Latest news with #FifthAmendment
Chicago Tribune
5 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Driver accused of ramming into crowd outside LA nightclub charged with 37 counts of attempted murder
LOS ANGELES — The driver accused of ramming his car into a crowd outside a Los Angeles nightclub over the weekend was charged with 37 felony counts of attempted murder, prosecutors said Tuesday. Fernando Ramirez, 29, was also charged with 37 felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon. If convicted, he could face multiple sentences of life imprisonment. Ramirez is accused of intentionally driving his car onto the sidewalk as partygoers were leaving the Vermont Hollywood venue at the end of a reggae hip-hop event early Saturday. The motive for the attack, which injured 37 people, was still unknown. A phone number for Ramirez could not be found in an online database search, and the public defender's office said they have not been appointed to represent him. 'When he drove that car onto that sidewalk, he aimed it at a whole sea of pedestrians,' LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in announcing the charges. The car came to a stop after colliding with several food carts, which became lodged underneath the vehicle, and bystanders attacked the driver, police said. Injuries ranged from minor to serious fractures and lacerations, and some people were briefly trapped beneath the vehicle. After fleeing the scene, Ramirez was later found to have been shot in the lower back, but authorities have not identified the suspected gunman. Officials said Tuesday they were still looking for the shooter. 'We understand that this brazen act has shaken the community and but for the good grace of God, this could have been a mass casualty incident' Hochman said. He added that eight people suffered 'great bodily injury.' Among those injured, 23 people were taken to hospitals, said Ronnie Villanueva, Interim Fire Chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said 'it's truly a miracle that no one was killed that day.' Ramirez has a criminal history that includes a battery and gang-related charge in 2014, an aggravated battery conviction for a 2019 attack on a Black man at a Whole Foods grocery store in Laguna Beach, California, and a domestic violence charge in 2021, records show. In the 2019 attack, he was also convicted of a civil rights misdemeanor, and the assault was considered a hate crime because he told police he hated Black people. But a California appeals court in 2021 said he made that statement after invoking his Fifth Amendment rights, and only the battery conviction was allowed to stand. Ramirez was released from custody after more than two years in jail and prison. Ramirez 'has proved to be violent to strangers and family alike and clearly has a lack of concern for the safety of others,' Orange County prosecutors said in a court filing for the 2019 attack. A 2024 drunken driving case and 2022 domestic violence charge were pending at the time of the nightclub crash, according to records.
Hamilton Spectator
17 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Driver accused of ramming into crowd outside LA nightclub charged with 37 counts of attempted murder
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The driver accused of ramming his car into a crowd outside a Los Angeles nightclub over the weekend was charged with 37 counts of attempted murder, prosecutors said Tuesday. Fernando Ramirez, 29, was also charged with 37 counts of assault with a deadly weapon. If convicted, he could face multiple sentences of life imprisonment. Ramirez is accused of intentionally driving his car onto the sidewalk as partygoers were leaving the Vermont Hollywood venue at the end of a reggae hip-hop event early Saturday. The motive for the attack, which injured 37 people, was still unknown. A phone number for Ramirez could not be found in an online database search, and the public defender's office said they have not been appointed to represent him. 'When he drove that car onto that sidewalk, he aimed it at a whole sea of pedestrians,' LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in announcing the charges. The car came to a stop after colliding with several food carts, which became lodged underneath the vehicle, and bystanders attacked the driver, police said. Injuries ranged from minor to serious fractures and lacerations, and some people were briefly trapped beneath the vehicle. After fleeing the scene, Ramirez was later found to have been shot in the lower back, but authorities have not identified the suspected gunman. Officials said Tuesday they were still looking for the shooter. 'We understand that this brazen act has shaken the community and but for the good grace of God, this could have been a mass casualty incident' Hochman said. He added that eight people suffered 'great bodily injury.' Among those injured, 23 people were taken to hospitals, said Ronnie Villanueva, Interim Fire Chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said 'it's truly a miracle that no one was killed that day.' Ramirez has a criminal history that includes a battery and gang-related charge in 2014, an aggravated battery conviction for a 2019 attack on a Black man at a Whole Foods grocery store in Laguna Beach, California, and a domestic violence charge in 2021, records show. In the 2019 attack, he was also convicted of a civil rights misdemeanor, and the assault was considered a hate crime because he told police he hated Black people. But a California appeals court in 2021 said he made that statement after invoking his Fifth Amendment rights, and only the battery conviction was allowed to stand. Ramirez was released from custody after more than two years in jail and prison. Ramirez 'has proved to be violent to strangers and family alike and clearly has a lack of concern for the safety of others,' Orange County prosecutors said in a court filing for the 2019 attack. A 2024 drunken driving case and 2022 domestic violence charge were pending at the time of the nightclub crash, according to records. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
The Hill
a day ago
- Health
- The Hill
Is Biden's doctor covering up the president's last physical?
