Tuesday, May 21, 2019

New York setting the stage

New York state lawmakers passed a measure Tuesday that would allow prosecutors to pursue state charges against certain individuals even if they have received a presidential pardon, a move seen as a direct shot at President Donald Trump.

[...]

New York law currently prohibits the state from prosecuting a person who has already been tried for the same crime by the federal government.

[...]

New York's state Assembly passed the measure — which creates a narrow exception in the state's double-jeopardy law — by a 90-52 vote.

[...]

Both the state Senate and state Assembly are under Democratic control. Since the bill already passed the state Senate earlier this month, it is now headed to Cuomo's desk for his approval.

[...]

Notably, Trump's business and campaign are both headquartered in New York.

The change was backed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is investigating Trump and his family members, and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has indicated he will sign the bill.

[...]

James, who led the charge to get the double-jeopardy law changed, tweeted soon after the bill's passage that double jeopardy "exists to prevent someone from being charged twice for the same crime, not to allow them to evade justice altogether."

[...]

James has multiple Trump-related investigations open at the moment, including the probe into the Trump Foundation that led to the dissolution of the president's charity and an investigation that involved James subpoenaing Duetsche Bank and Investors Bank for information on a set of major Trump Organization projects and Trump's effort to purchase the NFL's Buffalo Bills in 2014.

  NBC

No comments: