Lawyer Killed in Court When Shotgun Submitted to Evidence Goes off

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Addelaid Ferreira-Watt, a prominent South African attorney, was killed after a shotgun that had been entered as evidence in a robbery trial was accidentally dropped and fired into her leg.

News24 reported that the gun was being held by a police officer in Umzimkhulu Regional Court when it slipped from his hands and hit the floor. The shotgun released a shell into Ferreira-Watt’s left hip. She was rushed to the hospital but doctors could not save her life. . .

The trial concerned the case of five men who were accused of robbing Cheryl and Dave Biggs at their Ixopo farm in 2014. The court alleges that the defendants Tased the victims, held them at gunpoint and beat them. A number of procedural issues had prevented the case from making it to trial until November 2019. . .

It is unknown why the weapon was not unloaded before it was taken into evidence, or why it was not inspected before being brought into the courtroom. Cheryl Biggs told the press that she did not remember if the weapon was loaded or not when she handed it over to police. (Read more from “Lawyer Killed in Court When Shotgun Submitted to Evidence Goes off” HERE)

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Army Lieutenant Pardoned by Trump Made This Request After Getting out of Jail

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Army First Lt. Clint Lorance served six years in Leavenworth prison before President Trump pardoned him last week, and the soldier had one request upon his release.

“Pizza… it was the best pizza ever,” Lawrence said when “Fox & Friends” host Ainsley Earhardt asked him how he celebrated his freedom.

Lorance, 34, appeared on “Fox & Friends” earlier this week for his first interview since being released from a 19-year sentence for second-degree murder. He had been charged with ordering troops to open fire on three men riding motorcycles in Afghanistan in July 2012, after his commanding officer had been injured.

Two of the men were killed. Lorance later was convicted after several members of his own platoon testified against him. President Trump got word of his case and granted him clemency last week amid some opposition — including from 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden. . .

“He was a brand new platoon leader who saw people on a motorcycle who he believed to be Taliban… he ordered his platoon to fire… he didn’t even pull the trigger himself… turns out they didn’t have weapons on them but what they found out, later on, is that their DNA was tied to Taliban bombmakers. They were Taliban bombmakers,” said co-host Pete Hegseth. (Read more from “Army Lieutenant Pardoned by Trump Made This Request After Getting out of Jail” HERE)

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Alexander Vindman Condemned Himself in His Impeachment Testimony; Benghazi Hero Calls Vindman a ‘Disgrace’

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By NY Post. The commander-in-chief ought to fire Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who serves on the National Security Council, for rank insubordination. That is the key take­away from Tuesday’s hearings in the Democratic impeachment push. . .

But Vindman was unreliable and had questionable judgment, according to his own outgoing superior, Tim Morrison, the National Security Council’s senior director for European affairs.

In fact, Morrison viewed Vindman as so untrustworthy that he opted to exclude him from his conversations with William Taylor, the senior US diplomat in Ukraine.

Vindman had an “unfortunate habit,” Morrison thought, of defying the sprawling executive branch’s carefully delineated chain of command. Vindman’s testimony vindicates Morrison’s dripping disdain for his former subordinate.

The officer, who testified that he has never spoken directly with the president, nonetheless admitted to advising Zelensky as to how to comport himself in his communication with Trump. Vindman testified that he did not have time to express his concerns directly to Morrison, but he apparently found the time to express his concerns to both Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent and an unnamed individual in the intelligence community. (Read more from “Alexander Vindman Condemned Himself in His Impeachment Testimony” HERE)

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Benghazi Hero Calls Vindman a ‘Disgrace’ for Undermining Trump’s Foreign Policy

By Pluralist. A slew of prominent former military service members slammed Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, following his testimony during Tuesday’s impeachment inquiry hearing.

Vindman, the National Security Council’s director for European affairs, testified to the House Intelligence Committee Tuesday alongside Jennifer Williams, a national security aide to Vice President Mike Pence. They had both listened-in on the Trump-Zelensky call and expressed concerns about its inclusion of domestic U.S. politics.

They also said the hold on military aid could damage Ukraine’s ability to confront Russian aggression. Vindman, who showed up in full military dress, construed Trump’s request as a demand, and said it was “likely to have significant implications” for national security.” . . .

Mark Geist, a U.S. Marine who fought in the Battle of Benghazi in 2012, called Vindman a “disgrace to all who served.”

Robert O’Neill, the Navy SEAL responsible for killing Osama bin Laden, accused “the left” of using Vindman’s military service as a shield for criticism against him.

(Read more from “Benghazi Hero Calls Vindman a ‘Disgrace’ for Undermining Trump’s Foreign Policy” HERE)

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Did the Navy’s Top SEAL Show Contempt for Trump?

