Tag: Murder

* “This is not a game for us. This is deadly serious. We’re here to find the truth, to uphold the Constitution of the United States.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will not hold a full vote to authorize a formal impeachment inquiry into President Trump — yet. [POLITICO; CNN]

* Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s personal lawyer, has officially failed to comply with a congressional subpoena. According to Giuliani, despite the fact that he’s reportedly the subject of numerous federal investigations, Jon Sale is no longer repping him, saying, “At this time, I do not need a lawyer.” Good luck with that, bro. [The Hill]

* You may remember Mossack Fonseca from the Panama Papers case, but now you’ll remember the firm as the one that sued Netflix for libel and trademark infringement for portraying its attorneys as villains in the new movie “The Laundromat.” Catch the flick this Friday from your couch. [Big Law Business]

* Students from Penn Law are marching to demand that Professor Amy Wax be shown the door. “We’re hoping that today people will join our call to fire her just to create a more inclusive space at the Law School that actually rectifies the harm that is being done.” But will it work? [Daily Pennsylvanian]

* In case you missed it, jurors recommended life in prison for Sigfredo Garcia after finding him guilty of murdering Professor Dan Markel, and a judge another 30 years on top for conspiracy to commit murder. Prosecutors still intend to retry Katherine Magbanua. [Tallahassee Democrat]

* Sign up here if you’d like to take part in a conversation between best-selling author John Grisham and former U.S. attorney Preet Bharara (S.D.N.Y.) tonight. I’ll be there to cover the event for Above the Law, and I hope to see you there. [TimesTalks]

* “You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart with spies and treason, right?” According to President Donald Trump, the person or people who gave information to the Ukraine whistleblower is “close to a spy,” and should be handled “a little differently than we do now.” Alrighty then! [New York Times]

* Not to worry, because Trump says, “There should be a way of stopping [the impeachment inquiry], maybe legally through the courts.” That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works. The Supreme Court cannot rescue you. [Reuters]

* In other news, according to sources, the whistleblower is reportedly a CIA officer who at one point was detailed to work at the White House and learned of Trump’s conduct “in the course of official interagency business.” [New York Times]

* Baker McKenzie recently elected Milton Cheng, its Hong Kong managing partner, as the firm’s next global chair. He will be the firm’s first Asian chair. Congratulations! [American Lawyer]

* Biglaw has been intently focused on diversity efforts among its associate and partner ranks, and now law firm professional staff are getting a chance to shine. To that end, Cooley plans to hire a manager dedicated to diversity and inclusion efforts just for staff. [Big Law Business]

* “Wendi Adelson had a problem, and that problem was Dan Markel. The solution to that problem was Magbanua, Rivera, and Garcia.” Opening statements in the Dan Markel murder trial got off to an interesting start, with the late law professor’s former in-laws playing a starring role. [Law.com]

* In case you missed it, the House of Representatives passed legislation that would allow banks to work with cannabis companies in states where it is legal. This is exciting news, so we should probably be prepared for it to die in the Senate. [Reuters]

* Eugene Scalia, a partner at Gibson Dunn, will be nominated as the next Labor secretary to replace Alex Acosta. If that last name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s son. [NPR]

* “I disagree with it.” President Trump now claims that he was “not happy” with a crowd chanting “send her back” in relation to Somali-born Representative Ilhan Omar, a naturalized U.S. citizen, at one of his re-election campaign rallies. This, after Trump tweeted that Omar and three other congresswomen of color should “go back” to their countries, despite being American-born citizens. [New York Times]

* According to recently unsealed court records, per the FBI, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and some of his top aides were very much involved in a series of hush-money payments made to porn actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal. Trump, of course, has very publicly denied having knowledge of such payments. [USA Today]

* The House of Representatives passed a bill to gradually hike the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025. Don’t get too excited, because this has little to no chance of passing in the Senate. [CNBC]

* In case you missed it, you shouldn’t really be surprised by the fact that a judge turned down bail for convicted sex offender and accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. He’ll remain in jail until trial. [New York Law Journal]

* Disgraced former Case Western law school dean Lawrence Mitchell (now known as Ezra Wasserman Mitchell) was quietly let go without a contract renewal at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, where he’d been working as a visiting professor, after an investigation into his alleged misconduct. [Cleveland Scene]

* It’s been five years since FSU Law Professor Dan Markel was murdered in his own home, and we’re still waiting for his killers to be brought to justice. [Tallahassee Democrat]