Dr. Kevin O'Connor, former President Joe Biden's longtime personal doctor and reportedly sometime family business associate, refused to answer questions about Biden's health at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee meeting on July 9. Asked to testify about Biden's physical and mental condition, the doctor invoked the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer based on doctor-patient confidentiality — or was it to not incriminate himself? O'Connor's lack of response only raises more doubts about Biden's health and his administration's cover-up of it. According to a statement from O'Connor's legal team, 'On the advice of his legal counsel, Dr. O'Connor refused to answer questions that invaded the well-established legal privilege that protects confidential matters between physicians and their patients.' While the expectation of privacy in the doctor-patient relationship is fundamental and sacrosanct, that expectation is greatly reduced when we're talking about the president, who lives in a glass White House. Many issues that are normally nobody's business become everybody's business when it comes to the president — and that includes medical issues. On Feb. 28, 2024, O'Connor released to the public the results of Biden's most recent (and last) presidential physical. Although it has apparently been taken down from the White House website, it is still available at the National Archives. It is a public document. If nothing else, O'Connor could have restricted his comments to what is revealed in the summary of the physical. The document highlights the medical conditions Biden was being treated for at the time: obstructive sleep apnea, non-valvular fibrillation, low lipid levels, reflux, his 'stiffened gait,' and several other conditions. No mental health assessment was made because O'Connor thought it wasn't necessary. Or maybe it just wasn't prudent. In the summary, O'Connor asserts the 2024 'Physical exam is essentially unchanged from baseline,' which presumably is referring to his first presidential exam in 2021. And he added at the release that Biden is a 'healthy, active, robust 81-year-old.' But that conclusion is questionable, given Biden's performance in the presidential debate just four months later. While it would be totally inappropriate for a doctor to publicly release the results of your or my physical exam, the American people have come to expect presidents to produce a summary of their annual physical. President Trump's physician, Dr. Sean P. Barbabella, released a summary of Trump's physical on April 13. And the White House just revealed Trump's chronic vein problem, even though it doesn't affect his job performance. People want to know if the person holding the most important job in the world is healthy and capable of doing the job. When a president goes under anesthesia for some medical procedure, reporters inform the public. If the president contracts COVID-19, as both Trump and Biden did, the news reports it. Note that Trump's physical included a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test, which can indicate prostate cancer. The result was normal. Biden's released results did not include a PSA test, and we recently discovered he has an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Even former presidents may not have much of an expectation of privacy on medical issues. While Biden's medical conditions can no longer affect presidential duties, it's important to know whether there was a medical cover up so that, if there was, steps can be taken to prevent it in the future. So, what can Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, do about O'Connor's stonewalling? First, the simplest solution is for Comer to send Biden an official letter requesting him to allow O'Connor to discuss results of Biden's physicals. If Biden gives his consent — which I doubt he will — O'Connor can quit hiding behind doctor-patient confidentiality. If Biden refuses to give his consent, Comer should invite O'Connor back to discuss Biden's last two physical exams. They are public information, so O'Connor shouldn't have any problem discussing the results that have been made public. If O'Connor refuses, Comer has another option. When O'Connor initially released the results of the president's physical, he claimed that doctors in several specialties, without naming names, reviewed and signed off on O'Connor's report. Comer could ask for a list of the doctors who reviewed the data and ask them to testify as to whether they had reviewed and confirmed the physical's results. Although such hearings would no doubt be partisan, there is a broader policy issue at stake. The public needs to be able to trust information about a president's medical condition. Given what we've seen from the Biden administration, that's not the case.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Accused fraudster of Kansas DCF contractor renounces claim to seized bank funds
