A young man who accused Kevin Spacey of groping him in a Nantucket, Massachusetts bar in 2016 has dropped his lawsuit, according to Spacey's lawyer on Friday. The Oscar-winning actor still faces a criminal charge. He pleaded not guilty to indecent assault and battery in January. He is due back in court on Monday. The accuser's lawyer, Mitchell Garabedian, announced in an email that the suit filed June 26 in Nantucket Superior Court has been voluntarily dismissed. No reason was provided by Garabedian or in the court filing. The suit asked for a jury trial and damages for emotional distress, medical bills and other bills. According to the court filing, the suit was dismissed "with prejudice," which means it cannot be refiled. The lawsuit being dropped could indicate a private settlement was reached, or that persecutors have asked the accuser to drop with over a timing issue. The suit was filed months into the ongoing criminal case.
A three year statute of limitations in the case would run out this week. The legal development could have significance for the criminal case against Spacey, legal experts say. Garabedian's client alleged Spacey got him drunk and sexually assaulted him at the Club Car restaurant where the then-18-year-old man worked as a busboy. The criminal case has been centered on the cellphone used by the accuser the night of the alleged groping, which the defense says it needs in order to recover text messages it says will support Spacey's innocence. Nantucket District Court Judge Thomas Barrett has ordered the man to give the phone over to the defense, but his attorney says they cannot find it. The judge has given them until Monday to produce the phone. Spacey has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen men.
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As M1 Abrams tanks take over DC’s streets, worry takes over military leaders. Concerned about the policization of President Trump’s Independence Day event, most top military chiefs will be skipping the festivities. With the President’s re-election campaign already in full force, the military personnel worry that the event has taken on a political hue. Trump has already broken tradition to deliver a speech in a special VIP area which the Republican National Committee is distributing tickets to. If Trump turns what is meant to be a celebration into a political event, he could put military personnel in the position of violating Defense Department guidelines. ”Military members may not participate in political campaigns,” said Jordan Libowitz, communications director for Citizens for Responsbility and Ethics in Washington. “This is likely the reason why they are hesitant to participate, because the guidelines are pretty clear about what they can and cannot do. If they come standnext to him for a political speech while in uniform, representing the military, it could become a problem.” Libowitz says if the celebration becomes an overtly political event, there are also laws that come into play. A federal law known as the Hatch Act prohibits government employees and resources from being used for political activity and the Appropriations Acts bars government funds from being used for purposes Congress hasn’t approved, including publicity of propaganda. Absent from the Independence Day celebration are Army Chief of Staff Gen.Mark Milley and his Navy, Air Force and Marine counterparts. Funds for the July 4th event are also under fire for other reasons. According to the Washington Post, more than $2 million collected from the National Parks Service entrance and recreation fees will be allocated to help pay for the President’s celebration. Trump administration officials have consistently refused to say how much taxpayers will have to pay for the expanded celebration. The diverted park fees represent just a fraction of the extra costs as a result for the event, which includes displays of military hardware, flyovers by jets and Air Force One, tanks on the Mall and an extended fireworks show.
According to former Park Services deputy director Denis P. Gal in, the entire Fourth of July celebration on the Mall typically costs the agency about $2 million. A secret Facebook Group filled with a collection of derogatory jokes made by past and current Boarder Patrol officers has been uncovered.As people grieved over the photo released of the father and daughter face down in the Rio Grande, a Facebook Group “where Old Patrol meets New Patrol” made insentsitive comments towards them. Other post uncovered discuss throwing burritos at Latino members of Congress visiting a detention facility outside of El Paso. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a victim of multiple vulgar posts, spoke out against page saying, “This isn’t about “a few bad eggs.” This is a violent culture.” ProPublica reported Monday that they received screenshots of disturbing posts from the 10-15 Facebook group and was able to identify particpates to real profiles that belonged to Border Patrol agents. Particpants of the group include a supervisor based in El Paso and an agent in Eagle Pass. The page was created in August 2016 and has racked up over 9,000 members from across the country. This is only the most recent incident of law enforcement coming under fire for their digital disrespect. In early 2018, federal investigators found an accumulation of of racist text messages sent by Border Patrol agents in southern Arizona after searching the phone of Matthew Bowen, a U.S. Border Patrol Agent charged with hitting a migrant with his truck. The texts described migrants in multiple different derogatory terms, even referring to them as “subhuman”. Upon the text messages revealed in court, there were repeated discussions about burning the migrants up. “It confirms some of the worst critics of Customs and Boarder Protection,” says Joaquin Castro, head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Joaquin Castro. “These are clearly agents who are desensitized to the point of being dangerous to migrants and their co-workers.” |
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July 2019
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