Tag: crime

MSNBC’s Scarborough: Dems Secretly Support Trump’s Federal Police Takeover

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough said Tuesday that numerous Democrats have privately expressed support for President Donald Trump’s decision to assume federal control of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C.

Speaking on “Morning Joe,” Scarborough said he has heard from “so many” Democrats in recent days who believe the federal government should have intervened in the city’s policing long ago.

“This is a fascinating story because so many people have been calling me over the past couple of days, going, you know, like Washington, should have gotten involved years ago. This place is dangerous, it’s a mess, it’s a wreck and whatever,” Scarborough said.

“And then they’ll go on Twitter and go ‘this is the worst outrage of all time.’ Which I understand, it’s like people need to express their concerns about Donald Trump going too far.”

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HORROR: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Doctor Federally Charged with Possessing Over 153,000 Images and 470 Videos of Child Sexual Abuse — Victims as Young as Newborns

A former physician at one of the nation’s most respected pediatric institutions is facing federal charges for allegedly amassing one of the largest known personal collections of child sexual abuse material in recent history.

Howard M. Saal, 73, a former geneticist and dysmorphologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, appeared in federal court this week after investigators say they uncovered a horrifying trove of over 153,000 images and 470 videos of child pornography, with some victims reportedly being as young as newborns.

According to charging documents, the nightmare began when a Hamilton County Sheriff’s detective assigned to the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force received a cyber tip tracing child pornography image searches back to Saal’s home IP address, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.

The tip included a disturbing image depicting two naked girls, estimated to be just 10 years old, engaged in explicit conduct.

When investigators executed search warrants, they allegedly discovered a staggering digital archive of abuse. The FBI says many files involved infants, toddlers, and prepubescent children subjected to unspeakable acts.

Authorities claim there is currently no evidence linking the materials to any patients or children connected to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. But given the nature of Saal’s profession, working directly with children, the revelation is sparking outrage and demands for a deeper investigation.

Saal now faces federal charges carrying mandatory minimum sentences of five years and potential prison terms of up to 20 years for each count. If convicted, he will likely die in prison.

“I am incredibly proud of the work of our Regional Electronics and Computer Investigations unit and their diligence in investigating this individual,” said Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey said in a statement.

“We encourage anyone who thinks they may be a victim of Dr. Saal to contact our detectives. We will continue to seek out dangerous individuals and bring justice to victims’ families.”

“The FBI and our partners will continue to fiercely investigate those who attempt to sexually exploit children,” stated FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Elena Iatarola. “I want to thank the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office for their work on this investigation and for their strong partnership. Law enforcement is always more effective when we work together to address crime issues impacting our community.”

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Left-wing dark-money megadonors, including George Soros, contribute $20M to groups funding protests against Trump’s DC crime crackdown

Several lefty, dark money organizations, including George Soros’, contributed more than $20 million to groups funding protests against President Trump’s crime crackdown in Washington, DC. 

Free DC, a “fiscally sponsored special project” of progressive nonprofits Community Change and Community Change Action, brought 150 demonstrators near the White House Monday to protest Trump’s plan to deploy National Guard troops in the district and federalize the city’s police department. 

“Do not obey in advance” and “Take up space” are among Free DC’s “guiding principles,” and the group urges supporters to “go outside at 8:00 PM and bang pots and pans, sing, chant, or make noise for five minutes” every night “of this occupation.” 

Free DC has scheduled multiple events since Monday’s anti-Trump protest, including a “Cop Watch Training,” suggesting further protests are planned amid Trump’s effort to make DC the “safest, cleanest and most beautiful cities anywhere in the world” – by ramping up law enforcement efforts and removing homeless encampments from public places. 

Community Change and Community Change Action, the groups bankrolling Free DC’s activism campaign, have been the beneficiaries of millions of dollars in donations from hedge-fund tycoon George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and Tides Foundation, and the dark-money Arabella Advisors network, according to an analysis shared with The Post.

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MSNBC Contributor Claims He’s More Afraid of Climate Change Than Crime in Washington, DC

If you needed more proof that MSNBC is not a serious news network, you’re in luck.

During a recent appearance, frequent guest Anand Giridharadas tried to downplay crime in Washington, DC by listing the things he is more concerned about, such as climate change, losing his vote, whatever that means, and other imaginary problems.

