Archive for the ‘Fifth Amendment’ Category

Browns Nation News And Notes (3/15/22) – Browns Nation

(Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)

It is Tuesday, March 15, 2022, and the giant news headline breaking overnight is that Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is meeting with the Cleveland Browns today.

This story broke overnight and is the lead for Tuesdays edition of Browns Nation news and notes.

ESPNs Kimberley A. Martin reported that Watson is meeting with the Browns on Tuesday.

#Saints and #Panthers may have met with Deshaun Watson already, but dont sleep on CLE.

The #Browns are in play for Watson and plan to meet with the #Texans QB on Tuesday

KimberlEY A. Martin (@ByKimberleyA) March 15, 2022

He met with New Orleans and Carolina on Monday.

Watson has a no-trade clause in his contract.

It is not clear what the Browns will offer.

The Texans are seeking at a minimum three first-round picks in exchange for Watson as reported by Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network.

The Texans still want a package of three first-round draft picks, other draft capital and players in exchange for Watson. One player that sources predict would likely be part of a potential Saints trade is offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk

Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 13, 2022

Watson invoked the Fifth Amendment until he was cleared of criminal charges.

Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports is reporting that Watson will answer questions during a civil deposition on Tuesday morning.

Though it is a closed session, interested NFL teams and the league itself are keeping a close eye on this.

The NFL is reportedly investigating whether Watson violated league policy; a suspension is yet to be defined or determined.

#NFL teams interested in Deshaun Watson are focused on his civil deposition Tuesday, which is expected to proceed without him taking the Fifth in testimony. Teams also believe an #NFL suspension remains possible, despite a grand jury declining indictment. https://t.co/tJNuKFGEFo

Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) March 14, 2022

Fans are torn about what it would mean if Watson was traded to the Browns.

#Browns Twitter has been vocal on both sides of the issue.

Cleveland sports personality Ken Carman articulated the conflict on the air at Fox 8 on Monday evening.

Thank you, @KenCarman, for your commentary tonight on Deshaun Watson. I appreciate your candor, your commonsense and your compassion, and I'm proud to have you as a colleague. pic.twitter.com/gFBkCJSTMt

Jen Steer (@jensteer) March 14, 2022

There are still a lot of other moving parts in free agency.

Conflicting reports are circulating about whether the Browns are still in the market for free-agent wide receiver Allen Robinson.

Mary Kay Cabot says the Browns are not vying for Robinson now that they signed Amari Cooper.

#Browns continue to do their homework on Deshaun Watson as he meets with #Saints and #Panthers on Monday; #Browns not in the mix for WR Allen Robinson: Takeaways https://t.co/9ZJ1WxBP8W

Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) March 15, 2022

NFL Networks Tom Pelissero said on the air on Monday that the Browns are still interested in Robinson.

.@TomPelissero says the Lions, Browns and Chiefs are among the teams in on Allen Robinson.

Chris Burke (@ChrisBurkeNFL) March 14, 2022

This is one of many topics to watch today.

Happy Tuesday Browns Fans!

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Browns Nation News And Notes (3/15/22) - Browns Nation

Grievances abound in ex-Louisville cop’s tell-all book on the Breonna Taylor shooting – Courier Journal

LMPD Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly speaks out in exclusive interview

Mattingly spoke exclusively to The Courier Journal and ABC News Tuesday in an interview with ABC's Michael Strahan and with Courier Journal reporters.

ABC NEWS/The Courier Journal

LOUISVILLE, Ky. The list of people on Jonathan Mattingly's bad side is long.

The retired Louisville cop who was injured in the infamous Breonna Taylor raid lays out his grievances in a new book published Tuesday, going aftereveryone from local leaders like Mayor Greg Fischer and Metro Council President David Jamesto big-name celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, George Clooneyand LeBron James.

Mattingly, one of the three Louisville Metro Police officers who fired shots during the attempted searchof Taylor's apartment in March 2020, published the book through DW Books, a division of conservative media organization, The Daily Wire.

