Maxwell's Silver Hammer (PART II): Transfer to Minimum Camp & Sentencing Post Mortem
Set For Sentencing
In Part II of our deep dive into the Ghislaine Maxwell case, we begin with BOP Prison consultant, Walter Pavlo of prisonology.com to talk about her transfer to a minimum security camp. Then, we resume with Mark Allenbaugh of sentencingstats.com for one of our famous "sentencing post-mortems" to see what we can learn from Maxwell's sentencing proceeding. IN THIS EPISODE: Maxwell's unprecedented transfer to a minimum camp; Cheers for the government for understanding the power of narrative lies in the specifics; Cheers to the defense for creating a theme (Epstein’s...
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Maxwell's Silver Hammer: Part I
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The saga of Jeffrey Epstein is ongoing and ever-present in the news. And there are powerful lessons to be learned. But the talking heads are mostly just spinning their wheels. So, if you're seeking some straight talk and inside scoop about all of it, you've come to the right place. This is a 2-part episode, as there is much ground to cover. The title, of course, is an homage to the great Beatles song. But in truth, Ms. Maxwell does indeed wield a hammer. The Trump folks want to use it to do damage control and she's looking to dig a tunnel out of...
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Holding Court with Judge Nancy Gertner!
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An independent judiciary is the cornerstone of a healthy democracy. But judges are under attack. Therefore, we must stand the post and protect judges from intimidation, unlawful prosecution, incredulous calls to impeach, or worse. And, when it comes to federal criminal sentencing, judicial independence is also crucial to the fair administration of justice. But judicial independence has been undermined for decades by adherence to the stringent, dehumanizing, US sentencing guidelines. Since 2005, these guidelines have been discretionary, yet many judges and lawyers continue to...
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For My Enemies, the Law: The Return of Kilmar Abrego-Garcia
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The Trump administration stated that Kilmar Abrego-Garcia would never return to US soil. But they just back-tracked and brought him back. Unfortunately he now faces federal prosecution under a new indictment for conspiracy and alien smuggling. The bigger problem is the govt. has gone to great lengths to wage an extra-judicial smear campaign against him, with a variety of other horrendous allegations. It remains to be seen whether this indictment represents a genuine pursuit of justice or is influenced by political motives. IN THIS EPISODE: The many red flags in the Indictment and...
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Due Process Denied (PART II): Kilmar Abrego-Garcia and the "Great Replacement"
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In understanding the current administration's draconian deportation policies, nothing makes sense except in the light of white supremacy. The underlying animating force of these policies, openly stated by Tom Homan during a white house press conference, is "the great replacement theory". Propagated by white nationalist, white supremacist fascists, operating in and out of government, it's a lie that has resulted in depraved acts of racist and antisemitic violence (See Southern Poverty Law Center link below). Sadly, the DHS, ICE, and other federal agencies have become...
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Due Process Denied: Kilmar Abrego-Garcia (PART ONE)
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America might have moved on from Kilmar Abrego-Garcia, but we have not. So, ask yourself: What happens when the U.S. government indefinitely sentences someone to a foreign prison without any due process and no one stops them? In this episode (part 1 of 2), I appear on Justin Yentes's podcast "Truth Be Found" to discuss the implications of this case. Justin is an amazing criminal investigator, whom I've worked with in the past, especially on capital matters. We were also joined by former gang member, now consultant, Angel Garcia, to pull back the curtain and talk about about...
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George Santos Sentencing Post-Mortem
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On Friday, April 25, George Santos learned his fate, at his fraud sentencing in federal court. He had two years since his indictment to walk the walk, demonstrate extreme remorse and acceptance, and take meaningful steps to address the problems that got him here and convince a judge he wouldn’t make the same mistakes again. But the government painted him as an unrepentant fraudster who was bound to reoffend, and the judge agreed, giving him a sentence at the very high-end of the guidelines. Therefore, Mark Allenbaugh and I went live on YouTube to conduct one of our world-famous “sentencing...
