Subject: Re: Shelly Silver's Defense
From: <[email-masked]>
To: "Joshua Alcorn" <[email-masked]>, "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Alex Snyder-Mackler" <[email-masked]>, "Beau Biden" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2015 18:12:13 +0000 (UTC)

This is One of the problems with "part=time" state legislators who have other "jobs" and few ethical laws. I repe=t " anyone who believes in state's rights" has never been in a state legis=ature."

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=----- Original Message ------

From: Josh Alcorn
To: Beau Biden, Ted Kaufman, Hunter Biden, Alex Snyder-Mackler
Sent: February 25, 2015 at 10:23 AM
Subject: Shelly Silver's Defense<=blockquote>

"Rainmaking =s not a federal crime.”

http://observer.co=/2015/02/rainmaking-is-not-a-federal-crime-sheldon-silver-pleads-not-guilt=/

‘Rai=making Is Not a Federal Crime:’ Sheldon Silver Pleads Not GuiltyBy Jillian Jorgensen | 02/24/=5 6:40pm

COMMENT

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Im=ges)

Former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver pleaded not =uilty to charges of extortion, mail and wire fraud today—and his att=rneys asked the judge to toss out the indictment against him.

I= a lengthy motion to dismiss, Mr. Silver’s attorneys argued U.S. Att=rney Preet Bharara had created a media firestorm that sought to try the la=maker in the press—for doing something Mr. Silver’s team argue= isn’t even a crime.

“Of course, there is nothing wr=ng with a New York state legislator earning outside income from other prof=ssional pursuits: Part-time public service has long been the norm in this =tate,” his defense team wrote. “Nor is there anything improper=about an attorney earning referral fees for bringing in business to a law =irm: ‘Rainmaking’ is not a federal crime.”

M=. Bharara has alleged that what Mr. Silver presented as legitimate outside=income from law firms was actually millions of dollars of kickbacks and br=bes gained through his official position in Albany. The lawmaker is accuse= of using his influence to “induce real estate developers with =usiness before the State” to use a real estate law firm run by his f=rmer counsel in the Assembly, which paid Mr. Silver for the referrals= He is also accused of trading research funds for asbestos patient re=errals for another law firm.

A grand jury last week returned an =ndictment on three counts—one each of wire fraud, mail fraud and ext=rtion. But Mr. Silver’s attorneys argued that the lawmaker never had=a fair chance after Mr. Bharara created a “media frenzy” =hat began even before his arrest, let alone before a grand jury was impane=ed.

“In an effort that could only serve to prejudice the j=ry pool, the U.S. Attorney has prosecuted this case full bore through the =ress,” his lawyers argued in their motion to dismiss.

Mr. =ilver’s defense team argued that Mr. Bharara had “flagrant vio=ated” publicity rules, which they argued prohibit him from making st=tements that may influence the outcome of the trial and limit him to discu=sing just the facts. The motion points to news reports outlining Mr. Bhara=a’s rhetoric, including his infamous “stay tuned,” citin= among others the  headline “A Swaggering Pree= Bharara Charges Sheldon Silver With Public Corruption.” It also=cited his comments after the arrest, including his resounding criticism th= next day of Albany’s “three men in a room” governance.<=p>
“Those are the sorts of impassioned exhortations suited to = Zuccotti Park soapbox, not a prosecutor’s press conference,” =he lawyers wrote.

They argued those violations warranted dismiss=l of the indictment, saying they had compromised the fairness of the grand=jury. If the indictment isn’t tossed, they argued, at the grand jury=should be polled to determined if there had been “improper influence=” The defense also called for the disclosure of the grand jury&rsquo=s minutes in the case.

You can read the entire motion to dismiss=below:

Read more at http://=bserver.com/2015/02/rainmaking-is-not-a-federal-crime-sheldon-silver-plead=-not-guilty/#ixzz3SlgQIHcD
Follow us: @newyorkobserver on Twitter | newyork=bserver on Facebook

Joshua Alcorn

302/295.8340=(office)

302/598.1885 (cell)

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