Lee Moyo

[Lee Moyo @GilbertLMoyo]

Homemade badboy @Njube_Ras !

[Lee Moyo @GilbertLMoyo]

@blaze_stream L

[Lee Moyo @GilbertLMoyo]

@Njube_Ras Cheers, bro!

[Lee Moyo @GilbertLMoyo]

Homemade bad boys — a delicious 3-course meal! 🧀🍗🥦 Nothing beats a good home-cooked meal! 😋 @Njube_Ras

[Lee Moyo @GilbertLMoyo]

Home - made bad boys .. @Njube_Ras

[Neama Rahmani @NeamaRahmani]

The former federal narcotics prosecutor in me can’t help but be fascinating by the Maduro arrest (some say kidnapping) in what will go down as the biggest drug trial in American history. Here are the answers the legal questions I’ve been receiving:

Jurisdiction: How can the United States prosecute the president of a foreign country? If someone imports drugs into the United States, they are subject to the laws of the United States. Congress passed the drug laws, they have been upheld by the courts, and there is nothing the legislature can do to prevent President Trump from enforcing them.

Sovereign immunity: Is Maduro immune from prosecution? Generally heads of state cannot be prosecuted. But there is a legal workaround. That only applies to the head of state as recognized by the State Department. The State Department does not recognize Maduro as legitimate, and that decision is a political one that can’t be reviewed by Congress or the Judiciary. That’s why the indictment says Maduro is the illegitimate ruler of Venezuela. Lower level foreign government officials can’t be prosecuted for official acts. Criminal activity like drug trafficking and terrorism are not official acts. Just like sex abuse is not an official act as it relates to former Prince Andrew.

Charges: What’s interesting about the charges? Narco-terrorism is rarely charged. It’s a newer statute after 9-11 to prosecute Al Qaeda for heroin that carries a sentence of 20 years to life. Manuel Noriega was prosecuted under RICO for instance. The State Department also the unfettered authority to designate entities a foreign terrorist organization. The FTOs Maduro and his wife allegedly trafficked cover to support are Tren de Aragua, the FARC, the Sinaloa cartel, and the Zetas. Interestingly the machine gun and destructive device charges carry the longest mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years, which have to run consecutively to any other sentence.

Evidence: What evidence does the United States have against Maduro and his wife? Most drug cartel cases are built by informants, cooperator testimony, and wiretaps because the heads of the organizations rarely go near the drugs. You have to peel back the layers of the onion until you get to the top. Maduro was originally indicted in 2020 likely based on this type of evidence. Expect to see DEA agents and convicted cocaine importers as witnesses at trial, if we don’t get a plea, I expect a fairly quick guilty verdict.

Congress: Can Congress do anything to stop this? No. Congress can’t prevent the President and the Executive Branch from enforcing federal law, including arresting the president of another country. The War Powers Resolution Act requires Congress to approve any prolonged military action, but the law has been effectively ignored by many presidents who deem it advisory only or an unconstitutional encroachment on presidential authority. Courts have deemed the question a purely political one, and they will not stop the president from sending troops, nor will they order their return.

[Eric Matheny @ericmmatheny]

Coldplay hasn’t made a single in years.

Last night, they made two.

[ABC News @ABC]

BREAKING: The Justice Department has fired Maurene Comey, the federal prosecutor in the Sean "Diddy" Combs and Ghislaine Maxwell cases, from the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, multiple sources say.

Read more: https://t.co/r6CVDkDq2q

[Neama Rahmani @NeamaRahmani]

I predicted it.

Today’s verdict in the Diddy case is nothing less than a complete and total failure by the prosecution in what I previously described as the most expensive prostitution trial in American history.

The jury didn’t believe any of the victims.  Cassie was discredited because of her emails and text messages saying she enjoyed the freak-offs.  Mia didn’t tell law enforcement or prosecutors that she was sexually assaulted, and she posted on social media that she loved Diddy.  Jane accepted money and gifts from Diddy, and he continues to pay her rent, so the jurors concluded that she knew what she was getting herself into and that it was a transactional relationship.

The sex trafficking charges were weak because of the overwhelming evidence of consent.  The prosecution’s only real chance of a victory was racketeering and proving a non-sex-related predicate acts like kidnapping, arson, extortion, or bribery.  The fact that the jury even rejected that argument shows the many flaws in the prosecution’s case.

The government made a number of fatal self-induced errors.  They included Gina in the indictment as victim 3 when they didn’t have assurances that she would show up, and she went missing days before the trial.  They failed to lean on and flip key members of Diddy’s inner circle like KK and D-ROC.  They didn’t anticipate that the victims’ messages and social media posts would be used against them and failed to elicit the bad testimony during their direct examination to take the sting out of cross.

The prosecution didn’t call any of the sexual assault victims who filed civil lawsuits, who did not have a romantic or professional relationship with Diddy.  Victims who were minors couldn’t consent, so that avoids the defense’s best argument.  And victims who don’t have a relationship with Diddy wouldn’t have messages expressing admiration for him.

The big question in the case was why the victims stayed if they were abused?  The prosecution failed to answer that question.  Expert witness Dawn Hughes is now 0-2 in high profile trials, having failed to convince jurors in the Amber Heard case.  By the way, the prosecution in the Harvey Weinstein retrial also failed to answer that question, and it was a setback for the #MeToo movement.  Let me be clear.  I believe the victims.  But if you come for the king, you best not miss.  And today was a huge miss by the DOJ.

This case will have a chilling effect on other victims coming forward.  Imagine telling jurors you were urinated on, forced to take drugs until you threw up, and to have sex on your period and UTI, and they don’t believe you?  They had to relive their trauma in a very public and embarrassing way, and you better believe other victims will hesitate to do the same if they won’t be believed.

I was surprised Judge Subramanian denied Diddy bail today.  Diddy should be a free man, and he is not a risk of flight or a danger to the community.  I expect the defense to appeal the decision to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals rather than wait for the October 3 sentencing, and I wouldn’t be surprised if an appellate panel reverses the detention order.

We’re talking about prostitution here.  It is not a serious crime and is rarely prosecuted by the Feds.  I put more than a thousand people in federal prison, I never charged the Mann Act.  And in theory, if Diddy is guilty of prostitution, so are Cassie and Jane.  They communicated with the sex workers directly, set up the freak-offs and hotel nights, and paid them cash or through Zelle or CashApp.  I’m not suggesting that Cassie or Jane be prosecuted, but to just show how absurd it is to hold Diddy in custody on prostitution convictions alone.  Ex ante, no prosecutor would have charged Diddy with just prostitution, and even if they had, no judge would have denied bail for such a minor offense.

Even though the Mann Act carries a potential 10 year maximum sentence on each count, Diddy should get time served or close to it.
His sentencing guideline range on the prostitution charges alone is at worst 21-27 months.  The government is trying to backdoor the uncharged and even acquitted conduct to get to a much higher range of 51-63 months because of our purported coercion and violence.

4-5 years in federal prison is unjust, and is sour grapes by prosecutors who are unwilling to accept the jury verdict.  This is why people think Diddy is being railroaded and treated unfairly.  Being a prosecutor is not about wins and losses; it’s about pursuing justice.  The jury has spoken, and prosecutors in the prestigious Southern District of New York should take this very embarrassing loss and move on.

[Meghann Cuniff @meghanncuniff]

This is a staggeringly big loss for federal prosecutors.

Not guilty on both the RICO and trafficking counts is as bad as it can get for them.

When is their press conference??

[Inner City Press @innercitypress]

Deputy: Jane, Sex trafficking?
Juror 5: Not Guilty.
Deputy: Transportation for prostitution, Jane?
Juror 5: Guilty.

[Inner City Press @innercitypress]

Judge: The Deputy will inquire as to the verdict.
Deputy: In the matter of US v Combs, Count 1?
Juror 5: Not guilty.
Deputy: Sex trafficking of Casandra Ventura?
Juror 5: Not Guilty
Deputy: Transportation for prostitution?
Juror 5: Guilty

[Piers Morgan @piersmorgan]

Brilliant win by South Africa… what a great Test match. 👏👏👏👏

[Piers Morgan @piersmorgan]

Amid all the horror of the Air India plane crash, this story of British national Vishwashkumar Ramesh from Leicester, who was in seat 11a, being the sole survivor and walking away with just a few scratches, is truly astonishing.

[Lee Moyo @GilbertLMoyo]

Home-made badboys ! Cauliflower 5 ways | Pork Belly | Loin | Cherries . | Burnt honey | Cinamon & 🍐...@Njube_Ras

[Lee Moyo @GilbertLMoyo]

Homemade badboys ...@Njube_Ras

[Lee Moyo @GilbertLMoyo]

Home-made badboy! Creme fraiche & Elderberry ....@Njube_Ras

[Lee Moyo @GilbertLMoyo]

Work in Progress .... Heritage tomatoes |Consomme|Pine nuts | Basil @Njube_Ras

[Lee Moyo @GilbertLMoyo]

Home made...badboy Peach Salad | Peach gel | Peach Ice Cream| Vanilla yoghurt& Orange biscuit crumbs @Njube_Ras

[Lee Moyo @GilbertLMoyo]

@CityOfKings_Byo Ola Mthoko...kanti angaphi ama Sweater ami ???

[Lee Moyo @GilbertLMoyo]

Homemade badboys @Njube_Ras