#special investigative unit

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Noah Berlatsky at Public Notice:

Though it’s largely already been forgotten, 2024 was not a completely peaceful election. Anonymous terrorists, probably working for Russia, sent bomb threats to numerous majority Black and Native American polling places in battleground states in an effort to disrupt voting and aid the Trump campaign.

The threats were widely reported on Election Day itself. However, in the aftermath of Trump’s narrow but definitive win, there has been little discussion of these egregious, deliberate attacks on democracy in general, and on the voting rights of Black and Native American people in particular. Analysts have instead focused on whether the Democrats and Kamala Harris should have run further to the left or further to the right or further in some other direction. The bomb threats did not change the election outcome, so it’s perhaps understandable that they have not been a focus of the collective, apparently endless post-election autopsy. But the lack of interest in an egregious assault on American democracy is a mistake. The attacks demonstrate how fragile our democracy is. And they provide a blueprint for the MAGA regime to tamper in elections in the future. The fact that incoming president Donald Trump can and probably would try to block investigations into Russia’s involvement — and into the Trump campaign’s potential involvement as well — is chilling. If we want to prevent attacks like this in the future, it’s important not to instantly memory hole the attack that just happened.

A coordinated attack on democracy, and on Democrats

The hoax bomb threats on Election Day were sent to polling locations in the swing states of Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Arizona. The FBI said that many of the threats “appear[ed] to originate from Russian email domains.”

None of the threats were credible, and no bombs were found. However, the threats did cause disruptions in Georgia, where five polling places were evacuated. Hours were extended at those locations to ensure all voters could cast their ballots. Republican Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia Secretary of State best known for refusing to aid Trump in his coup attempt in 2020, argued that Russia was attempting to undermine faith in the US system of government. The Russians are “up to mischief it seems,” he said. “They don’t want us to have a smooth, fair and accurate election.” This is probably true, as far as it goes. But it seems important to note that the bomb threats weren’t just randomly distributed attempts to undermine the electoral process. Like threats of violence in the 2020 election, they were intended specifically to target and discourage Democratic voters in key swing states.

Polls heading into November 5 indicated the election would be extremely close, so whoever was behind the threats had good reason to believe that even minor disruptions in Democratic leaning areas could tip the balance and hand Trump a win in a tight race. In the event, Trump’s win was large enough, and the disruptions small enough, that they didn’t change the outcome. But the pattern of interference nonetheless makes it clear which side was being targeted. Fulton County, Georgia, a Democratic stronghold with a 43.7 percent plurality of Black voters, received 32 bomb threats by email and phone. Neighboring DeKalb county (53.7 percent Black) was also targeted for threats. Police had to sweep six polling locations. Similarly, bomb threats in Pennsylvania were directed at polling locations in Democratic majority city Philadelphia. In Wisconsin, Madison was targeted; in Michigan, Detroit. In Arizona, polling locations on the lands of the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe were both threatened. Native voters tend to favor Democrats (as they did this year, despite some misleading early exit polls).

Russia helps Trump because Trump helps Russia

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Putin would attempt to help Trump. Russian election interference globally has been designed to advance the far right and boost candidates friendly to Russia’s authoritarian leader Vladimir Putin. Putin has been doling out money to boost and buy the allegiance of far right candidates across Europe, focusing especially on getting Europe to abandon Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2022. His interference in Romania’s recent election on behalf of far right candidate Călin Georgescu was so egregious that the Romanian Constitutional Court invalidated the election results.

And of course Putin interfered in the 2016 presidential election, waging a sweeping electoral interference campaign. Russian intelligence hacked the Democratic National Committee network, stealing and releasing private emails, which drove news cycles throughout the campaign and boosted Trump, who won the Electoral College despite losing the popular vote. (Trump continues to deny there was any election interference, because of course he does.) According to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, which was launched after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey amid a probe of his campaign’s connections with the Kremlin, Russia attempted to hack the DNC shortly after Trump publicly urged Putin to expose and disseminate Hillary Clinton’s emails. “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing, I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press,” Trump said, live on television. A Senate investigation found numerous links between Russia and the Trump campaign in 2016. And Putin tried again to help Trump (unsuccessfully) in 2020. In return, Trump has consistently and successfully undermined support for Ukraine within the GOP while legitimizing Putin as a global player.

