Latest news with #prosecution
New York Times
4 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
Justice Dept. to Move Ahead With Bribery Case Against Cuellar
The Justice Department is moving ahead with its bribery case against Representative Henry Cuellar after an internal debate, despite President Trump's public expressions of support for the embattled Democrat from Texas, according to three people with knowledge of the situation. The department is, however, expected to withdraw charges against Mr. Cuellar under the Foreign Agents Registration Act stemming from his business dealings with Azerbaijan and Mexican citizens in accordance with Attorney General Pam Bondi's blanket order to scale back such prosecutions under the law, those people said. In May 2024, Mr. Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Houston on charges of participating in a yearslong $600,000 bribery scheme involving Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank. The congressman, who, as a native of Laredo, represents a swing district on the southern border at the center of Mr. Trump's immigration push, was accused of bribery and money laundering on behalf of an oil and gas company owned by Azerbaijan's leaders. Shortly after Ms. Bondi announced in February that she would narrow enforcement of foreign lobbying and bribery laws, a lawyer for Mr. Cuellar suggested he would assess the new tack and determine whether to raise it with the department. In mid-May of this year, Matthew R. Galeotti, an assistant attorney general, told Mr. Cuellar's legal team that prosecutors in the department's criminal and national security divisions had rejected the congressman's request that the case be dismissed, according to people briefed on the exchange who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The dismissal request by Mr. Cuellar's lawyer, Seth D. DuCharme — the former top federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York — tracked closely with Mr. Trump's own legal and political strategy. He claimed that the Biden administration had weaponized the Justice Department to target Mr. Cuellar, the people familiar with the matter said. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Sun
11 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
Asda fined £640,000 for selling out-of-date food in UK stores
ASDA has been fined £640,000 for selling out-of-date food at two of its stores in Wales. Trading Standards officers found 115 items, including some that were more than two weeks out of date, at Asda's Leckwith and Pentwyn stores in Cardiff. 1 Asda faced four charges relating to the sale of out-of-date food items after food safety officers visited the stores on four occasions in 2024. A visit to the Leckwith store on January 17 of that year found 36 out of date items, including five tubs of spicy mayo dip seven days out of date. A visit to the Pentwyn store in the Cardiff Gate retail park on March 25 found 25 outdated items, while another visit to the store a month later found 48 items, including some that were 12 days out of date. Asda said the prosecution related to food safety breaches that took place last year, when a different date code checking process was in use. An updated process that had been in place since November 24 involved daily manual checks on all short-life products and twice-weekly checks on every long-life product. An Asda spokesman said: 'We regret that out-of-date food was found on sale at two of our Cardiff stores last year and accept that our usual high standards were not upheld. 'Since then, we have introduced a new date code checking process across all our stores, whereby every short-life product is checked daily so that customers can always buy the freshest products.'
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Timeline: How the Sycamore Gap tree felling that shocked the nation unfolded as culprits jailed
The two men who felled the tree at Sycamore Gap have each been jailed for four years and three months. Former friends Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, were convicted of criminal damage to the much-loved tree, which had stood for more than 100 years in a fold in the landscape. They were also convicted of criminal damage to Hadrian's Wall, caused when the sycamore fell on the ancient monument. At trial, Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, told jurors the pair had engaged in a 'moronic mission' to cut down the landmark, travelling for more than 40 minutes from their homes in Cumbria, then carrying their equipment across pitch black moorland during a storm back in September 2023. Here is a timeline of the events leading up to the felling of the tree: Wednesday 27 September 2023 10.02am – Graham sends a message to Carruthers saying: 'Big storm tonight, we might get onto storm damage, get saws warmed up'. 5.20pm – Walker takes a picture of the Sycamore Gap tree, still standing. 