At one point, he manages to throw in a concern about the middle class, which is funny because the left abandoned them years ago.

He says that there is a crime problem in DC but qualifies it as a small one and accuses Trump of being an authoritarian. How original.

Transcript via Real Clear Politics:

ANAND GIRIDHARADAS: Crime is real. It is blown out of proportion. People are feeling much more unsafe than they statistically are—but the feeling matters. People deserve to be safe, but they also deserve to feel safe.

I think it is true that Democrats have sometimes ignored or lectured people, holding a spreadsheet of statistics. That said, it’s really important to be clear about what is going on here: a relatively small crime problem is being used for specific authoritarian purposes that we know and understand.

Let’s be clear—D.C. does have one really big crime problem, which was the January 6th insurrection incited by the current president of the United States. His first act in coming back was pardoning all the people who tried to overturn constitutional order in Washington, D.C.

When I go to D.C., I’m not afraid of losing my wallet so much as I’m afraid of losing my vote. I’m not afraid of losing my wallet so much as I’m afraid that my children’s freedom to breathe will be stolen in a world where climate change policy is nonexistent. I’m afraid that the future of middle-class people will be stolen by the very things you were talking about cutting—the safety net, Medicaid, rural hospitals.

If you watch the video below, you’ll notice that Joe Scarborough jumps in at the end, trying to save the segment. It doesn’t work.

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DOJ Unveils Charges Against Haitian Gang Leader ‘Barbecue’ Over Sanction Violations

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Aug. 12 that it will charge Haitian gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier with conspiracy for his role in a scheme to transfer money illegally from the United States.

“Cherizier and a U.S. associate sought to raise funds in the United States to bankroll Cherizier’s violent criminal enterprise, which is driving a security crisis in Haiti,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said in a statement.

Cherizier was sanctioned in 2020 by the United States using the Magnitsky Act, which allows the president to impose sanctions for human rights abuses, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday.

His indictment under the Magnitsky Act is the first of its kind in the history of the DOJ, she said.

The State Department is offering up to $5 million for the capture of Cherizier, who is nicknamed “Barbecue” because he is accused of notorious human rights abuses—including a 2018 massacre in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Saline, in which the bodies of victims were burned, cut into pieces, and fed to pigs and dogs.

Cherizier denies the charges, and told the Associated Press in 2019 that the nickname comes from his childhood, when his  mother was a street vendor who sold fried chicken.

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Mexico, under pressure from Trump, transfers 26 more cartel members to US

Mexico sent more than two dozen suspected cartel members to the U.S. on Tuesday, amid rising pressure from President Donald Trump on Mexico to dismantle the country’s powerful drug organizations.

Authorities shipped 26 prisoners wanted in the U.S. for ties to drug-trafficking groups, Mexico’s attorney general’s office and security ministry said in a joint statement.

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Mexico said the U.S. Department of Justice had requested their extradition and that it would not seek the death penalty for the accused cartel members.

The transfer is the second of its kind this year. In February, Mexican authorities sent 29 alleged cartel leaders to the U.S., sparking a debate about the political and legal grounds for such a move.

That Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum permitted yet another large-scale extradition of Mexican nationals underscores the balancing act she faces as she seeks to appease Trump while also avoiding unilateral U.S. military action in Mexico.

In a statement, the U.S. Embassy said among those extradited were key figures in the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel, which are Mexico’s two dominant organized crime groups.

“This transfer is yet another example of what is possible when two governments unite against violence and impunity,” U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson said in a statement. “These fugitives will now face justice in American courts, and the citizens of both our nations will be safer.”

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Tornado Cash Co-Founder Roman Storm Convicted, Raising Fears for Privacy Rights and Open-Source Development

Roman Storm’s guilty verdict is sending shockwaves through privacy advocates and the open-source development community, with many warning it could change how the US criminal justice system treats creators of decentralized tools.

A federal jury in New York on August 6 convicted the Tornado Cash co-founder of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, a charge that could carry up to five years in prison. Jurors could not agree on two other allegations, conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to breach US sanctions, leaving prosecutors the option to bring those charges to trial again.