Trump’s link to Russia were not fully investigated or prosecuted after 2016 because Trump, with the power of the presidency behind him, did everything he could to delegitimize and block the investigation in ways that may well have constituted obstruction of justice. He was aided in that by a Republican Party dead set against any suggestion that the 2016 election victory that allowed them to stack the Supreme Court and cut taxes for billionaires was in any way compromised. Bill Barr, Trump’s attorney general (who has subsequently become a Trump critic), downplayed and mischaracterized Mueller’s report about Russian interference, creating a narrative that helped the right to dismiss the findings. Supposedly moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins refused to even consider impeachment on the basis of Trump’s links to Russia. This is, to put it mildly, an ominous precedent for investigation of, and accountability for, Russian bomb threats during 2024. Raffensperger (again, a Trump critic) wouldn’t even acknowledge that the threats were intended to help Trump.

[...] Putin, Trump, and Republicans have learned that potentially violent election interference targeting Democratic voters is fine as long as you win. If they aren’t made to pay some sort of price, why wouldn’t they do it again?

Bomb threats at swing state polling places on Election Day were a Russian campaign to intimidate potential Kamala Harris supporters.

[seonghwadyke]

real

[justdreamsandmusic]

''SCP Foundation USA Sites''

just something for fanfiction and so on

[skullfaggot]

i've decided your safeword is the law & order svu intro and i'm not stopping until you can say it all the way through

[favficbirthdays]

Happy Birthday

Nijo Kujaku (23rd November)

Special 7: Special Crime Investigation Unit

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The province's police watchdog has decided not to charge a police officer in connection with the fatal shooting of a 35-year-old man in Markham last year despite some unanswered questions about the circumstances surrounding the incident, including what prompted the officer to engage with the man in the first place.

Special Investigations Unit (SIU) Director Joseph Martino said in a report released Wednesday that he did not find reasonable grounds to lay charges against the York Regional Police (YRP) officer who shot and killed Moses Erhirhie in a shopping plaza parking lot at Fairburn Drive and Highway 7 on the evening of Jan. 21, 2022.

In his analysis, Martino admitted that "there is much about this incident that remains unknown," including why the officer interacted with Erhirhie in the first place. The SIU said the officer, referred to in the report as the subject officer (SO), declined to be interviewed for the investigation and did not provide notes as his legal right.

Martino also posed several questions about the circumstances surrounding the officer's actions, such as why he tried to arrest Erhirhie, who is referred to in the report as the complainant.

"The answers to these questions are important. If the SO had no lawful reason to arrest or detain the Complainant, then the Complainant was entitled to resist that process. In the absence of any evidence to this effect, however, and in circumstances suggesting a plausible scenario in which the officer was in the legitimate discharge of his duties, the investigation does not give rise to a reasonably grounded belief that the SO was acting outside the scope of his lawful authority," Martino wrote. [...]

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[irascible-iridescent]

I do enjoy the Jean as a character and his dynamic with Harry makes me crazy, on the other hand I hate Jean fans here

[ciaossu-imagines]

Oddly enough, I don’t have too many polyships for Special 7! I flipped a coin between the two I do have and used this prompt for headcanons on a polyship between Ichinose/Reader/Seiji! I hope ya’ll enjoy, my loves!

Who is the one who would go up to a random elder in a coffeeshop and ask them about their life?

This would have to be Seiji and possibly you. Seiji has a great deal of respect for his elders and, while a bit awkward, he really is more of an extrovert than Ichinose, who really does try to avoid a lot of small talk and, unless he had to, wouldn’t really approach a stranger.

Who hates checking out books because checking them out means interacting, and that is always awkward?

This is Ichinose. He doesn’t like having to check out books, partially because of the interacting but mostly because he has a bad habit of never returning them on time. Sometimes he forgets but really, it’s normally because his life gets really busy and his schedule is not at all regular.

