Tag: Former US Attorney Jim Letten

Thursday double take: This nugget absolutely made my day

This came to me yesterday from a reader via email under the subject header “What a douche”, which I take to mean there are still people that are a wee bit sore with Jim.

Former U.S. Attorney Jim Letten joins Butler Snow law firm ~ Associated Press

I’m personally amused. Made my day in fact.

Jim is a respected prosecutor, and had a very successful track record as U.S. Attorney,” said Donald Clark, Jr., chairman of Butler Snow. “He is well known across Louisiana, the Southeast and throughout the nation. His leadership in investigations and white collar crime, depth in complex business law matters and prosecution on the state and federal level will add significant value to the firm as we grow in New Orleans and nationwide.

Maybe Jim will stop in to comment. Congrats on the new job.

Trying to make sense of “Commentgate”. Maybe one day we’ll all know the full story

And that includes Slabbed New Media because even though Slabbed got that special knock on the door at HQ as part of the aftermath of the Team Letten internet commenting meltdown all any of us have to offer is speculation absent seeing the fabled “Horn Report”.

When the subject matter becomes door knock serious I prefer not to speculate about the identities of the commenters here on Slabbed to the Aaron Broussard – Jefferson Parish landfill investigation, Telemachus being the most frequently speculated upon. Unlike NOLA.com, Slabbed never received any comments from a DOJ IP address on the Broussard investigation, which in turn explains the continued interest from the media on this general topic since Slabbed uncovered so much.

Along those lines Mark Moseley at the Lens did some great work on Commentgate and yesterday he checked in with another installment. From a big picture standpoint I’m uncomfortable with private citizens with a brain and writing skills being subjected to scrutiny by officialdom due to the quality of their commentary, Muspench being such an example as Mark points out:

Try to imagine full-throated apologies from the prosecutors axed in ‘Commentgate’ ~ Mark Moseley

To understand Commentgate is to understand it was more than just the DOJ digging dirt on anonymous internet commenters. This I know, the impacts of the meltdown of Team Letten reverberate across Gulf Coast to this day.

Rut Roh, we still have mystery!!!

Online commenting scandal involving ex-New Orleans prosecutors Sal Perricone, Jan Mann shrouded in secrecy despite new report ~Jim Mustian

Mainly that pesky Horn report per Jim’s article, a document that Slabbed revealed just yesterday was so closely held as to be forever banished to the crypt at DOJ HQ in Washington DC.

That said there are a few of us that got a special visit back in the day and today we form a survivors network of sort. You see folks it wasn’t just the thumbscrews but more so being forced to watch the entire run of Dusty’s Trail multiple times until we broke that resulted in the PTSD. In any event none of us are talking as the memories are simply too painful to recount.

Stay tuned.

Sal face it dude you have the Katrina Virus and there is no known cure…….

Either you know David or you don’t. If you’re in the media and don’t know David then you’ve been hiding under a big rock. This I know, Muspench would approve. 🙂 Take it away David.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u5VsqT5vSM

Greenlit no more: A playing on the Internet Update

And it turns out Aircheck will remain a man of mystery, likely forever, and that is not necessarily a bad thing in my opinion.

DOJ report found that Perricone, Mann acted alone and in secret ~ Gordon Russell

Judge Lemmon and Magistrate Wilkinson appear to have received an education normally reserved for newspapers, bloggers and the like. This snippet from Gordon’s story sums it up:

The judges also pulled the plug on Jackson’s efforts to unmask two other nola.com commenters that the former city official suggested were federal officials as well. The first, “aircheck,” was the subject of a subpoena to nola.com, which turned over a raft of materials to the court last month after failing to persuade Wilkinson and Lemmon that the commenter’s First Amendment rights as well as those of the newspaper were being violated.

The judges have been reviewing those documents in chambers, the motion says, but they’ve been unable to determine the identity of “aircheck” — who apparently used various devices to post comments, and posted from a range of locations — and they conclude in their motion that further study of the issue is pointless.

