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Supremely Improbable
FEATURED
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 immunity for crimes a former president committed while in office,” 2) to limit SCOTUS appointments to 18-year terms, and 3) to create a mandatory/enforceable ethics code on the high court. Some context for this agenda is in order. The “clarification” push flows directly, albeit inaccurately, from the recent immunity decision in Trump v. United States….
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…
The Challenging Terrain of White-Collar Sentencing
June 3, 2024
The Challenging Terrain of White-Collar Sentencing
By: James Trusty
Federal judges are required to balance a number of factors whenever imposing sentence, including specifically enumerated areas that largely stem from the broader philosophical categories of General Deterrence, Specific Deterrence, Retribution/Punishment, Restitution and Victim Impact, and Rehabilitation. In determining the presumptively reasonable range of potential sentences, federal practitioners consult their always-handy U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which create a sentencing range grid based upon the offense characteristics…
The Cliffhanger – Paul Manafort’s Sentencing Drama
February 14, 2019
The Cliffhanger – Paul Manafort’s Sentencing Drama
By: James Trusty
A hit man walks into a restaurant where Tony Soprano and his family are eating dinner while the jukebox blares a Journey song. The last show of the highly successful series ends with an abrupt cut to black before the audience knows the fate of Tony and his family. The end of The Sopranos series was both ominous and frustrating. In a federal criminal court,…
New York AG Puts Crypto Exchanges in the Crosshairs
December 28, 2018
New York AG Puts Crypto Exchanges in the Crosshairs
By: George Calhoun
Following on the heels of the SEC’s announcement of subpoenas to crypto exchanges and token issuers, yesterday New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced “the Virtual Markets Integrity Initiative,” which he described as “a fact-finding inquiry into the policies and practices of platforms used by consumers to trade virtual or ‘crypto’ currencies like bitcoin and ether.” The first phase of the initiative appears to be…
How One Simple Meeting Presages the Future of Federal Prosecution
September 28, 2018
How One Simple Meeting Presages the Future of Federal Prosecution
By: James Trusty
For many years, it has been the federal government, with its multitude of prosecutorial and regulatory arms, that has been able to throw its policing weight around, causing business owners to snap to attention with a crisp salute. But as the traditional business model has morphed into clouds of technology-driven, international and multinational enterprises, this “cop” may have met his match. Amidst all of the…
National Media Turns to Jim Trusty for Authoritative Opinions on the Country’s Most Important Investigations and Prosecutions
September 24, 2018
National Media Turns to Jim Trusty for Authoritative Opinions on the Country’s Most Important Investigations and Prosecutions
By: Ifrah Law
Ifrah Law partner Jim Trusty has become a staple in the national news lately: he is frequently asked to comment on the many investigations and prosecutions currently going on which involve former and current officials and operatives at the highest levels of government. With over 28 years of experience as a federal prosecutor with the Department of Justice and deep knowledge of white collar criminal…
ICOs Involving Non-Issued Cryptocurrency May Be Prosecuted Under Federal Securities Laws
September 19, 2018
ICOs Involving Non-Issued Cryptocurrency May Be Prosecuted Under Federal Securities Laws
By: Jeffrey Hamlin
This week, a federal district court in New York was the first to decide that federal securities laws may be used to prosecute fraud involving cryptocurrencies. In United States v. Zaslavskiy, Eastern District Judge Raymond Dearie held that the Securities Exchange Act of 1933 (“Exchange Act”) and Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”) are broad enough to cover representations made in connection with virtual currency…