Who is the one to use toilet paper as tissues and carries it around all day?

Ichinose does this and sometimes Seiji and possibly even you. Seiji prefers to have tissues on hand and he tries really hard to remember to grab one of those pocket packs, but he sometimes forgets to put them in his pocket and he’d rather use toilet paper than just sneeze without some sort of coverage. Ichinose is too cheap to buy tissues when toilet paper does the exact same job.

Who is the one who carries around $100 just in case there is some apocalypse, and they need to buy gear?

This would have to be you. Seiji carries a modest amount of cash in case of an emergency, but the thought of a potential apocalypse doesn’t really occur to him as something to carry cash for. Ichinose prefers card to cash and only has small bills, which is also a great excuse for not being stuck with the bill when he gets roped into dinners out with everyone from work.

Who is the one who points with their chin?

Ichinose is really bad for this, no matter how many times Seiji or you or anyone else tells him it’s rude. He’ll try for a little bit not to do it if it’s you that points it out, but he only lasts so long because it’s just force of habit to him, honestly.

Who is the one who takes pictures of their food and instagrams it?

It would have to be you. Ichinose has no social media presence whatsoever and really kind of finds the whole idea of it a bother, while Seiji takes horrible pictures and really just wants to eat his food and enjoy it.

Who is the one who reads fanfiction daily?

This is another one that is mostly you. You can get Ichinose into fanfiction though, if you introduce it to him for something you know he enjoys or a show you watch together. He’ll act like he’s not at all interested but reads any fics you send him, initially just to see why you enjoy them so much and later because he kind of begins to really enjoy them too.

Who is the one to write fanfiction?

It would have to be you, if you write fanfiction, or nobody.

Who is the one who cosplays?

While you can convince Ichinose to read fanfic with you, Seiji would be the one who is totally okay with cosplaying with you. It seems fun to him, and it makes you happy and he’s happy to be able to just take part in one of your hobbies.

Who is the one who likes to quote movies, books, and songs in conversations?

I feel like Ichinose quotes obscure shit out of the blue, though infrequently, just to kind of see if anyone will get it or to be mildly annoying.

Who is the one to burst out into song randomly?

This would have to be you. Ichinose tends to whistle more often though, especially while doing domestic chores. Seiji can and will sing if requested but he doesn’t really enjoy it and honestly isn’t overly fantastic at it.

Who is the one who secretly uses their neighbour’s WiFi?

Secretly? Not so much. Ichinose will readily admit he’s been stealing Wi-Fi from his neighbour for years. Why not? They’re already paying for it, he doesn’t want to pay for it, and to him it’s not really hurting anything.

Who is the one who safety pins friendship bracelet strings to their clothing so they could have something to do if bored?

This would have to be you or nobody. If it is something you’d do, my lovely reader, I feel like Seiji would be so down for making friendship bracelets with you and would happily wear any that you made him. Hell, even Ichinose wears the ones you make him, if only to make you happy.

Who is the one who played/plays an obscure instrument just to be different?

I personally don’t headcanon Seiji as playing any instrument and don’t know if the harmonica counts as an obscure instrument, because that’s what I headcanon Ichinose being able to play.

Who is the one who puts bajillions of stickers on their door/wall?

Seiji used to do this during his preteen years but did grow out of it like most people grow out of their phases. If you like to do it, he’ll gift you stickers for your collection but personally, he thinks it’s a bit childish. Ichinose plain out doesn’t care either way. If they make you happy and they’re not hurting anyone, go all for it, in his opinion.

Who is the one who likes to rewatch the same movies?

Both Seiji and Ichinose fall into this. They’re both a little boring in that way. They have their favourite shows or movies and because their work schedules don’t leave them a lot of time, they find themselves watching things they already know they like instead of potentially wasting time on something that they don’t enjoy.

Who is the one who uses bootlegs to watch their favourite movies/TV shows?

Okay, but Bellemer is great at finding bootlegs and supplies Ichinose and you with them if you want them. To Seiji, it’s too much like stealing and he’ll prefer paying for television or outright buying DVD’s and he’ll always have a brief frown on his face whenever you or Ichinose use bootlegs.

