Wow. One person. 100 (or more) times in around 2 decades. Yes, decades. You look at those numbers and wonder how she had time to sleep. It gets better. We’re talking about something that is bigger than a court case—more than 100 times. It boggles the mind. With many thanks to Raw Story:
A veteran federal prosecutor’s grand jury misconduct is so pervasive that the Justice Department now expects to review more than 100 cases she handled going back to 2007. A court filing in the Northern District of Illinois names the collapsed prosecution of the “Broadview Six” as the case that started it all. News reports identify the lead prosecutor as Sheri Mecklenburg, a nearly two-decade veteran of the Justice Department whose conduct before a grand jury unraveled a high-profile case against six Democratic officials and activists arrested for protesting outside a Chicago Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility during the Trump administration’s “Operation Midway Blitz” deportation campaign.
Heh, yea, Midway Blitz. We remember that one. But in this case, Broadview Six, there doesn’t seem to have been as much about that one as there was for the church in Minneapolis, but my memory might not be correct. Nevertheless, there was a case nicknamed the Broadview Six. On the other hand, they may have been able to keep it to local news. Either way, this case is the thread that unravels her behavior.
Prosecutors made three attempts to indict the protesters on a rare felony conspiracy charge. During those attempts, Mecklenburg allegedly dismissed grand jurors who were skeptical of the government’s case, had private conversations with grand jurors outside formal proceedings, and told jurors she would “never ask you to charge somebody if I didn’t think there was probable cause.” One dismissed juror had told her the case was “a crock of s— then, and I still think it is.” “I have never seen the types of prosecutorial behavior before a grand jury that I saw in those transcripts,” U.S. District Judge April Perry said. “That trust has been broken.” The Broadview Six case collapsed entirely, with all charges dismissed with prejudice.
A felony conspiracy charge. Huh. Learn something new every day. For a protest. The things people try these days. I am definitely not legally trained, but that was just wrong. Six people protested outside an ICE holding center. A little help from Google shows that it took 3 tries to indict them, and the case was weak from the start. It seems that she did something she ought not have to get the final grand jury to place an indictment, and then it fell apart.
A separate court filing revealed Mecklenburg had ex parte contact with grand jurors in an unrelated arson case, telling them she “can prove this case” and that “we don’t catch the smart ones.” The government now estimates her conduct will trigger a review of grand jury minutes in more than 100 cases since 2007. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) called Trump’s Justice Department a campaign to “bully, prosecute, punish and silence” political foes. Slate noted the Department of Justice admitted to “weaponizing a prosecution against Trump’s foes.” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) confirmed that Mecklenburg’s detail to the Senate Judiciary Committee was terminated after the misconduct became public.
Ooof. Seriously. She misbehaved so badly that they are going to check her cases. That’s going to take some work. It also shows the corruption was there before Trump’s DoJ. Regretfully, it also shows that corruption isn’t restricted to judges. It’s prosecutors. It’s the police. It’s the sheriff. The amazing part is how long Mecklenburg was able to get away with it. Well, at least there are people on the right side of justice.
See you soon!
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