10.23pm – Carruthers' phone rings Graham's phone for one minute and 18 seconds. Prosecutors say this is the last contact between them because after this, they were travelling together to Sycamore Gap. 11.35-11.38pm – Graham's phone was picked up at cell sites on the A689 between Carlisle and Brampton. 11.37pm – Graham's Range Rover captured by an ANPR camera at Brampton. 11.41pm – Graham's phone 'detaches' from the network. Prosecutors say it was deliberately disconnected. 11.55pm – CCTV camera at the Twice Brewed Inn captures vehicle headlights travelling up and then making a left-hand turn towards the Steel Rigg Car Park, used by visitors to Sycamore Gap. Thursday 28 September 2023 12.32am – A video is made on Graham's phone showing the sound of a chainsaw, followed by the sound of a tree falling. 12.34am – Photograph taken on Graham's iPhone, which prosecutors say shows the outline of the felled tree. 12.58am – CCTV camera at the Twice Brewed Inn shows vehicle headlights again, this time going the opposite way. 1.18am – Graham's Range Rover captured by ANPR camera at Brampton again, this time travelling west back towards Carlisle. 1.26am – Range Rover captured on ANPR camera. Three minutes later Carruthers' partner sends him a video of a child being bottle fed. He replies: 'I've got a better video than that.' Eight minutes later, Graham's phone sends the video of the tree being felled to Carruthers' phone. 1.28am – Graham's phone reconnects to the network. 2am – Photographs and two short videos taken on Graham's mobile phone, at his home, show a piece of wood, next to a chainsaw, in the boot of his Range Rover. 9.46am – Police receive a report that the tree has been damaged. The investigation begins. 10.20am – Carruthers sends Graham an image of Facebook comments, with one circled that says: 'Judging by the quality of the cut and size of tree I would say whoever it was has knowledge of how to fell large trees.' They discuss another comment from a man called Kevin Hartness saying: 'Some weak people that walk this earth disgusting behaviour.' Carruthers sends another voice note to Graham saying: 'I'd like to see Kevin Hartness launch an operation like we did last night hmm I don't think he's got the minerals.' 7.02pm – Graham sends another voice note to Carruthers saying: 'It's on f****** Sky News as we speak.' Prosecutors say this is one of numerous messages between the pair that day 'revelling' in what they had done. Tuesday 31 October 2023 Graham and Carruthers were arrested and interviewed. Police find two chainsaws, a chainsaw blade and a cover at Graham's house. Friday 3 November 2023 Graham and Carruthers were arrested and interviewed again. Carruthers' property is searched, and a chainsaw is found. Tuesday 30 April 2024 Graham and Carruthers are charged with criminal damage. They both later pleaded not guilty. 28 April 2025 The trial begins at Newcastle Crown Court. During the trial, prosecutors could not be sure which of the pair cut down the tree, but the jury was told that both men were jointly responsible for the 'mindless vandalism '. A video was also taken of the destruction by one of the two men, the court was told, and a wedge of the tree was taken away as a 'trophy'. The pair's once-close friendship fell apart as the police investigation closed in on them. Graham claimed during his evidence that Carruthers had a fascination with the sycamore, saying he had described it as 'the most famous tree in the world' and spoken of wanting to cut it down, even keeping a piece of string in his workshop that he had used to measure the circumference. Carruthers, despite being blamed by his friend, always claimed he knew nothing about who chopped the tree down and told the court he could not understand the outcry over the story, saying it was 'just a tree'. Friday 9 May 2025 Graham and Carruthers were found guilty of chopping down the Sycamore Gap tree in an act of 'deliberate and mindless criminal damage'. There was no visible reaction from either in the dock as the jury returned after just over five hours to convict them of causing £622,191 of criminal damage to the tree and £1,144 of damage to the wall. Tuesday 15 July Graham and Carruthers were each sentenced to four years and three months' imprisonment. During her sentencing remarks, Mrs Justice Lambert said she could now be sure that Carruthers cut the Sycamore Gap tree down while Graham filmed him, after admissions they had both made in pre-sentence reports. She told the defendants: 'At the trial in May, neither of you accepted any involvement. 'In recent interviews with the Probation Service, although seeking to minimise your culpability, you admitted being present and involved. 'I can now be sure you, Adam Carruthers, were the person who felled the tree, and you, Daniel Graham, assisted and encouraged him by driving there and back and not least by filming it on your phone.'
The Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump accuses impeachment leader Schiff of ‘mortgage fraud' over Maryland home he keeps while repping California
President Donald Trump on Tuesday suggested that California Senator Adam Schiff be prosecuted for what he described as 'mortgage fraud' as he claimed his longtime political foe has broken the law by previously claiming a home in suburban Maryland as a primary residence. Writing on Truth Social, the president claimed he'd been given information from the federally-backed mortgage lender Fannie Mae indicating that Schiff, who led the investigation leading to his first impeachment trial while chairing the House Intelligence Committee, 'has engaged in a sustained pattern of possible Mortgage Fraud.' He accused the first-term senator of having falsely claimed a Potomac, Maryland house he has owned for decades as a 'primary residence' while representing California in Congress, thereby gaining a more favorable interest rate than he otherwise would have been entitled to. 'Adam Schiff said that his primary residence was in MARYLAND to get a cheaper mortgage and rip off America, when he must LIVE in CALIFORNIA because he was a Congressman from CALIFORNIA. I always knew Adam Schiff was a Crook,' Trump said. The president added that the alleged 'fraud' ran from a 2009 refinancing of Schiff's Maryland house until he designated it as a second home in 2020. Schiff has represented California in Washington since 2001 and for almost all of that time has kept a home in Maryland, where he has lived with his wife and where his children have attended public schools in the Montgomery County, Maryland school district. He also keeps a condominium in Burbank, California, which is part of his former Los Angeles-area House district. It was once common for House and Senate members to bring their families to Washington before the practice was turned into fodder for campaign attacks by Republicans during the 1994 midterm elections. In recent years, most members have kept their families back home for fear of political fallout, with some going so far as to sleep in their offices to avoid establishing any roots in the nation's capital. Other senators have faced questions over their Capital-area residences. Schiff's predecessor, former senator Laphonza Butler, was forced to re-register to vote in California after she was appointed to the seat following the death of longtime California senator Dianne Feinstein. Butler, a longtime Democratic activist and operative, had longstanding ties to the Golden State but had been registered to vote in the Washington area. Schiff's ownership of the Maryland property was reported on during his Senate campaign by CNN, which at the time reported that the then-House member wasn't likely to face any legal repercussions because the law at issue is ambiguous when it comes to the definition of a primary residence. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Independent. But Marisol Samayoa, Schiff's spokesperson during the campaign and his current press secretary, told CNN last year that he has claimed both his properties as primary residences for mortgage purposes 'because they are both occupied throughout the year and to distinguish them from a vacation property.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Mapleview man accused of criminal sexual conduct has 2 charges dismissed; aggravated sentences sought in remaining cases
Jul. 14—A Mapleview man charged in multiple cases of criminal sexual conduct with a child has had one of those cases dismissed. Joshua Alan Lamaack, 45, had a felony charge of first degree criminal sexual conduct and third degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor dismissed on Friday when the prosecution submitted in Mower County District Court the intent to dismiss on July 10, listing in court documents the reason of being in the interest of justice. This leaves two cases remaining — one that dates back to 2023 and the other dating back to 2024. The case that was dismissed was the one most recent of the three cases to be brought against Lamaack, who was accused of allegedly assaulting three separate victims over the span of years with some of the victims being under the age of 10 when the abuse started and lasting into their teens.. It should be noted that the charges in the two remaining cases all have maximum sentences of 30 years in prison and/or a $40,000 fine. The first degree criminal sexual conduct charge that was dismissed carried with it the same maximums, but the third degree criminal sexual conduct charge carries with it a max prison sentence of 15 years and/or a $30,000 fine. In the two remaining cases, requests in both were made by prosecuting attorneys and granted regarding presentation of evidence related to aggravated sentencing factors being sought in the case. Lamaack was first charged in November of 2023 with felony criminal sexual conduct in the first degree, penetration or contact with a person under 13 and felony criminal sexual conduct in the first degree-injury-use of force/coerce. In that case he was accused of sexually abusing a child from the time he was 11 to around 17-years-old. He was charged again in July of 2024 with three more felony counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct. Two of those are related to the victim being under 13 to 15, and the third is for the use of a dangerous weapon. Lamaack is scheduled for pre-trial on April 10, 2026 with a trial scheduled for April 20.