The book, "12 Seconds In The Dark: A Police Officers Firsthand Account of the Breonna Taylor Raid," is Mattingly's telling of his 20-year police career, the night Taylor died and the fallout that followed.

"It's amazing that as long as the media and woke mob aren't hounding you, you have politicians' support," he wrote, "but as soon as the tide turns and it's not in their best interest, they disappear, never to be heard from again."

The now-retired sergeantfired six rounds that night, striking Taylor, who wasn't armed, at least once, after he was shot by her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker. Mattingly required emergency surgery to repair his severed femoral artery.

Walker has maintained he did not know it was police at the door, and criminal charges filed against him that night were later dismissed.

The book's release comes just two days after the second anniversary of Taylor's death and about two weeks after another officer from the shooting, Brett Hankison, was acquitted of endangering Taylor's neighbors.

'They would love for us to ... go away': What really changed since Breonna Taylor's death

The book quicklycharted on Amazon, cracking the Top 100 bestsellers in books.

"I will not be silent, and I will continue to fight," he wrote. "We were used as pawns in the mayor and city council's political careers. In the meantime, that game is destroying or at least forever altering people's lives."

LMPD acknowledged the book's publication said the department, "respectfully declines comment."

A spokesperson for Mayor Greg Fischer told The Courier Journal "The mayor has not read the book," when asked for a response to Mattingly's comments.

The Courier Journal obtained a copy of Mattingly's book Tuesday. Here are some key points:

For those hoping to find out more details about what unfolded just before 1 a.m. March 13, 2020, at Taylor's apartment, Mattingly's 141-page book offers little new information.

Of the 13 chapters, three are devoted to that fatal raid: one to the lead-up, one to the attempted search and one to the immediate aftermath of the shooting.

Avid followers of the case will recognize much of what Mattingly writes from previously published interviews he gave to LMPD investigatorsand to ABC News and The Courier Journal.

Notably, Mattingly refused recently to testify as a witness in Hankison's trial, citing his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. The FBI investigation into Taylor's death remains open and ongoing.

Mattingly wrote he was "amazed" at "how clear my recollection of the events from the incident were in my head."

"I wish I could have given my statement right then and there so all the naysayers couldn't accuse us of a cover-up and collusion like they have," he said. "I realize this isn't how everyone's body reacts to a traumatic injury like this, but mine did."

The Courier Journal reached out to attorneys for Taylor's family, but they declined to comment.

We are Breonna Taylor: How she changed these Black women's lives

Mattingly placed the blame for Taylor's death "a horrible tragedy, and the exact scenario that every cop fears" squarely on her boyfriend, Walker.

It's not the first time he's done so.

"This tragedy is a culmination of events that led us to a raid on that apartment,along with the criminal actions of Kenneth Walker that night, but that distinction was lost, or rather, buried," Mattingly wrote.

Mattingly also expressed doubt that Walker didn't know who he was shooting at.

"There was no way at this point, a few minutes after the initial incident, that Kenneth Walker didn't know it was the police outside, yet he chose to stay inside the apartment for fifteen minutes before exiting, claiming he didn't know who we were," Mattingly wrote.

Frederick Moore and Steve Romines, attorneys for Walker in his civil suit against Mattingly and other officers, said the book "perpetuates a lie … that Kenny somehow knew who was breaking into Breonna's apartment that night."

"In fact, in an extremely emotional call as Breonna lay dying, Kenny actually called the authorities using 911 and expressed that 'someone' was bashing down the door," they said in a statement. "To blame Kenneth Walker for this tragedy is to deny a Black man the protection of the strong 'stand your ground' law in Kentucky."

Breonna Taylor shooting: Kenneth Walker, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly speak

Commonwealths Attorney Tom Wine announced his office will move to dismiss all charges against Breonna Taylors boyfriend.

Louisville Courier Journal

Mattingly is suing Romines for defamation because the attorney called Taylor's death a "murder." He's also countersuing Walker, writing, "if the city and department weren't willing to stand up and fight for what's right, I would."

The person receiving the lion's share of Mattingly's ire is Louisville's third-term Democratic mayor, Fischer.

