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How Thick is the Blanket? – Preemptive Pardons as a Presidential Power

How Thick is the Blanket? – Preemptive Pardons as a Presidential Power

December 6, 2024

How Thick is the Blanket? – Preemptive Pardons as a Presidential Power

By: James Trusty

As the presiding judge scolded Hunter Biden’s attorneys this week, “The Constitution provides the President with broad authority to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, U.S. Const. art. II, § 2, cl. 1, but nowhere does the Constitution give the President the authority to rewrite history.”[1]  But what exactly is that history he claims is being re-written? Judge Scarsi was challenging the largely academic issue of whether a pardon signed at noon, for instance, protects against crimes committed on the same day at dinnertime. That is a very limited run at the notion of “preemptive” pardons, and it seems to be strictly a question of chronology. The judge did not seem to question the idea of…

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Supremely Improbable

July 30, 2024

Supremely Improbable

By: James Trusty

President Biden’s pronounced objectives for Supreme Court “reform” are improbable, politically lifeless under a particularly lame duck presidency, and motivated by transparently November-driven calculations. But even if the proposed changes are doomed from the start, they push public discourse on a couple of issues that are red meat for the democrats. The stated reforms are superficially simple ones: 1) to “clarify” that “there is no…

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Presidential Immunity Ruling Stirs Sound and Fury

July 5, 2024

Presidential Immunity Ruling Stirs Sound and Fury

By: James Trusty

The immediate and eventual impact of the Supreme Court’s immunity decision in Trump v. United States is both considerable and dramatically misrepresented. The initial consequences include likely delay to the January 6 prosecution out of D.C. and the setting of hearings—in D.C., Georgia and south Florida—where the judges will be required to make  factual findings as to whether the evidence supporting the indictments reflect “official…

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Disqualification of AUSA in Scruggs Case Is Message to Prosecutors

June 13, 2011

Disqualification of AUSA in Scruggs Case Is Message to Prosecutors

By: Ifrah Law

The botched prosecution of Senator Ted Stevens was a wake-up call of sorts for the U.S. Department of Justice that there would be severe consequences for prosecutors who did not comply with obligations under Brady and related cases. The Department took another hit recently when a federal judge removed an Assistant United States Attorney from the case against the son of disgraced anti-tobacco attorney Richard…

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Perjury, Obstruction, and Barry Bonds’ Conviction

June 6, 2011

Perjury, Obstruction, and Barry Bonds’ Conviction

By: Ifrah Law

Last month, an article in the National Law Journal asked a question that has been on the minds of many: “Did Barry Bonds really obstruct justice?” In April a jury convicted baseball legend Barry Bonds on one count of obstruction of justice based on the testimony he provided before a federal grand jury investigating the use of illegal steroids in professional sports. The jury, however,…

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Black Friday Chills Legislative Momentum in Nevada and Elsewhere

May 25, 2011

Black Friday Chills Legislative Momentum in Nevada and Elsewhere

By: Ifrah Law

Just a couple of months ago, there was considerable optimism after the introduction of an interactive-gaming bill in the Nevada legislature that that state could be the first to legalize online poker. However, in the wake of last month’s “Black Friday” indictments, it now appears that the optimism was premature. The state legislature is clearly waiting for the issue of online gaming to be resolved…

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Federal Indictment in Maryland Reflects Continuing Crackdown on Gaming

May 24, 2011

Federal Indictment in Maryland Reflects Continuing Crackdown on Gaming

By: Ifrah Law

The U.S. Department of Justice is continuing its crackdown on the online gaming industry. On May 23, 2011, the U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland unsealed an indictment that charged several poker and gambling sites with illegal gambling and money laundering. Those indicted were ThrillX Systems, Ltd., d/b/a BetEd; Darren Wright; and David Parchomchuk, both of British Columbia, Canada, as well as K23 Group Financial…

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Barney Frank’s Advice to Poker Players After ‘Black Friday’

May 9, 2011

Barney Frank’s Advice to Poker Players After ‘Black Friday’

By: Ifrah Law

In the wake of the catastrophic consequences of last month’s “Black Friday” for online poker players in the United States, many players are wondering about their next step. Pocketfives.com recently interviewed Congressman Barney Frank and although he agreed that is “difficult to figure out what to do,” he still had some concrete advice for the online poker player universe. Frank felt that the events of…

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Articles and Presentations by Our Firm Attorneys

How Thick is the Blanket? – Preemptive Pardons as a Presidential Power

How Thick is the Blanket? – Preemptive Pardons as a Presidential Power
By: James Trusty

Supremely Improbable

Supremely Improbable
By: James Trusty

Presidential Immunity Ruling Stirs Sound and Fury

Presidential Immunity Ruling Stirs Sound and Fury
By: James Trusty

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