quote:

A Texas sheriff has certified that the nearly 50 migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis were victims of a crime. That certification is a key step in qualifying them for a special visa they would not have otherwise been eligible for.

Texas’ Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar expeditiously signed certification forms for all of the migrants, according to Boston-based immigration attorney Rachel Self, who went down to San Antonio to obtain the paperwork.

"Based upon the claims of migrants being transported from Bexar County under false pretenses, we are investigating this case as possible Unlawful Restraint," Salazar
said in a statement to GBH News. "We have submitted documentation through the federal system to ensure the migrants’ availability as witnesses during the investigation."

The documents are key parts of applications for U-visas, which are reserved for crime victims, or people who witnessed crimes. Immigration attorneys like Self are seeking these visas for the mostly Venezuelan immigrants on the grounds that they were brought to the Vineyard under false pretenses.

“These certifications will ensure that the migrants can continue to help our law enforcement officials, and that they will be able to process and heal from the incredibly traumatic experiences they have suffered as a result of the cruel, heartless acts committed against them,” Self said in a message to GBH News.

Many of the migrants told media they’ve come to the United States to seek asylum, and were sheltering at the Migrant Resource Center in San Antonio when they were approached by a woman who identified herself as “Perla.” They were falsely promised jobs, housing and education.

The woman even arranged for them to stay at hotels briefly in San Antonio before their flights, and provided McDonald’s gift certificates. Many immigrants were told several destinations they may wind up. No one anticipated landing on the remote island of Martha’s Vineyard.

U-visa applicants are required to get a certification from law enforcement saying that they were victims of a crime or witnessed one, and that they have cooperated with any efforts to investigate the crime. Getting a certification often takes over a year, so it’s unusual that Salazar turned them around so quickly after the September flights.

Self said that over the past few weeks, immigration attorneys have worked with Salazar’s Organized Crime Division to coordinate and conduct interviews with the immigrants, and collected their accounts, photos and videos of the flights.

Salazar's office has identified suspects in their investigation but isn't currently releasing names publicly. The sheriff opened a criminal investigation into DeSantis’ actions last month, the first law enforcement authority to do so. The federal Treasury Department has also begun an investigation of whether DeSantis improperly used federal COVID-19 relief funds to pay for the flights.

Almost Smart posted:

The hive of hair is pretty good, but I need more lols to offset the creeping dread I have for the midterm elections next month. I don’t know how many stories I’ve seen attacking democrats for the current state of the economy recently, but I’d comfortably estimate that 100% do nothing to question how republicans would do any better.

But what do I know. Maybe the fate of the global economy really does depend on attacking teachers and making the lives of lgbtq kids absolutely miserable for some reason.

Strong Sauce posted:

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1580616868779683840

LordSloth posted:

Fox News

https://twitter.com/abughazalehkat/status/1580349740784398337?s=46&t=lRF1ny3_cnXfLwkdUZQc3w

I mean what the gently caress is this, even? A transhumanist anti-cyborg rant? The dumbest propaganda? Tucker has writers? I swear I heard he had a white nationalist staff in the past.

I grew up in Ohio, live now in Florida.
https://twitter.com/aodespair/status/1580364311087546369?s=46&t=lRF1ny3_cnXfLwkdUZQc3w

Strong Sauce posted:

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1580616868779683840

Seth Pecksniff posted:

We interrupt your Jan. 6 watching for a special LOL

Texas sheriff certifies the Martha's Vineyard migrants are crime victims, opening the door for special visas

https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-new...r-special-visas

Dacap posted:

https://twitter.com/haleytalbotnbc/status/1580618822926893057?s=46&t=nhRvTYB5eH-aFE0GB69Q1w

R.L. Stine posted:

trilljester posted:

He won't show up, or find some way to delay it.

withak posted:

Holy poo poo, those people originated from Texas, not Florida?

MrMojok posted:

I can’t read the article behind the paywall but the headline is a scream:

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1580604293580611584?s=46&t=bM9-soQhqhWHW4tLqe50vA

HKR posted:

look what happened to bannon when he tried that.