His criticisms of the mayor include that Fischer:

On this last claim, James, the Metro Council president and former police officer, agrees.

Mattingly blasts James for not having a press conference to correct misinformation about Taylor's death before the protests began May 28, 2020.

James told The Courier Journal he wanted to, but Fischer wouldn't release the information he needed to do so.

"If the mayor had been a better leader," James said, "we wouldn't have been in the turmoil that we're in now."

Mattingly also hints at a potential candidacy for Congress, saying he may run for the seat being vacated U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, a Louisville Democrat.

LMPD body camera footage shows chaos after Breonna Taylor shooting

LMPD body camera footage shows the moments of chaos and confusion in the aftermath of the March 13 Breonna Taylor shooting.

Jeff Faughender, Louisville Courier Journal

As Mattingly and The Daily Wire have promoted the book, they've said it "debunks (the) media narrative" and calls out the "movie stars, athletes and performers (who) jumped on the bandwagon."

Ben Crump, a Florida-based attorney who has represented many families of Black Americans killed by police, including Taylor and George Floyd, "seems to sniff out the national stories that can make him a buck," Mattingly wrote.

Crump is high-profile and did play a significant role in bringing attention to Taylor's death, alerting celebrities, politicians and cable news personalities to the case as he spoke about another prominent death Ahmaud Arbery.

Tamika Mallory a co-founder of the activist group Until Freedom and dubbed the queen of the social justice movement by Crump "was one of the main instigators that left Louisville in shambles," Mattingly wrote.

Until Freedom is "pot-stirrers and benefits financially in huge ways," he wrote. "They are, for all intents and purposes, for-profit protesters, and that profit comes from propagating lies and capitalizing on the tragic deaths of people of color."

Neither Until Freedom nor Ben Crump's public relations team returned a Courier Journal request for comment Tuesday.

Others Mattingly skewered include: Cardi B, Kim Kardashian, Amy Schumer, Ice Cube, Jennifer Lawrence, Jada Pinkett Smith and Michael Strahan.

Strahan conducted the on-camera interview with Mattingly for ABC News and The Courier Journal in October 2020. The documentary later released by the partnering news outlets won a Peabody Award.

Mattingly wrote that "every question was as much an accusation or assumption as it was a question.

"It was like three hours on the witness stand being cross-examined by a defense attorney," he wrote. "Strahan's mind was made up before the interview, and his facial expressions and body language showed that."

Mattingly was more forgiving of The Courier Journal, writing "these journalists gave me a fair shake on this interview."

Mattingly also offers up many of his thoughts on crime, policing and reform throughout the book.

"Just when you think you've seen it all, there's a new revelation waiting for you," he wrote. "As a result, just as citizens easily become jaded toward the police and have a one-sided view, the police become jaded as well and have a one-sided view of society. It's unhealthy for both parties."

Officers, he said, would love to redirect some calls for service to other agencies that could help. (Louisville is exploring a deflection program that would do just that.)

"Police nationwide would love to simply enforce laws and protect their community," he wrote. "We hate being a jack-of-all-trades as well."

To the officers with "zero discernment" who hate their jobs or are scared of it, Mattingly says, "find a new one."

He also wrote that "today's police officer is the least corrupt that it's ever been in the history of our country" and that "sometimes officers need to lose their jobs or go to prison, but that's not a common ordeal."

"I want my story to make a difference," Mattingly wrote. "I want society to stop insisting on someone to blame for every crisis and tragedy.

"I don't want another Breonna Taylor or another John Mattingly."

Reach Tessa Duvall at tduvall@courier-journal.com and 502-582-4059. Twitter: @TessaDuvall.

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Grievances abound in ex-Louisville cop's tell-all book on the Breonna Taylor shooting - Courier Journal

January 6 defendant says he will plead guilty to assaulting officers after prosecutors admit error – CBS News

Washington An alleged member of the Patriot Boys militia group charged with multiple crimes stemming from the January 6 Capitol attack said he would plead guilty to one felonycount of assaulting officers with a pole on Monday after prosecutors said they made an "unintentional" procedural error since initially charging him.