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His pay grade restored by President Donald J. Trump on Friday, Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward “Eddie” Gallagher has filed an inspector general’s complaint against the Navy’s top SEAL, accusing him of uttering contemptuous statements about the commander in chief.

In the works for four months, the move came hours before a Wednesday morning meeting with Naval Special Warfare superiors in California, who are expected to inform Gallagher that Naval Special Warfare commander Rear Adm. Collin Green has convened a Trident Review Board on Dec. 2 to take the coveted SEAL qualification pin away from the special operator.

Green seems to have mustered the support of his uniformed chain of command to administratively punish Gallagher, 40, even if it’s perceived as defiant to the White House. . .

Based on the documents provided to Navy Times, it remains unclear what, if any, comments were made by Green about the president. But a potential showdown between Trump and Green, his fellow admirals and their civilian overseer, Spencer, could set a bad precedent in civil-military affairs, Gallagher’s legal team said.

“The president has spoken on the punishment of Eddie Gallagher,” said the SEAL’s civilian attorney, Timothy Parlatore, a former surface warfare officer. “A two-star admiral should not be stepping in to substitute the judgment of his commander in chief. “This is a terrible precedent to send and the commander in chief should take swift and decisive action against Rear Adm. Green. (Read more from “Did the Navy’s Top SEAL Show Contempt for Trump?” HERE)

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FBI Investigating “Criminal Enterprise” in Epstein Death; Arrested Prison Guards Were Just 15 Feet from Suicided Epstein; More Damning Evidence of Clinton With Epstein Revealed

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By Fox News. A woman who came forward with accusations of child sex abuse against Jeffrey Epstein on Monday described a disturbing encounter with the now-deceased sex offender. She said she took former President Bill Clinton’s seat on the “Lolita Express,” described bizarre bedroom floors made of mattress foam and said she was encouraged to cry after sex with the disgraced money man.

The accuser, who goes by the name Jane Doe 15, has enlisted high-powered attorney Gloria Allred, who held a news conference Monday in Los Angeles.

The accuser was 15 when Epstein preyed upon her and she was seeking compensatory and punitive damages as a result, Allred said. . .

Jane Doe 15 said Epstein began grooming her when she was in New York for a school trip and eventually found herself on the “Lolita Express,” his private jet.

“When I chose a seat on the jet, Jeffrey told me that is where his good friend Bill Clinton always chose to sit,” Jane Doe 15 said. (Read more from “More Evidence of Bill Clinton’s Involvement with Pedophile Epstein Revealed” HERE)

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Is this Even Remotely Believable? Guards Just 15 Feet from Epstein When He Supposedly Killed Himself

By TMZ. The feds claim Noel and Thomas were 2 of the guards on duty on August 10 from 12 AM to 8 AM, and during their watch, they were supposed to conduct 5 scheduled checks on Epstein.

The 2 guards allegedly completed slips stating they made those checks, but the feds say not a single one was actually carried through. According to the indictment, Noel and Thomas were at their desks in the common area using computers … just 15 feet from Epstein’s cell. BTW, they weren’t doing work either … the feds allege they were shopping for furniture and hunting down motorcycle deals and sports news.

The feds claim for a period of approximately 2 hours, the guards were sitting at their desks “without moving, and appeared to have been asleep.” (Read more about what the investigation of Epstein revealed HERE)

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Jeffrey Epstein Prison Guards Charged with Falsifying Records

By CBS News. Two correctional officers responsible for guarding accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein the day he died by suicide have been charged with falsifying prison records, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday. The guards, Tova Noel and Michael Thomas, surrendered to federal authorities Tuesday morning.

Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell August 10 at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York while awaiting trial on charges he sexually abused a number of underage girls. The medical examiner’s office ruled his death a suicide by hanging on August 16, but the death raised questions about how he could have died under supervision.

Epstein was put on suicide watch the month before he died after he was found with a strip of bedsheet around his neck on July 23, according to the indictment. Epstein was placed on suicide watch for about 24 hours and then on psychological observation for a week before he was placed into a high-security housing unit where he was supposed to be checked on every 30 minutes. The guards are accused of failing to conduct the checks as required and falsifying jail records claiming they had, the indictment says. (Read more from “Jeffrey Epstein Prison Guards Charged with Falsifying Records” HERE)

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Prince Andrew Loses Corporate Sponsors Following Jeffrey Epstein Scandal

By USA Today. Britain’s Prince Andrew is facing fallout over his controversial link to former friend, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. . .

Cisco Systems told USA TODAY it cut ties with Prince Andrew’s networking program in April 2019. The company’s final work with the program was in June.

Accounting firm KPMG terminated its sponsorship with the duke in October, according to CNN and Sky News. (KPMG declined to comment to USA TODAY.)

Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca may follow suit. USA TODAY has confirmed the company’s partnership with Pitch@Palace is due to expire at the end of the year, and is currently being reviewed. (Read more from “Prince Andrew Loses Corporate Sponsors Following Jeffrey Epstein Scandal” HERE)

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FBI Investigating Possibility of ‘Criminal Enterprise’ in Jeffrey Epstein Death, Prisons Chief Admits

By Fox News. FBI investigators probing the death of Jeffrey Epstein are looking into whether a “criminal enterprise” may have played a role, the Bureau of Prisons’ director revealed Tuesday during testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Kathleen Hawk Sawyer, who described the death as a “black eye on the entire Bureau of Prisons,” made the admission when questioned by Sen. Lindsey Graham.

“With a case this high profile, there has got to be either a major malfunction of the system or criminal enterprise at foot to allow this to happen. So are you looking at both? Is the FBI looking at both?” the South Carolina Republican asked.

“The FBI is involved and they are looking at criminal enterprise, yes,” Sawyer responded. (Read more from “FBI Investigating Possibility of ‘Criminal Enterprise’ in Jeffrey Epstein Death, Prisons Chief Admits” HERE)

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Impeachment: Democrats’ New Star Witness Was Drinking Wine, Didn’t Take Notes; MORE Contradictions Surface in Testimony

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By Breitbart. David Holmes, the political officer at the U.S. embassy in Ukraine who has emerged as the Democrats’ new star witness in the “impeachment inquiry,” admitted he had been drinking wine at the time he claimed to overhear the president on the phone.

Holmes claimed to have overheard a conversation between U.S. Ambassador Gordon Sondland and President Donald Trump on a mobile phone on July 26, the day after Trump spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Holmes told the House Intelligence Committee in a closed-door hearing last Friday that Trump asked Sondland whether Zelensky would “do the investigation,” and Sondland said that Zelensky “loves your ass.” . . .

What the media did not report were other details that became clear Monday, when the transcript of Holmes’s testimony was released, on the eve of a second week of public hearings in the impeachment inquiry.

One detail was that Holmes, and Sondland, were drinking at the time of the conversation in question:

The four of us went to a nearby restaurant and sat on an outdoor terrace. I sat directly across from Ambassador Sondland, and the two staffers sat off to our sides. At first, the lunch was largely social. Ambassador Sondland selected a bottle of wine that he shared among the four of us, and we discussed topics such as marketing strategies for his hotel business.

(Read more from “Impeachment: Democrats’ New Star Witness Was Drinking Wine, Didn’t Take Notes” HERE)

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Democrats’ Make-Or-Break Week of Impeachment Hearings Kicks Off, as Contradictions Surface in Testimony

By Fox News. Beginning Tuesday morning, in a rush of five hearings ahead of the Thanksgiving recess, eight witnesses — including several who have provided inconsistent accounts of key events — are set to testify over three days in what could be a make-or-break week in House Democrats’ impeachment investigation.

Less than 24 hours before the proceedings are set to be gaveled in at 9 a.m. ET, President Trump floated the idea of testifying, rather than tweeting, during the inquiry. A top Republican called for a last-minute postponement, citing secretive new developments behind closed doors. And, the Trump campaign has pointed out apparent inconsistencies in some witness testimony already on the record.

Though he’s not slated to testify until Wednesday, the key witness expected to come up throughout the week is Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, the wealthy donor who has bragged about his proximity to President Trump — and who repeatedly has frustrated Democrats’ narrative by contradicting several other key witnesses in the probe.

For example, Sondland previously testified behind closed doors that Trump explicitly told him there were to be “no quid pro quos of any kind” with Ukraine, and that he didn’t recall any conversations with the White House about withholding military assistance in return for Ukraine helping with the president’s political campaign. Democrats have alleged that Trump held up the aid to ensure a public probe into the Ukraine business dealings of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

Then, William Taylor, the U.S. chargé d’affaires for Ukraine, told lawmakers that Sondland himself said “everything” — a White House visit for Ukraine’s new leader and the release of military aid to the former Soviet republic — was contingent on a public announcement of investigations into the 2016 election and into Ukraine gas company Burisma. Hunter Biden sat on its board. (Read more from “Democrats’ Make-Or-Break Week of Impeachment Hearings Kicks Off, as Contradictions Surface in Testimony” HERE)

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SEE IT: Is This The Worst Government Slogan Ever?

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The state of South Dakota has a new anti-drug campaign, but its slogan is raising eyebrows.

Because it is “Meth. We’re on it.” . . .

The campaign’s website makes it clear: “Meth addiction is everyone’s problem. Here’s how to fight it. South Dakota has a problem. There isn’t a single solution because meth is widespread. But we can approach it from different angles, so it doesn’t take over counties, towns, neighborhoods. Let’s work together.” . . .

