new job title to his resume: professional defendant. Trump, Giuliani, The Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers have ben sued by the NAACP and Congressman Bernie Thompson. Let's discuss the ins out outs of that lawsuit and where the case is likely to go from here. Please consider becoming a #TeamJustice patron at: https://www.patreon.com/glennkirschner My podcast, "Justice...

There has been much discussion about the difficulty of proving that Donald Trump acted with corrupt intent when he whipped-up an angry mob and told them to "stop" the vote certification or, as he put it, "stop the steal."  I spent 30 years prosecuting cases in courts, military and civilian, proving criminal intent. Given the available evidence, including some recent New York Times reporting about...