Tornado Cash, launched in 2019 by Storm along with Alexey Pertsev and Roman Semenov, was designed to obscure the origins of cryptocurrency transactions and give users financial privacy.

Although the protocol never took control of user funds, US authorities claimed it had been exploited for laundering illicit proceeds and sanctioned it before later reversing that decision in March. Pertsev is facing trial in the Netherlands, Semenov is still wanted by the FBI, and Storm’s arrest took place a year after Pertsev’s.

In September 2024, Judge Katherine Failla allowed the case to move forward, ruling that Tornado Cash met the definition of a money transmitter under federal law and should have followed Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer rules. Privacy supporters have long argued that holding developers accountable for the actions of users, particularly when they lack the technical ability to intervene, creates a dangerous precedent.

The Blockchain Association, a crypto policy group, called the decision “a dangerous precedent for open-source software developers.”

In an earlier amicus brief, it said Storm had no custody or control over the funds moving through Tornado Cash and warned the ruling could lead to criminal charges against creators of browsers, messaging apps, or other tools if those were misused.

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DC Crime is ‘Down’? ABC News Anchor Says She Was Jumped, Coworker’s Car Was Stolen

ABC News anchor Kyra Phillips said Monday that she was assaulted just blocks from the network’s Washington, D.C., bureau within the last two years, adding to concerns over public safety in the nation’s capital despite official reports of declining violent crime.

Phillips shared her experience during a live broadcast, referencing multiple recent crimes in close proximity to ABC’s offices.

“We’ve been talking so much about the numbers and yeah, usually that’s how you play devil’s advocate, is you talk about, ‘Oh, well stats say crime is down,’” she said.

“However, I can tell you firsthand here in downtown D.C. where we work right here around our bureau just in the past six months, you know, there were two people shot. One person died literally two blocks down here from the bureau.”

She continued, “It was within the last two years that I actually was jumped walking just two blocks down from here. And then just this morning one of my coworkers said her car was stolen a block away from the bureau. So we can talk about the numbers going down, but crime is happening every single day because we’re all experiencing it firsthand while working and living down here.”

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Denver Post Doxxes Citizens For Sharing Pictures And Public Records About Crime

On Aug. 1, The Denver Post exposed the names, locations, voter registrations, and employment of three private citizens who legally obtained public information and sent some to the popular social media account Do Better Denver. On Aug. 7, a Denver Post columnist defended the paper’s decision to dox the three women for sharing public information.

“People who claim to be citizen journalists must stand by their work with a byline and endure the negative comments and threats that come with the job,” wrote Denver Post columnist Krista Kafer.

The Post identified the three people it doxxed by doing a public records request for those women’s public records requests: “The Post filed open records requests to obtain copies of requests tied to DoBetterDNVR,” wrote The Post’s crime reporter Shelly Bradbury in her Aug. 1 article. On Aug. 5, the Denver Gazette confirmed the three doxxed women are not the account administrator. The public records they shared with the accountholder comprise less than 1 percent of Do Better Denver posts.

Bradbury also wrote that the Post targeted the women specifically for exercising their legal rights to view public information. The three, Bradbury wrote, “stand out because of their involvement in the account since its early days in 2023, their connections to each other, and because they did not just send a single video or photo to the account but pursued information through open records requests.”

Do Better Denver alleged the Post did this at the behest of local government officials angry about public disclosures of their activities. One public record one of the women discovered, for example, showed the city paid $2.1 million for vacant rooms for illegal immigrants. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s spokesman did not respond to Federalist requests for comment Monday.

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DC lawmakers try to reclaim control of MPD, National Guard after Trump invokes Home Rule

D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton and U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen announced plans to reintroduce legislation granting the District of Columbia full control over its National Guard and Metropolitan Police Department.

This move comes in response to President Donald Trump’s recent decision to assume control of D.C.’s police department and deploy the National Guard without consulting local officials.

The proposed District of Columbia Police Home Rule Act would repeal the president’s authority to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department, while the District of Columbia National Guard Home Rule Act would designate the D.C. mayor as Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard, aligning with the powers held by state governors.

“President Trump’s unprecedented federalization of the D.C. Police today and his activation of the D.C. National Guard without D.C.’s consent underscore the necessity of D.C. statehood,” said Congresswoman Norton.

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