Lucas Denney of Texas was accused of multiple felonies via criminal complaint, a charging document does not require the consensus of a Grand Jury, in December of 2021. Court documents alleged he grabbed a large tube outside the Capitol building and swung it at officers before he made his way to a large police line inside the west tunnel of the Capitol.

Denney was arrested and detained and has remained in jail since December.

Under the Speedy Trial Act, a formal indictment must be brought by a grand jury against any defendant within 40 days of criminal complaint. But in Denney's case, prosecutors failed to do so, instead indicting him on a single count of assaulting or impeding officers on March 7, 2021, months after his initial arrest in December.

His defense team filed an emergency motion to release him from jail because of the law violation.

"Each day Mr. Denney remains in custodial detention is an additional day that his liberty rights are denied without due process in violation of his rights under the Fifth Amendment," Denney's defense attorneys wrote, "Mr. Denney should not be made to sit in a jail cell even a single day longer while the Government tries to explain away its failure to comply with the law."

In a rare move, prosecutors agreed that they made a mistake in not bringing the indictment quick enough and said Denney should be released and the charges dropped, but asked the judge to do so in a manner that allowed them to present Denney's case to a Grand Jury again. This would leave the possibility of another indictment looming.

The charges alleged were serious and their error was "unintentional," the government said, so they should be given another shot to potentially indict Denney.

"The charges against Denney are of the utmost seriousness. Those charges arise within the context of the attack on the U.S. Capitol, on January 6, 2021, a criminal offense unparalleled in American history," Monday's filing said.

"There is no evidence of bad faith, a pattern of neglect, or something more than an isolated incident that resulted from a number of unfortunate factors," prosecutors added.

But during a court hearing Monday that was initially scheduled as an arraignment where Denney would be given the opportunity to enter a plea on the single count charged in the indictment, his defense attorney William Shipley alleged the government brought the indictment in "bad faith" after he said they were sent scrambling to get an indictment on the books following their procedural error.

And in yet another unusual move, the attorney indicated his client was ready to admit guilt and plead guilty to the single count on the indictment without entering into an agreement with the government, a move that would effectively prevent prosecutors from bringing any more charges against their client due to double jeopardy rules.

Most of the more than 220 guilty pleas entered in the January 6 investigation have involved cooperation or other legal agreements with the government to avoid going to trial.

"Mr. Denney is here, prepared to admit his conduct and plead guilty to the only pending charge," Shipley told Judge Randolph Moss. The defense told the judge they viewed the evidence against their client and said he was ready to admit guilt to one count.

The judge agreed with the defense that Denney had been mistreated, even telling prosecutors, "There's no excuse to treat a person like that." But he stopped short of allowing the defendant to plead guilty on Monday, explaining he needed more time to examine the case law. This was a novel predicament prosecutors got themselves into, the judge reasoned, and he needed more time to rule accurately.

Defense attorney Shipley objected to the proposed delay, telling the judge he feared the government would use the schedule as a way to return a more extensive indictment against his client.

Prosecutor Jennifer Rozzoni told the judge, however, that after discussing the case with a supervisor, the government would not oppose Denney's surprise decision to enter a guilty plea to assaulting an officer with a pole on January 6.

The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment for this story.

"We appreciated the government conceding its error and acknowledging Mr. Denney's right to plead guilty and will rely on Judge Moss's judgment at sentencing," Shipley told CBS News.

Denney's arraignment, where he will likely plead guilty to the lesser count, is now set for Thursday.

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January 6 defendant says he will plead guilty to assaulting officers after prosecutors admit error - CBS News

Ghislaine Maxwell trial juror to plead fifth amendment at hearing – The Guardian

A juror in Ghislaine Maxwells criminal trial who apparently did not disclose childhood sexual abuse during jury selection will invoke his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination at an 8 March hearing.

This juror, who is named Scotty David, was on 24 February ordered to appear in court for questioning about his answers on a screening questionnaire for then-prospective jurors.