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Seismic Shift: Big Changes to the Sentencing Guidelines & the Country
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Although we often complain about the sentencing guidelines, this week, I find myself thankful that we still live in a country that has courts and due process, in the federal criminal courts. At least for now. So today, we celebrate the death of guideline departures, lament the death of due process in immigration, and worry for the future of this democracy. That's why we start off talking about the plight of Kilmar Garcia-Abrego, a person lawfully in this country who was abducted by brownshirt immigration thugs and stolen away in the night to a concentration camp in El...
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Reign of Terror: Tesla, Luigi Mangione, & Beyond
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I'm back. I've been in hibernation for the last couple of months, basically paralyzed by what can only be described as a rapid descent into authoritarian hell. In his seminal work, "On Tyranny", Timothy Snyder warns: "Listen for dangerous words. Be alert to the use of the words extremism and terrorism. Be alive to the fatal notions of emergency and exception. Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary." So, today's podcast is brought to you by the letter "T" for "terrorism". The government is going to great lengths to brand anyone who dares question the...
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Anchor's Aweigh: New Policies and New Proposed Guidelines Find Us Unmoored in 2025
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I call this episode “Anchor’s Aweigh” for two reasons. First, there is a potential seismic shift in federal sentencing coming, which would go far to eliminate what we call the dreaded “anchoring effect” of the draconian and deeply dysfunctional sentencing guidelines. If this passes, it will likely be the biggest change in guideline sentencing since Booker was decided twenty years ago. The other reason for the title is because the achor’s up on the new ship of state, and anyone paying attention should feel deeply unmoored. The vessel is powering through...
info_outlineI'm back. I've been in hibernation for the last couple of months, basically paralyzed by what can only be described as a rapid descent into authoritarian hell. In his seminal work, "On Tyranny", Timothy Snyder warns: "Listen for dangerous words. Be alert to the use of the words extremism and terrorism. Be alive to the fatal notions of emergency and exception. Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary." So, today's podcast is brought to you by the letter "T" for "terrorism".
The government is going to great lengths to brand anyone who dares question the authority of the POWERS THAT BE, a domestic terrorist.
Today we talk about three cases where the terror label is applied and the potential or actual consequences, with the incomparable Mark Allenbaugh.
IN THIS EPISODE:
-Breaking down the "Tesla" indictment against Frederick Cooper and the government's toothless threat of "20 years, no negotations";
-Delving into the terror element of the Luigi Mangione case, where AG Bondi just announced the govt. is seeking death because the crime was "politically motivated";
-A massive injustice in North Dakota where the government and judge abused a domestic terrorism provision in the guidelines as a show of cruelty against a 50 year old autistic man, sentencing him to 25 years in prison;
CAMERON SMITH - A CRUEL & VENGEFUL OUTCOME IN NORTH DAKOTA:
If you want to know more about Cameron Smith's Case, here is an article in the New York Times. If you'd like to support his defense in any way, reach out to me ([email protected]). His appeal is pending, and we will not abandon this fight.
ON TYRANNY:
Do yourself a favor and grab this book. If you want the summary of all of his lessons, here you go: https://www.carnegie.org/our-work/article/twenty-lessons-fighting-tyranny/
ON A LIGHTER NOTE:
I'm back on the tequila train. If you've listened to previous episodes, many involve a tequila tie-in and recommendation for a great sip. It helps the medicine (of authoritarianism) go down.
Today I had my choice of two: Tequila Chamucos (i.e. "Diablo Blanco") and Mijenta Blanco Maestra Secltion No. 1 Tequila. Mijenta was the clear winner both in flavor and in theme. Mijenta, in Spanish is derived from "Mi Gente" which means "My People." This particular expression was made from agave grown from seeds, not clones. Mijenta Tequila
https://mijenta-tequila.com/ And if you take away nothing from the events of the day is that this great American experiment of ours is meant to be "by the people and for the people" and at the end of the day, the people have the power. It's time to fight, by all peaceful means necessary, the rapid slide into authoritarian rule. We have to plant the seeds of resistance and let them grow, unafraid, and undaunted.