The federal government is a step closer to getting about $700,000 seized from bank accounts tied to one of the former executives accused of defrauding a Kansas foster care contractor out of more than $10 million. William Byrd Whymark and Robert Nelson Smith are accused of conspiring to defraud Saint Francis Ministries of more than $10 million. Both defendants have indicated they will change their not guilty pleas. Smith was the president and CEO of the Salina-based Saint Francis, a faith-based nonprofit that contracts with the Kansas Department for Children and Families. He was also an ordained priest with the Episcopal Church. Whymark was the chief information officer. Smith and Whymark were indicted in U.S. District Court in Topeka in November 2022 on 20 total charges of money laundering, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The Federal Bureau of Investigation detailed the case in a civil asset forfeiture case filed in August 2022. Former Saint Francis leader renounces claim to bank accounts In the civil asset forfeiture case, the federal government is seeking about $703,000 in three seized bank accounts connected to Whymark. The civil case was filed before the criminal case, but it had been paused since May 2023. The stay was due to "concerns" about discovery and the Fifth Amendment, according to a filing by assistant U.S. attorney Scott Anderson. In that March 26 federal court filing requesting the stay remain in place, the U.S. Attorney's Office said "plea negotiations are ongoing, but they have not reached an agreement yet." The stay was lifted on July 21 by Magistrate Judge Gwynne Birzer. That came after Whymark, Jessica Whymark and WMK Technology Corp. on June 6 withdrew their claims and disclaimed any interest in the contents of the bank accounts. Then the U.S. Attorney's Office on July 18 requested the stay be lifted. More: DCF contractor Saint Francis Ministries defrauded of $10.7 million by former IT chief, feds allege Defendants are scheduled to change pleas In the criminal case, both Whymark and Smith pleaded not guilty. Now, that may be changing. Whymark on April 30 notified the court that he intends to change his plea, which was followed by Smith's notice on May 27. The change of plea hearing is scheduled for Sept. 3 in Topeka with District Judge Toby Crouse. If convicted, they could face decades in prison and millions of dollars in fines. More: Former leaders of DCF contractor Saint Francis charged with fraud, money laundering Indictment details alleged scheme to defraud Saint Francis Ministries The grand jury indictment alleged that Whymark and Smith "conspired and engage in a scheme to defraud Saint Francis Ministries." Whymark allegedly swindled Saint Francis out of more than $10 million through submitting and approving false invoices. A July 2022 affidavit by special agent Kevin Mills, a financial and white collar crime investigator with the FBI's Topeka office, said the fraud totaled about $10.7 million. Despite his $164,000 salary as the organization's top IT officer, Whymark outsourced work to his New York-based company, WMK Research, then further outsourced it to subcontractors in India, QubeRoot Analytics and Pinnacle Seven Technologies. He then submitted fraudulent invoices with inflated costs for the work performed by the subcontractors he wasn't supposed to use, the indictment alleged. "Whymark used the fraudulently obtained funds from SFM toward the purchase of an approximate four-million-dollar home in Armonk, New York, luxury vehicles, jewelry, and cash withdrawals," the indictment alleged. Meanwhile, Smith allegedly received a $50,000 kickback for approving the high-dollar invoices and also improperly used Saint Francis credit cards for personal expenses. That included "cash withdrawals, clothing and jewelry purchases, and expenses associated with travel for Smith and his family members." Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@ Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd. This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas federal court has update on Saint Francis Ministries fraud case Solve the daily Crossword
Sky News AU
2 days ago
- Health
- Sky News AU
Hunter Biden says dad Joe was on Ambien during disastrous 2024 debate with Trump
