Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ken Kohl
So, talk about a "News Dump"!
Blackwater manslaughter case dismissed!
Excerpts:
"The case against the five men fell apart because, after the shooting, the State Department ordered the guards to explain what happened. In exchange for those statements, the State Department promised the statements would not be used in a criminal case. Such limited immunity deals are common in police departments so officers involved in shootings cannot hold up internal investigations by refusing to cooperate.
The five guards told investigators they fired their weapons, an admission that was crucial because forensic evidence could not determine who had fired.
Because of the immunity deal, prosecutors had to build their case without those statements, a high legal hurdle that Urbina said the Justice Department failed to clear. Prosecutors read those statements, reviewed them in the investigation and used them to question witnesses and get search warrants, Urbina said. Key witnesses also reviewed the statements and the grand jury heard evidence that had been tainted by those statements, the judge said."
"The Justice Department set up a process to avoid those problems, but Urbina said lead prosecutor Ken Kohl and others "purposefully flouted the advice" of senior Justice Department officials telling them not to use the statements."
So who is this guy Ken Kohl?????
Didn't he blow the Anthrax case too?
What gives here?
Later note: Records at the Baptist Press indicate that Kenneth C. Kohl was advising the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary trustees on March 21, 1990.
8 comments:
My guess: Kohl is a Karl Rove approved Justice Department apparatchik. At first I suspected Judge Urbina, but his action with the Uighers and general support of the quaint notion of habeas corpus in the Gitmo cases have me, like you, eyeing the prosecutors. Am on Kohl's trail and will report back in.
Vigilantly,
Dwight Whayle
"The prosecutorial team was led by Kenneth C. Kohl, an assistant United States attorney. The Justice Department declined to make him available for comment."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/01/us/01blackwater.html?em
Why?
Mercenaries. Four times the pay and and no legal responsibilities.
Privatisation...
Long long ago, 1974 actually, a Cobra pilot friend of mine from Nam tried to convince me to go with him to Iran and work for the Shaw's Army as a "consultant". I was amazed, stupefied, at how much they would pay me annually and as a sign-up-bonus.
But...
My was wife was pregnant and I was completing a degree at the time and so I didn't go. Hell, I didn't even tell Wife about it until much later. Had I been single, I would have probably gone with him.
My friend went. I have no idea how that worked out for him. I have never heard from him.
I've looked all over the web for this dude. Who the hell is he?
Tracking his D.C. Bar Association number only takes him back to 2008.
"D.C. Bar No. 476236"
What rock did he crawl out from under?
Now what is this about Kohl "colluding" with a judge? Is this real???
"Washington D.C. - Professor Palmera appeared calm and confident as he entered the courtroom in an orange prison jumpsuit, Jan. 28 He listened with interest as U.S. prosecutor Ken Kohl repeatedly called him a ‘terrorist’ as he argued that Palmera should receive a life sentence.
Ricardo Palmera, who served as a peace negotiator for Colombia’s largest rebel group, the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and is now a political prisoner held the U.S., had faced Prosecutor Kohl at past trials. In two previous trials, prosecutor Kohl failed to prove terrorism charges against Professor Palmera.
In the last case, Kohl was caught colluding with the judge and the judge had to step down. Kohl’s cheating set the stage for Judge Lamberth to take over. In the retrial, Judge Lamberth approved dozens of prosecution witnesses, while not allowing Palmera even one. U.S. prosecutor Kohl’s sentencing arguments were outrageous distortions."
Now this is coming from a weird source: www.fightbacknews.org (a very pro-Palmera group)
I can only find other vague references to a "Judge Hogan" recusing himself because of ex-parte collusion with Kohl to "politicalize" the case in any other context.
So I give this a "D" validity at best. So hold this in abeyance until Kohl gets better revealed.
Kind of surprised the MSNBC or some other left leaning new group hasn't connected the dots.
OK, well here is Ken C. Kohl in 1988: UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Civil Action No. 88-3669
(Judge O. Gasch)
Defendants, Richard Cheney, Secretary of Defense, H.
Lawrence Garrett, III, Secretary of the Navy, Rear Admiral Virgil
L. Hill, Jr., Superintendent, United States Naval Academy, and
Captain Joseph W. Prueher, Commandant of Midshipmen, United
States Naval Academy, by their undersigned counsel, hereby renew
their motion for the imposition of Rule 37 sanctions upon
plaintiff because of his refusal to respond to defendants'
deposition questions concerning his possible commission of
homosexual acts....
and:
KENNETH C. KOHL
Attorneys for Defendants
U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Division, Room 3513
10th & Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20530
Telephone: (202) 633-3183
Source: http://dont.stanford.edu/cases/steffan/steffan37.pdf
http://www.mainjustice.com/2010/02/11/ausa-fallout-of-blackwater-ruling-could-make-prosecutors-flinch/
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