The key for me is that Aircheck used different devices because it is the often the identity of the device that is key. This is why the International House Mystery Commenter used the Internal House to begin with. And it why I still think a key logger was used in that instance. Continue reading “Greenlit no more: A playing on the Internet Update”

Greeenlit: A Playing on the Internet Update Part Deux

The operative term here is prescient folks. 😉 Back in January 2012, when the the Department of Justice had it’s OIG Investigators crawling all over this area it seemed to me there was one of two things the media outlets they visited could do. This is what I did:

Slabbed New Media has not had a problem with comment gate since.

NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune ordered to turn over online commenter information in Stacey Jackson case ~ Ginny LaRoe

NOLA.com could appeal but it would be a waste of money IMHO. Click the pic below the jump to nab Judge Lemmon’s 9 page order and reasons. Continue reading “Greeenlit: A Playing on the Internet Update Part Deux”

Greenlit: A Playing on the Internet update

This is the cutting edge of media law right here folks and Slabbed correctly predicted what Magistrate Wilkinson would do in the circumstances.

Full docket text for document 47:
ORDER AND REASONS ON MOTION of The Times-Picayune to Quash, Record Doc. No. 42. IT IS ORDERED that the motion is DENIED IN PART insofar as it requests that the subpoena be quashed in its entirety such that no production of any kind might be required. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, however, that the motion is GRANTED IN PART, but only in that the subpoena is modified as follows. As issued, the subpoena required production of the requested information by The Times-Picayune directly to defense counsel at his office on February 3, 2014. Record Doc. No. 41. The “Place for Production” and “Date for Production” provisions of the subpoena are hereby modified to require instead that The Times-Picayune must produce, no later than February 19, 2014 at 5:00 p.m., all information responsive to the subpoena directly to me in my chambers for my in camera review. If I determine based upon my in camera review that aircheck and jammer1954 are citizens without connection to the prosecution, their First Amendment right to anonymous speech will outweigh the Due Process rights of the defendant and no further disclosure, production or inspection of the information will be permitted. Otherwise, whether and, if so, how and when the responsive information may be made available to the parties for inspection will be established by further order of the court. Signed by Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Wilkinson, Jr on 2/14/14. (tbl)

How did Slabbed know what the Magistrate would do? (WWMD?) Before I get to that here is the order and reasons for those that want to see a Magistrate Judge being consistent in how he applies the law.

Click to obtain the full 13 page order and reasons.
Click to obtain the full 13 page order and reasons.

USA v Jackson Doc 47

I guess I gave away the answer above.  Slabbed has followed Magistrate Wilkinson since Continue reading “Greenlit: A Playing on the Internet update”

It was about this time a year ago……..

That the US Attorney commenting scandal was in full bloom and the rumor mill was in overdrive and this little project was featured in several of the rumors. Heck I may have even started one or two of ’em for kicks.  That said one I did not originate and my all time favorite rumor was the one favored for an extraordinarily long time in certain Jefferson parish political circles which held that I was in actuality, Anne Marie Vandenweghe’s brother. This in turn can only mean that the ignorance was stunning. Lest I digress.

In any event lets kick up the rumor mill (which does not need my help right now) with the latest from USA v Jackson: Continue reading “It was about this time a year ago……..”

I love it when the NOLA rumor mill goes full tilt on the US Attorney internet commenting scandal

Because that normally means my site traffic kicks up by around a third and that’s like Money for Nothing folks.  I think I can solve the reason we have these rumors going without disclosing the rumor so without further commentary on my part here are the docs and links for those that want to figure it out for themselves. Let’s start with the Insider back in:

New U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite shakes up office, hires outsider for key post ~ Ginny LaRoe

New U.S. attorney announces reorganization of office ~ Jeff Adelson

And now 3 pdf files:

USA v Jackson Doc 33 Order and Reasons

USA v Jackson Doc 42

USA v Jackson Doc 43

As for me, I came, I saw and visited with Team Horn. Like the former Goatherder in Chief I’m taking my secrets to the grave. How about some lovely music: Continue reading “I love it when the NOLA rumor mill goes full tilt on the US Attorney internet commenting scandal”