UPDATED BELOW (X 2)
On the thread below, invaluable NMC reports that Joey Langston’s office is being searched.
Stay tuned.
lotus
UPDATE: Here’s The Sun-Herald‘s version of the raid story.
On the current Rossmiller thread, notice the comment(s) of “Justus” (possibly the same commenter known on Y’allPolitics as “Justus Kneads”), who seems to aspire to be Scruggsiana’s Deep Throat.
Speaking of Y’allP, these two comments seem pertinent here. From David Sanders, who wonders whether the Feds moved in response to forcing events or at their own pace in making the (initial?) round of arrests:
If the latter, then they probably have a pretty tight case. If the former, then what event or development could have caused them to accelerate the search warrant and indictments? It could have been some internal event that we could not know about. The only publically known event proximate in time with the arrests and involving anyone even remotely related to the targets of the investigation was the resignation announcement of Trent Lott.
There doesn’t seem to be any logical connection between the two. Only if the investigators had reason to think that the Lott announcement would be interpreted as a danger alert by the targets and spook them would it have caused them to move early. The timing of the Lott announcement appears to have been an uncanny coincidence, in which case they probably closed the net because they had all the fish in it. Time will tell.
From lawdoctor1960:
Scruggs and the other indictees will be getting their discovery in the next few weeks. …
Almost all federal investigations have phases, with new indictments coming out at the end of each phase, as more information and evidence comes to light, and as more defendants plead and cooperate. Balducci has probably been [providing] additional information to them … It would seem likely at this point that there will be additional indictments coming down, especially if more defendants start to cooperate. And, historically and statistically, it is more likely than not, that at least one more of the defendants will elect to plead guilty and cooperate.
If I was representing Patterson or Backstrom, I know what I would be telling them to consider doing before they were the next ones who got thrown under the bus.
And Alan Lange is catching fresh rumors, to wit:
… When the Feds make copies of things, its cooperative. When the Feds sieze documents, that’s pretty damning. Unconfirmed reports are that boxes of files are being carted out. That’s not a good sign.
Attorney General Jim Hood isn’t looking at a restful evening, I’m a-thinkin’.
UPDATE II: Here‘s Alyssa Schnugg’s new story on the Langston raid and the continued grounding of Air Scruggs.
NMC, where’s this news coming from and what more do you know? (Sorry I didn’t spot you earlier.)
Here are the latest Rossmiller and Clarion-Ledger updates.
I wonder whether this is happening pre- or post- Langston/Quin appearance notices to Judge Biggers. Assuming they’re due by end-of-business, their prep could have been rudely interrupted by the Feds.
So now it could be “Sorry we missed your deadline, Your Honor, but, um, well, we gotta go now, bye.” [clank clank clank]
Not often do defense counsel in a case end up in the same criminal jeopardy as the client(s), for substantially-similar reasons, I mean. And if that’s what’s afoot here (as it surely seems), I wonder who Dickie’s second-string Keker-helpers may be.
You’re getting ahead of the game in some ways, Lotus.
Meanwhile, though, thanks to Rossmiller we know that Joey Langston’s private jet is winging its way from Oklahoma to Oxford. Oxford? But his office that got searched is an hour and a half away in Booneville.
Is this a meeting of the defense team? Or something else?
NE Miss Daily Journal (Tupelo) is <a href=”http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=261725&pub=1&div=News”)on the scene
They wrote:
“Tony Farese, an attorney who described himself as "a friend on the scene " in Booneville on Monday, said in a written statement that the Langston Law Firm "for years has represented Scruggs on various matters and thus retained working files on matters involving Scruggs. Tim Balducci, a former employee of the Langston Law Firm, worked on the files that were taken. Balducci left the Langston Law Firm over one year ago. (Neither) The Langston Law Firm nor any of its principals have been implicated in any wrongdoing. "”
sorry about the broken link above
Thanks, NMC. You’re right, that little bluebook deserves a “Conclusory!”
The poor old Eagle is down this afternoon, I see. Alyssa may be tearing her hair, but I haven’t heard from her yet, so maybe not.
Joey has a jet too? Oh wait. Fees those chappies been splitting, I guess they all do. But if that’s the post I saw a few minutes ago (before the site went down — under, I presume, too-heavy traffic), I thought it was Dickie’s plane they’re tracking (“Air Scruggs” as Rossmiller calls it).
There seems an implication it might be coming in from the SF Bay area, which would mean from the California lawyers. I’m really, really curious what’s going down.
Does local teevy or radio have anything yet?
NMC, do you have any idea whether the grand jury is still sitting?
Okay, NMC, Rossmiller clarifies: it IS Air Langston, not Air Scruggs as he originally said, that they’re tracking. (Biggers, J. apparently hasn’t ruled on Dickie’s motion to unground his zoomie yet.)
Yes, Alexander (the magistrate) has ruled on the un-grounding motion. She said no. Said there are lotsa commercial flights to Memphis and Birmingham. One page order, this afternoon.
Meanwhile, Air Langston landed and almost immediately left headed toward Booneville.
Boffo intell, NMC!
What local TV stations might we look for online, please sir or ma’am? Some video would be tasty.
Channel 9 in Tupelo would be the most local place to Booneville. I don’t watch local news and so am not sure who would be any good.
Good deal.
Ya know, I think the last time I watched Channel 9 in Tupelo, I was still heavily into cartoons . . . wow.
Over at Y’allP, now ol’ lawdoctor1960 is wondering why some of the others there assume that Balducci must account for what happened today. Says, hey, Balducci’s been singing for weeks, so “I’m thinking another domino fell over.”
Could be. If so, my prime candidate would prolly be Patterson. Could be Backstrom or even Zach, of course, but I bet Patterson’s got more skin in the game (well, having just seen his photo at WSJ Law Blog, I know he does, but that’s not what I meant), and more ties to others still on the periphery to offer too.
In the alternative, could just be those hard drives telling new tales.
Meanwhile, Rossmiller cracks me up with “If I might offer a solution — John Keker can simply increase his fee by the price of a private jet.”
The Daily Journal is reporting that Hiram Eastland of Greenwood entered an appearance today as co-counsel for Patterson.
That started me laughing (the appearance by Hiram Eastland). ooooooooh boy.
I don’t think Patterson flips. a) they have him already and b) i don’t think he’ll lead them to much bigger fish.
Thanks from and welcome to folo, MSlawyer!
That would be the Hiram Eastland attached to this most intriguing thumbnail?
Some of the commenters on the C-L site are saying that Joey Langston and Hood were once roommates at Ole Miss. Anyone know whether that’s true? Also, Sid Salter says Joey’s house was searched in addition to his office.
Okay, dang it, NMC, DON’T TEASE US LIKE THAT!
Whatchoo laffin’ at re Hiram Eastland (I almost typed Bingham), and whuffo b)?
Jump back, his house too?
explaining further “they have him already” by that I mean his partner– Balducci– has already flipped so he’s already toast.
Further, retaining Hiram Eastland is not the next move if one has flipped.
I’m afraid I’m just going to leave my comment about Eastland to this: Some of these defendants are lawyering up in a big way and some of them aren’t.
I should explain: the Hiram I’m most grateful for is the one who discovered Machu Picchu.
Deft, NMC. Very.
I tried to get a link for this, but the new Clarion Ledger website is just about impossible. Salter wonders “whether the state’s MCI settlement case — from which Langston and other lawyers used their outside counsel contract procured from Attorney General Jim Hood to garner a total of $14 million in legal fees off a $100 million plus property settlement to the state — is now under federal scrutiny.” He also notes that Billy Quin, who “worked with Langston on the MCI case while employed by the Lundy Davis law firm in Louisiana, is a current Langston law firm associate.” I wonder if this means that Scruggs is going to have to find new local counsel to assist Keker.
NMC, is it that Patterson would be radioactive to anyone smarter than Balducci, or otherwise why your b) above? My thought was that he’d have best proximity to Langston (and Quin?) via his pard Tim.
But compared to y’all’s local insights into these critters, I got nuthin’, so maybe I just oughta learn not to opine here.
Wull . . . hard to break a 60-year habit, though, whatcanIsay.
Let me probably mangle one of Molly Ivin’s more apt comments by thanking all y’all Mississippians for sometimes making Texas look better.
It’s been kind of a dry spell, but glad to see y’all revvin’ up again.
Mumph mumph mumph, Tex. With YOUR Lege?
Mumph mumph mumph, Tex. With YOUR Lege?
Hey, I said sometimes!
LD, what’s the name of that cute little newshound following you in here these days?
I said I don’t think Patterson will lead to bigger fish because I think anything they get through Patterson, they already have from Balduccci, his former partner. That’s just simple logic. He is a cul-de-sac, unfortunately for him, I think. But I did not base that information on local information.
I don’t think Patterson is the obvious connection to Langston, Balducci is. And the feds have Balducci. This is all of course an outsider speculating, but with some local information.
Footnote:
Magistrate Alexander is very much a local product. She is from Greenville, I think, was editor of the law review at U. of Miss. in the late 70s, clerked for U.S. District Judge William Keady, who was respected at national level. She then practiced with Grady Tollison (remember that name?) before becoming a magistrate some years go.
I’ll say this in public, and not much more: Hiram Eastland is a lowish level political operative, not a lawyer. In the sort of fix Patterson is in, there is no skill Eastland has I know of that you would need. Coghlan is a real criminal defense lawyer, and I would assume had nothing to do with bringing in the , um, extra talent.
Most interesting footnote, NMC . . . so the magistrate who grounds Air Scruggs once practiced with John Jones’s lawyer.
Small world, Mississippi.
LD, what’s the name of that cute little newshound following you in here these days?
That’s Aslan, who is now about seven months old.
I like to see news-consuming start early, LD, though carpets and furniture may disagree.
Turns out Steve Patterson’s lawyer Hiram Eastland is a real defense lawyer man after all! Word has it he was one of the main legal defense engineers for the Governor Siegelman’s defense team in the Siegelman-Scrushy trial in Alabama and is Lead Counsel for the Governor’s appeal. Word also has it he is a former Justice Department lawyer man and that he wrote one of the statutes involved in the recent indictments. Hmm…
Hi and welcome, Word Up. Which word has that? Got a linky or two? Who or what is/are your source(s) on Hiram?
Well, Word Up is right about Siegelman– Eastland is the only lawyer listed for Siegelman on the 11th circuit pacer site.
What do you make of that, NMC? I’m surprised, to say the least. Why isn’t he a lot more visible online, if all this be true?
Word Up, apparently Hiram Eastland was part of Gov. Siegelman’s defense team, but I can find no indication anywhere online that he was ever part of the Justice Department or had anything to do with writing statutes (which DoJ doesn’t do anyhow, Congress does).
All I see via Google would argue the other way: the impression to be gained there is that he’s been much more active as a lobbyist than as a lawyer.
So unless/until you or someone else can provide links to prove what you’re claiming, I’m not onboard with that.
Google Hiram Eastland and Fortune Magazine…
I saw that page earlier, but don’t see what you’re talking about. Link, please.
Word…Also, Google “Hiram Eastland” and “Time Magazine”…
I’ve got to leave for a few hours, but without the exact link(s) you’re talking about, we got nuthin’.
The “Hiram Eastland” and “Fortune Magazine” Google pulls up a Fortune Magazine “They’re Baaaack” article that indicates Eastland is a former Justice Department lawyer that had a hand in creating the “honest services” mail fraud statute (that these defendants have been indicted under)…
Okay, Word Up, I finally found that story, and yes, it does have a passage that says,
The link I asked you for is
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/06/26/283022/index.htm
Word Up, I do very much appreciate that you were willing to find and share interesting information with us. But I’m NOT happy that I had to spend a couple of hours chasing around looking for it, when you could have told us exactly where to find this story from the first.
I don’t know whether you’ve spent much time on blogs before today, but let me tell ya what’s expected of folks bringing news if they‘re expecting to be believed: a link.
Look at that page on your computer (or this page either). See the “address field” window up at the top of the screen? Put your cursor on that and give it one click — that highlights that line of stuff (which is called a URL), right?
Now click on the “copy” icon (should be just below the URL window somewhere: the double-pages icon).