Who is the one that writes on their arm to remind themselves to do something?

Neither man does this. Ichinose actually has a pretty amazing memory and doesn’t really forget things too often while Seiji uses a day planner or a calendar app.

Who is the one who owns dozens of pencils but is too lazy to sharpen them?

I feel like Seiji goes through pencils quickly but not because he’s lazy and doesn’t want to sharpen them but because he breaks them fairly quickly or ends up misplacing them or lends them to people who never return them.

Who is the one who uses YouTube for their music because they don’t want to buy/download anything?

Oh, but this is another way that Ichinose is cheap. He doesn’t get paying for a music subscription when YouTube has the music he wants to listen to on there for free, with only the minor inconvenience of the occasional ad.

Who is the one who always wears the same shoes?

You would expect that this would be Ichinose but it’s really not. It’s either Seiji or you. Seiji has two sets of shoes exactly, dress shoes for work and more casual and quite beat up sneakers for his days off. Ichinose actually owns more shoes than him but that’s only because Ichinose has bad feet…his arch is weird and it’s hard to find good shoes for his feet, so he tends to grab shoes whenever he can find good pairs that keep his feet comfortable and don’t hurt.

Who is the one to do asks like this?

It’s probably you, though both men would be good sports about doing them with you if you ever ask them to.

[asknarashikari]

Ooops I forgot to add this to the Emu kissing Shinnosuke bit

*Emu suddenly appears out of nowhere in front of the reunited members of the SIU who were out on a drink together*

Shinnosuke: Tomari Shinnosuke.exe has stopped working

Gou: ...Doc, are you alright? Did you hit your head or something?

Kiriko: *already calling Poppy to come get Emu with an ambulance*

Genpachiro and Kyu: *just relieved Kiriko didn't break out the Boots of Doom and kick Emu's ass*

Rinna: *coaxes Emu into sitting down so she could check on him*

Chase: ....................

[mfaculty]

Ready to reskill and advance your analytical prowess? Join our Intermediate Analytic Investigations course on Udemy today!

Elevate your skills and upskill your career. Enroll now: #Analytics #SkillDevelopment

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Brandi Buchman at HuffPost:

Now that Donald Trump has won the White House for a second time, the path ahead seems clear for him to brush off key federal criminal indictments that have dogged him for years while potentially delaying other cases he faces in state court. By securing the presidency, he can use the awesome powers of the executive to seemingly shield from scrutiny any illegal conduct that he would deem part of his “official” duties. When the U.S. Supreme Court enshrined immunity for official acts of former presidents and “at least presumptive immunity” for acts on the outer perimeter of official duties, the majority did so amid the dissent of the three liberal justices.

When reading her dissent aloud from the bench in July, Justice Sonia Sotomayor had bristled: “Ironic isn’t it? The man in charge of enforcing laws can now just break them.” When writing her dissent, which was joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Kentanji Brown Jackson, she concluded that the court had henceforth created a “law-free zone around the president, upsetting the status quo that has existed since the founding.” And now Trump is heading back to that “law-free zone.” Here’s the state of his ongoing cases and how they will likely proceed:

The Jan. 6 Case

Special counsel Jack Smith’s criminal prosecution of Trump for his alleged conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election on Jan. 6, 2021, is likely first on the chopping block, considering that Trump has both vowed to fire Smith in “two seconds” and threatened to throw him “out of the country.” Trump faces four felony charges in the Washington, D.C., case: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and, for his alleged intimidation of voters, conspiracy against rights.

Trump has vowed for over a year to see the federal insurrection case dismissed. He has argued that Smith’s appointment is unconstitutional and that he has been vindictively prosecuted. Most important, he has argued that his conduct on and before the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was official and therefore protected by presidential immunity. The Supreme Court found in July that former presidents cannot be charged for any “official” conduct but that anything that falls beyond the scope of “official” duties is fair game. This decision forced Smith to revise Trump’s indictment before presiding U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan.

Chutkan signed an order on Oct. 28 that granted Trump until Nov. 21 to file a motion explaining why the case should be dropped on presidential immunity grounds, and Smith’s team did not oppose that request. Before his victory, Chutkan was in position to weigh both arguments and decide which changes would stay or go based on the immunity ruling. As of October, deadlines in the case were still set for well into December. Trump was widely expected to appeal any ruling that did not wipe away the charges anyway, eventually putting the matter back before the Supreme Court, but now all of that looks to be essentially moot. Under Justice Department policy established in the 1970s, sitting presidents cannot be indicted because it would interfere with their duties. The election interference case is expected to be dropped as soon as Trump is inaugurated. The only thing standing in the way of that outcome is an attempt by the judge to reject any dismissal effort by the Justice Department or, if Smith is fired, an attempt by Congress to see the special counsel restored.

The Classified Documents Case

Trump was accused of hoarding classified records at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after he left the White House in 2021. The 37-count case was dismissed less than two weeks after the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling because U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon found that Attorney General Merrick Garland did not have authority to appoint Smith to prosecute Trump. The decision was controversial, and Smith appealed, citing decades of contrary legal precedent. Oral arguments for the appeal haven’t been scheduled yet. Once Trump takes office, he needs only to turn to prosecutors at the Justice Department and encourage them to drop the case. Notably, ABC News reported shortly before Election Day that Trump had floated the idea of Cannon replacing Garland as attorney general.

State Cases

Trump was convicted in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records after a jury in New York determined he made illegal sought to conceal hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election. Trump is scheduled for sentencing in this matter on Nov. 26 before Judge Juan Merchan. But because presidents don’t have the authority to interfere with or stop state prosecutions, there’s not much Trump can do to make the case disappear during his presidency. However, his sentencing will likely be delayed indefinitely — or at least until 2029, when his term in office would end.

Trump still faces eight felony charges in Fulton County, Georgia, for allegedly criminally conspiring to overturn the state’s election results and engaging in a racketeering conspiracy with a slew of his allies and advisers that state prosecutors say were hellbent on advancing bogus electoral slates for Trump — even after it was clear Democrat Joe Biden had won the presidential vote in Georgia.

The case was thrown off track this year after Trump’s co-defendant Michael Roman alleged that Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis had an improper romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the lawyer Willis tapped to lead the probe into the alleged conspiracy. Arguments on whether Willis should be disqualified do not get underway at the Georgia Court of Appeals until December, and a decision could take months. With Willis declared as winner in her reelection bid Tuesday night, the indictment is expected to stay on ice.

While Donald Trump won, not all of his legal problems will go away entirely, as he could continue to face state charges.

As for federal crimes, Trump will be let off scot free.

[justdreamsandmusic]

[endimpunityday]

Minute of Silence.

Interactive Session: Commemoration International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists 2024

10:40 - 11:00 am.

Minute of Silence led by H.E. Honorable Ourveena Geereesha Topsy-Sonoo, African Union Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression.

#commemoration, #interactivesession, #idei2024, #SafetyOfJournalists

[favficbirthdays]

Happy Birthday

Endo Rokusuke (16th August)

Special 7: Special Crime Investigation Unit

[cdplays4u]

Admin Post!

My content is mainly focused around The Good Doctor, CSI: NY, Law and Order: SVU, and Criminal minds. (Though it’s mainly TGD at the moment)

The main characters I’ll spam about are:

TGD: Audrey Lim, Neil Melendez, Marcus Andrews, Dalisay Villanueva

CSI:NY- Sheldon Hawkes, Mac Taylor, Don Flack, Danny Messer.

CM: Aaron Hotchner, Derek Morgan, Emily Prentiss, Penelope Garcia.

SVU: Olivia Benson, Elliot Stabler, Raphael Barba, John Munch, and Finn

————-

I’ll mainly spam about TGD but occasionally, you’ll see alternate content on this account!

My accounts:

Ao3: Cds_Playback

Twitter/X : @CD_PLAYBACK

Wattpad Main Acct: @Cd_OnAWall

Wattpad RP acct: @ThePlasticSurgeon