Mostly likely he'll attempt to plead the 5th the entire time

LordSloth posted:

https://twitter.com/aodespair/status/1580364311087546369?s=46&t=lRF1ny3_cnXfLwkdUZQc3w

TK-42-1 posted:

trilljester posted:

Yeah, I'm sure he would just sit there and plead the 5th or keep calling them the UNSelect Committee.

MrMojok posted:

I can’t read the article behind the paywall but the headline is a scream:

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1580604293580611584?s=46&t=bM9-soQhqhWHW4tLqe50vA

quote:

Days before the New York attorney general filed a lawsuit accusing Donald J. Trump and his company of fraud and seeking to shut down some of their business in the state, Mr. Trump’s lawyers created a new company in Delaware.

The new company’s name had a familiar ring to it: the Trump Organization, the same name as his old company, now threatened by the lawsuit. And on Sept. 21, the day the suit was filed, the new Delaware company filed paperwork in New York, seeking to be recognized there as the Trump Organization II.

Those maneuvers were detailed for the first time in a court filing on Thursday from the attorney general, Letitia James, who raised the prospect that Mr. Trump was seeking an end run around some of her lawsuit’s harshest potential punishments.

But her filing acknowledged that Mr. Trump’s lawyers had explicitly said they had not taken any steps to avoid the potential consequences of the lawsuit. Mr. Trump’s lawyers, according to the court filing, also offered to provide “assurances and advance notice” to address Ms. James’s concerns.

Seth Pecksniff posted:

We interrupt your Jan. 6 watching for a special LOL

Texas sheriff certifies the Martha's Vineyard migrants are crime victims, opening the door for special visas

https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-new...r-special-visas

HKR posted:

look what happened to bannon when he tried that.

Mostly likely he'll attempt to plead the 5th the entire time

withak posted:

Holy poo poo, those people originated from Texas, not Florida?

quote:

Trump Forms New Company, Drawing Scrutiny From N.Y. Attorney General

Days before the New York attorney general filed a lawsuit accusing Donald J. Trump and his company of fraud and seeking to shut down some of their business in the state, Mr. Trump’s lawyers created a new company in Delaware.

The new company’s name had a familiar ring to it: the Trump Organization, the same name as his old company, now threatened by the lawsuit. And on Sept. 21, the day the suit was filed, the new Delaware company filed paperwork in New York, seeking to be recognized there as the Trump Organization II.

Those maneuvers were detailed for the first time in a court filing on Thursday from the attorney general, Letitia James, who raised the prospect that Mr. Trump was seeking an end run around some of her lawsuit’s harshest potential punishments.

But her filing acknowledged that Mr. Trump’s lawyers had explicitly said they had not taken any steps to avoid the potential consequences of the lawsuit. Mr. Trump’s lawyers, according to the court filing, also offered to provide “assurances and advance notice” to address Ms. James’s concerns.

And because the new company was formed before the lawsuit was filed, Mr. Trump’s lawyers would not have known the specific consequences the attorney general was seeking.

Ms. James, however, remained concerned about the company’s motives and sought intervention from a judge. Her Thursday filing requested an order from the judge that would prohibit the Trump Organization from transferring its assets without court approval.

“Since we filed this sweeping lawsuit last month, Donald Trump and the Trump Organization have continued those same fraudulent practices and taken measures to evade responsibility,” Ms. James said in a statement. “Today, we are seeking an immediate stop to these actions because Mr. Trump should not get to play by different rules.”

Alina Habba, a lawyer for the former president and his company, said in a statement that Ms. James’s filing was “simply another stunt.”

“We have repeatedly provided assurance, in writing, that the Trump Organization has no intention of doing anything improper,” she said.

Ms. Habba also accused Ms. James of using the filing to keep the case before Arthur F. Engoron, the state judge who had overseen disputes between Mr. Trump’s lawyers and Ms. James’s office during her investigation, before the lawsuit was filed. Justice Engoron ordered Mr. Trump to sit for a deposition and at one point held him in contempt of court, fining him $110,000.

