Afternoon Briefs: Cops charged with selling crash info to lawyers; deal reached on McGahn testimony
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Officers charged with selling crash info to lawyers
A retired New York police officer and two current officers were charged Tuesday with taking kickbacks from towing companies. Heather Busch, Robert Hassett and Robert Smith are charged in a federal indictment with using interstate facilities to commit bribery. Smith and Hassett are also accused of violating the Travel Act by selling car crash information to personal injury lawyers. Smith, the retired officer, faces a third charge for allegedly using a gun while attempting to transport heroin. Prosecutors said Smith admitted to bribes in text messages, saying, “Bro I robbed everyone.” (The Associated Press, Department of Justice press release, the indictment)
Tentative deal reached on McGahn testimony
Lawyers for the Biden administration and the House Judiciary Committee have reached an agreement in principle that would permit former White House counsel Don McGahn to testify to Congress about former President Donald Trump’s conduct during the Russia inquiry. The parties revealed the deal in a May 11 filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which is set to hear en banc arguments next week. (Law.com, the New York Times, the legal filing)
Thousands of migrant children held in government facilities
The federal government is housing around 21,000 migrant children who are seeking asylum “in an opaque network of some 200 facilities,” according to an Associated Press report. The number of migrant children in government custody has more than doubled in the last two months. (The Associated Press)
District attorney seeks death penalty in spa shootings
Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis said Tuesday she will seek the death penalty against Robert Aaron Long, the suspect in the March Atlanta-area spa shootings that authorities are calling domestic terrorism. Willis said Long targeted some of the eight victims because of their Asian nationality. In court, Willis indicated that she will seek hate crimes enhancements if Long is convicted of murder. During her campaign for district attorney, Willis had said she could not foresee a case in which she would seek capital punishment. (The New York Times, the Washington Post)