Now put the cursor wherever you’d like that URL to show up next and click on the “paste” icon — you’re done! So: put the URL of the article you want us to see right in your comment, so we can go see it for ourselves.
Like most bloggers, I make what are called “hyperlinks” — words of my sentence set up by computer coding to be live links to another page online — and some commenters who know how to do that make them too. But you don’t need to go that fancy-schmancy and learn computer-coding to satisfy folo’s readers. All we need is the simple link itself.
BUT we absolutely do need that, especially when you’re trying to convince us of something otherwise hard to believe. Okay? DON’T make us go on scavenger hunts, or you won’t be welcome here for long.
If you have trouble copying a link, just sing out, and I or (I bet) somebody else here will gladly talk you through it. Maybe some slow day, I’ll wander over to folo’s About page and try to put together a little tutorial on making the simple code you need for boldface, italics,
strike-throughs,and who knows, maybe even the slightly more intricate formula for making hyperlinks. (Okay, youse who’ve known me longer than most, sherrup that laffing! I know this is the blind-proposing-to-lead-the-sighted, okay?)
Anyhow, Word Up, right now let’s talk about that passage and what it does and doesn’t say.
I can’t tell where the reporter got the information that Hiram is a “former Justice Department lawyer” (but I suspect it came from Hiram himself — possibly not the most reliable source, huh?). And where your first comment says “he wrote one of the statutes … ,” I don’t see this passage in the Fortune article making nearly that strong a claim. It just says “he liked to think he’d had a hand in” influencing Sen. Biden’s legislation. That’s pretty weak tea when you take a real look at it, no? It could mean anything or nothing — and again, it seems to be coming from Hiram’s own self-description.
And nowhere does this passage say that Hiram Eastland knows his way around in criminal court, defending clients accused of felonies. Yes, on Wikipedia this morning, I did find the sentence “Siegelman, represented by Mobile attorneys Vince Kilborn and David McDonald, along with Greenwood attorney Hiram Eastland and Notre Dame law professor G. Robert Blakey, the author of RICO, was acquitted on 25 charges, including the indictment’s allegations of a widespread RICO conspiracy” — but even there, you see the notation “citation needed” (Wikipedia’s way of saying, “Don’t necessarily believe this until somebody supplies one or more links to prove it”). And it sure stops short of making him out to be a “main legal defense engineer” of that team, don’t you agree?
Gah, I’ve gone on and on here, haven’t I? Shorter me: please hang around and feel free pipe up anytime you like, Word Up! But please claim only as much information as you can show the rest of us where to see for ourselves. And don’t make us work for it — because, well, most of us just won’t.
Ouch Blog Master Lotus! Guess I need to get all Teched Up for my Word Ups, but yo description of how to do the linkn’ thang is more complicated than my Mama’s Christmas Eggnog recipe. Your point is well taken tho and I will get under the hood on my computer and get a handle on this linkn’ thang.
I was just trying to pass along some very reliable information cause I can assure you Eastland is what other lawyers refer to as a REAL LAWYER that other lawyers and clients and criminal defendants across the country have greatly benefited from associating on criminal defense and civil cases (not lobbying) over the years, including the likes of Mississippi’s own John Grisham, former Chief Judge of the Fifth Circuit and former Governor J.P. Coleman, former Governor and Attorney General Bill Allain, Professor G. Robert Blakey from Notre Dame, Mike Papantonio of Levin Papantonio and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. just to name a few. Eastland has also been the chief legal engineer for developing the legal theories upheld by the courts on a number of class actions Scruggs and other legal teams have validly asserted, including the RICO and underlying mail and wire fruad and extortion RICO predicate act legal theories claimed against the major HMOs on behalf of patients and the nation’s doctors.
Have a great Christmas Holidays and here’s to staying Worded Up!
Dang it, WU, you funny but you just DID IT AGAIN, ONLY BIGGER!
Darlin’, if you do that one more time here, yo’ butt is permanently banished from folo, you hear me?
Merry Crispness to you too, though, you ornery thang.
I can’t find where you asked “Hiram, Jr. or III” but anyone willing to put up that grits recipe deserves an answer – Jr., the one with the photographic memory. The only “link” I have to this information is from a long time ago; but, you don’t forget someone when you know he remembers everything.