But Twitter news aggregator Twitchy called it the “worst anti-meth campaign slogan possible.”

“Seriously, we’re glad that South Dakota is doing something about methamphetamine abuse. In fact, the state should be so proud of its efforts to fight drug abuse, it should post huge signs with this logo right at the border.”

(Read more from “SEE IT: Is This The Worst Government Slogan Ever?” HERE)

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Teens Storm Elementary School Bus to Attack Children (VIDEO)

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Police said that a grade school child was hospitalized in Georgia after a group of teens mobbed a school bus to attack children. . .

More than one grade school student was attacked, but only one was hurt enough to be taken to the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta hospital.

Police later arrested four students for the assault. One was an 18-year-old non-student, another was a high school student, and two were middle school students. . .

“The safety and well-being of our students is our top priority. On Nov. 18, an incident occurred on a school bus on Hollyhock Terrace involving Snapfinger Elementary students. Two middle school students, one high school student, and an 18-year-old non-student attacked elementary students, which resulted in one elementary student being transported to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA),” the statement read.

“DeKalb County School District Police responded immediately, investigated and obtained warrants for the high school student and the 18-year-old non-student,” the statement continued. “Two middle schools students were arrested and taken to Juvenile Intake.”

(Read more from “Teens Storm Elementary School Bus to Attack Children” HERE)

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REVEALED: Leaked Focus Group Results Reveal Democrats’ Impeachment Messaging Plans, Weak Legal Case

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By The Blaze. . .As political observers noticed this week, the Democrats have a new messaging strategy in their impeachment inquiry of President Trump: accuse him of “bribery” in his dealings with Ukraine.

The shift came after focus groups in battleground states by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee showed that voters were less receptive to the Latin legal term “quid pro quo” (which means this for that) than to charges of “bribery.” The latter, according to sources familiar with the focus group results, is likelier to persuade swing voters, said National Review.

As the Washington Post points out, House Intelligence Committee member Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) was the first to announce Democrats’ intentions to retire “quid pro quo” during an appearance on “Meet the Press” last week where he said “it’s probably best not to use Latin words” when describing the administration’s negotiations with Ukrainian officials.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi subsequently began accusing Trump of “bribery” during a press conference on Thursday. “Talking Latin around here: E pluribus unum — from many, one. Quid pro quo — bribery. And that is in the Constitution, attached to the impeachment proceedings,” she said.

As Pelosi noted, a likely reason why Democrats have replaced quid pro quo with “bribery” is that the latter is one of only two crimes cited in the Constitution as an impeachable offense. Article II of the Constitution states that the president “shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” (Read ore from “Revealed: Leaked Focus Group Results Reveal Democrats’ Impeachment Messaging Plans, Weak Legal Case” HERE)

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Democrats Invite Trump to Testify in Impeachment Inquiry

By AP. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi invited President Donald Trump to testify in front of investigators in the House impeachment inquiry ahead of a week that will see several key witnesses appear publicly.

Pushing back against accusations from the president that the process has been stacked against him, Pelosi said Trump is welcome to appear or answer questions in writing, if he chooses.

“If he has information that is exculpatory, that means ex, taking away, culpable, blame, then we look forward to seeing it,” she said in an interview that aired Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” Trump “could come right before the committee and talk, speak all the truth that he wants if he wants,” she said. (Read more from “Democrats Invite Trump to Testify in Impeachment Inquiry” HERE)

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Journalists Who Exposed Planned Parenthood’s ‘Baby Body Parts’ Trade Found Guilty

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The jury in the “Baby Body Parts” trial of activist and journalist David Daleiden has delivered a blow to undercover journalism, declaring that secret filming is now illegal and can leave journalists open to massive damages.

Planned Parenthood was awarded almost $2 million for the filming after alleging activist journalist David Daleiden secretly recorded executives negotiating to sell baby body parts.

Peter Breen, a lawyer for Mr. Daleiden, said the judgement is a direct threat to undercover journalism in California and across the country. . .

Judge Orrick told the jury in advance of their verdict that he has decided to find Daleiden guilty of trespass during his undercover journalism. Daleiden previously lost an attempt to have Judge Orrick removed from the case, alleging he was biased against the defendants.

Planned Parenthood sued Daleiden and his colleagues after they released secretly recorded videos of Planned Parenthood executives haggling over the sale and price of baby body parts from abortions in their facilities. Planned Parenthood made a series of claims – stating they had caused damages because of their invasion of privacy with the undercover filming, fraud because they set up a false buying company, and RICO conspiracy because a number of people worked together in the project. RICO charges are more normally associated with criminal mafia cases. The jury found for Planned Parenthood in all their claims. (Read more from “Journalists Who Exposed Planned Parenthood’s ‘Baby Body Parts’ Trade Found Guilty” HERE)

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