After the lawsuit was filed, Ms. Habba requested that the case be overseen by a different judge, a request that is pending. She said Ms. James’s filing on Thursday was “nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to keep this case with Justice Engoron.”

The former president has denied all wrongdoing and accused Ms. James, a Democrat, of pursuing a partisan witch hunt against him.

In her lawsuit, which accused Mr. Trump of lying to his lenders and insurers by fraudulently overvaluing his assets by billions of dollars, Ms. James asked a judge to impose a variety of punishments that would restrict his ability to do business in New York. She is seeking to bar Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization from acquiring commercial real estate there for five years and to prohibit him and three of his adult children from running companies in the state.

While Ms. James stopped short of trying to dissolve the Trump Organization, her lawsuit indicates that she wants to shut down at least a portion of the former president’s New York operations. Her lawsuit asks that a judge cancel the business certificates that allow some of his properties there to function, including his flagship commercial property at 40 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan.

Ms. James is also asking that the Trump Organization be made to forfeit some $250 million that she says it improperly reaped by misleading lenders and insurers about Mr. Trump’s net worth. Her Thursday filing expressed concern that, if the company is able to transfer its assets out of state, it might skirt those payments.

In the filing, Ms. James also asked a judge to immediately install a monitor to oversee the company’s disclosures to lenders and insurers, the issue at the heart of her case.

The lawsuit, citing “substantial, persistent and repeated fraudulent and misleading conduct,” centers on Mr. Trump’s annual financial statements, yearly records that include the Trump Organization’s estimated value of its holdings and debts. The company provided the statements — which wildly inflated the worth of nearly every one of its marquee properties, Ms. James said — to lenders and insurers “to obtain beneficial financial terms,” including lower interest rates and premiums.

In the filing on Thursday, Ms. James asked a judge to prohibit the company from submitting the annual statements without additional disclosures about the methods used to calculate the value of Mr. Trump’s assets. She also asked that a trial date be set in early October 2023.

Ms. James’s lawsuit accused Mr. Trump, three of his children and his company of “staggering fraud” in the valuation of some of his most well-known properties, including Trump Tower and 40 Wall Street in Manhattan and Mar-a-Lago in Florida. When interviewed under oath by her office, Mr. Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right, refusing to answer all substantive questions.

The lawsuit coincides with a litany of other legal woes for Mr. Trump, including a number of criminal investigations involving his conduct in the final weeks of his presidency. In August, the F.B.I. searched Mar-a-Lago as part of an investigation into his removal of sensitive material from the White House; federal prosecutors are scrutinizing his efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss; and a Georgia district attorney is investigating his potential interference in the state’s election results.

Mr. Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing, and it is unclear whether any of those inquiries will lead to criminal charges against him.

In Manhattan, the district attorney’s office has been conducting a criminal investigation into some of the same conduct at the center of Ms. James’s lawsuit. Prosecutors had been marching toward an indictment of Mr. Trump early this year, before pulling back.

The district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, has said the investigation is continuing.

Doctor Butts posted:

Yea, DeSantis straight up said that he had to get proper from elsewhere because they weren't a problem in Florida.

Seth Pecksniff posted:

We interrupt your Jan. 6 watching for a special LOL

Texas sheriff certifies the Martha's Vineyard migrants are crime victims, opening the door for special visas

https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-new...r-special-visas

LordSloth posted:

Lol the committee is going to vote to subpoena Trump’s testimony, skipping the whole invitation part, because they actually learned for once

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

He's going to ignore it and they aren't going to order the House Sergeant at Arms to go find Trump and arrest him. They will probably just fine him until the Republicans take the House and end it.

Powershift posted:

None of this seems like new info, and really seems kind of tame after the MAL raid thing.

kazil posted:

Subpoena Trump. Wait until he's president. Wait until he's giving state of the union address to congress. BOOM surprise J6 meeting

Powershift posted:

None of this seems like new info, and really seems kind of tame after the MAL raid thing.