Davids completed questionnaire, which was made public last week, shows that he marked the no box in response to the question that asked: Have you or a friend ever been the victim of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, or sexual assault?

The fact that David apparently marked no has spurred extensive controversy as he has claimed in post-trial interviews that he was victimized in his youth.

The British former socialite Maxwell was convicted on 29 December on sex trafficking and other related charges for facilitating financier Jeffrey Epsteins sexual abuse of minor girls, some just 14 years old.

Epstein, a convicted sex offender whose associates once included rich and powerful figures such as Prince Andrew, was apprehended in July 2019 for sex trafficking of minor teens. Epstein killed himself about one month later while jailed in Manhattan awaiting trial.

The controversy surrounding David took off after Maxwells trial.

David claimed in media interviews that he endured sexual abused in childhood. David said that he told other jurors about this abuse enabling them to understand facts from a victims perspective. When those reports emerged, prosecutors asked judge Alison Nathan to conduct an inquiry into his comments. Maxwells legal team made that request shortly thereafter.

Nathan agreed to do so, writing in her recent decision: Following trial, Juror 50 made several direct, unambiguous statements to multiple media outlets about his own experience that do not pertain to jury deliberations and that cast doubt on the accuracy of his responses during jury selection.

She said: Juror 50s post-trial statements are clear, strong, substantial and incontrovertible evidence that a specific, non-speculative impropriety namely, a false statement during jury selection has occurred.

In a letter to Nathan filed Wednesday morning, Davids lawyer, Todd Spodek, said: I write to inform the court that Juror 50 will invoke his fifth amendment privilege against self-incrimination at the hearing.

Prosecutors responded shortly thereafter, saying in a letter that they would try to compel Davids testimony.

The government writes to notify the court that it is in the process of seeking internal approval to seek an order compelling Juror 50s testimony at the hearing, they said. The government will, subject to internal approval, submit a proposed order to the court in advance of the hearing.

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Ghislaine Maxwell trial juror to plead fifth amendment at hearing - The Guardian

Myles Cosgrove also won’t testify in Hankison trial citing 5th Amendment rights – WLKY Louisville

Myles Cosgrove also won't testify in Hankison trial citing 5th Amendment rights

Updated: 3:20 PM EST Feb 28, 2022

It looks like neither ex-LMPD officer who fired shots along with Brett Hankison the night Breonna Taylor died will testify at his trial.The trial for Hankison, who was indicted on wanton endangerment charges, began last week.The night Taylor was killed by gunfire in March 2020, three officers pulled their triggers -- Hankison, John Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove.Both were set to take the stand, but Mattingly invoked his Fifth Amendment right before the trial began, and now, Cosgrove is doing the same.In criminal cases, the Fifth Amendment guarantees the right to a grand jury, forbids double jeopardy and protects against self-incrimination.On Monday, both attorneys agreed and a judge ruled that he "does have a legitimate Fifth Amendment privilege that then makes him an unavailable witness for the purposes of our trial."The trial resumes on Tuesday.Trial coverage:Day 1 - Breonna Taylor's neighbor recounts bullets whizzing through his apartmentDay 2 -Jurors hear his interview from days after Breonna Taylor raidDay 3 - Jurors taken to Breonna Taylor's apartment

It looks like neither ex-LMPD officer who fired shots along with Brett Hankison the night Breonna Taylor died will testify at his trial.

The trial for Hankison, who was indicted on wanton endangerment charges, began last week.

The night Taylor was killed by gunfire in March 2020, three officers pulled their triggers -- Hankison, John Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove.

Both were set to take the stand, but Mattingly invoked his Fifth Amendment right before the trial began, and now, Cosgrove is doing the same.

In criminal cases, the Fifth Amendment guarantees the right to a grand jury, forbids double jeopardy and protects against self-incrimination.

On Monday, both attorneys agreed and a judge ruled that he "does have a legitimate Fifth Amendment privilege that then makes him an unavailable witness for the purposes of our trial."

The trial resumes on Tuesday.

Trial coverage:

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Myles Cosgrove also won't testify in Hankison trial citing 5th Amendment rights - WLKY Louisville