He really was Sleepy Joe! Hunter Biden claimed in a new interview that his father's disastrous performance in last year's debate with Donald Trump was due in part to Ambien. 'I know exactly what happened in that debate,' Hunter, 55, told YouTube personality Andrew Callaghan in an interview released Monday on the anniversary of Joe Biden ending his re-election bid. 'He flew around the world. He's 81 years old. He's tired. They give him Ambien to be able to sleep and he gets up on the stage and looks like a deer in the headlights.' It's unclear when exactly the elderly 46th president consumed the sleep aid, which has an increased risk of side effects like drowsiness among patients older than 70, whose bodies also process the drug more slowly, according to a FDA fact sheet. Hunter also didn't specify how long his father was on Ambien in the run-up to the debate. The then-president arrived hours later than scheduled to inspect the CNN debate stage on the night of July 27, 2024 — after spending more than four hours out of sight at a hotel nearby. The debate killed Biden's quest for re-election, with the then-president's mouth hanging agape for long stretches. In a stunning utterance viewed by tens of millions of voters, Biden nonsensically declared that he 'finally beat Medicare.' A Democratic Party rebellion ensued, forcing Biden to step aside on July 21, 2024, in favor of then-Vice President Kamala Harris as the party's presidential nominee. 'They said, 'We are going to blow up the party if you don't drop out,'' the former first son narrated in the interview. ''We're going to protest this all the way up for the next month, all the way up to the convention.'' Although the use of Ambien is very common, the drug was not disclosed on Biden's annual physical report last year, which was issued to reassure the public about the commander in chief's fitness. A memo released by then-presidential physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor on Feb. 28, 2024, makes note of six medications the commander-in-chief was taking — but the popular sleeping aid is not one of them. The Post also conducted a brief review of Joe Biden's publicly available medical records and found no mention of an Ambien prescription. O'Connor, who insisted that Biden's mental and physical fitness was 'excellent' following the debate, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination this month as he refused a House committee's questions. The doctor, a close Biden friend and longtime confidant, drew bipartisan scorn after Biden was diagnosed in May with stage 4 prostate cancer, which critics said should have been caught before it spread to the ex-president's bones. Joe Biden traveled to Italy to meet with G7 leaders from June 13-15, 2024 — days after stopping in France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day. By June 20, 2024, the president had hunkered down at Camp David for debate prep ahead of the June 27 showdown. The former first son also downplayed the extent of the Democratic revolt against his father that led to Joe Biden giving up the Democratic nomination. 'The people who came out against him were nobody, except … Speaker Emeritus [Nancy] Pelosi [D-Calif.] did not give a full-throated endorsement,' he said. 'The entirety of the progressive side of the Democratic Party said Joe Biden has got more of our agenda accomplished in four years than any president in history.' Following the debate, Hunter Biden claimed, his father was left with the impossible task of proving to party leaders that he was up to carrying the Democratic standard against Trump. 'He gets over the hump, he goes and does the [ABC News anchor George] Stephanopoulos [interview]. Everybody goes, 'OK, that's not enough, we got to see him give a press conference,'' Hunter griped, referring to a media availability that July 12 at which Biden called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky 'Vladimir,' in apparent confusion with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Five days later, the White House announced that the president had tested positive for COVID-19, dealing a further blow to his attempt to get the campaign back on track. 'He woke up in the morning and he had a severe case of COVID, and the pictures of him getting on and off the plane were just devastating, and then the vultures descended,' Hunter recalled. 'So Joe Biden, I think, did the most selfless thing that I know of any politician in the history of this f—ing country,' he added. 'He stepped aside to save the party.' A rep for the former president did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Originally published as Hunter Biden says dad Joe was on Ambien during disastrous 2024 debate with Trump
