While Kraft, a Democrat, has repeatedly said he’s never supported Trump, Wu has cornered the son of Patriots owner Robert Kraft to take stronger action to defend himself.
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Lucas: Judge Shelley Joseph has her overdue day in court
Although a strong past supporter, Gov. Maura Healey will not be among those testifying on behalf of District Court Judge Shelley Joseph on Monday.
That is the day Joseph will be before a hearing of the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct. She is on her own.
The hearing is over Joseph’s “willful judicial misconduct” in allowing a wanted illegal immigrant to escape out the back of the Newton District Court in 2018 while ICE agents waited out front to scoop him up.
Joseph was indicted in 2019 on federal charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice by then U.S Attorney Andrew Lelling, a Donald Trump appointee.
The charges were later dropped after Joe Biden defeated Trump in 2020 and took over the U.S. Justice Department.
Joseph, who had been suspended, was returned to the bench by the state Supreme Judicial Court.
The case was a forerunner of the case against Milwaukee Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan, a Democrat like Joseph, who also allowed a fugitive illegal immigrant to sneak out of the back door of the courthouse to evade waiting ICE agents.
Unlike Joseph, who walked under Joe Biden, Dugan, under the Trump administration, is being prosecuted and if convicted faces six years in prison
While free of criminal charges, the Joseph case was turned over to the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct, which investigates complaints of judicial misconduct.
Joseph was appointed to the bench by then-Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican.
However, upon the outbreak of news about Joseph’s backdoor justice, Baker said he found the situation “extremely troubling.”
“Judges are not supposed to be in the business of obstructing Justice,” he said, adding that Joseph should not have been allowed to hear criminal cases until the situation was resolved.
It is probably politically wise for Healey to stay away from the hearing during ICE’s roundups of hundreds of violent illegal immigrants in Massachusetts under her nose.
But her absence is in sharp contrast to the outspoken support she and other leading Democrats, like Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, showed toward Joseph when the federal charges were first filed.
Back then, when Healey was attorney general — and the state’s “chief law enforcement officer” — she called the Joseph indictment “a radical and politically motivated attack on our state and the independence of our courts.”
That was strong stuff but apparently not strong enough to convey in person to the judicial commission, which is made up by three of her appointees, three by the Supreme Judicial Court and three by the Superior Court.
Back when Healey was attorney general, illegal immigration in Massachusetts, a magnet state with generous social welfare benefits, was still a trickle and easy to support compared to the deluge it became under Biden’s open borders policy.
Joseph could still walk, of course, as she did when the federal indictments were tossed under Biden.
While the nine-member judicial commission may make recommendations to the Supreme Judicial Court about reprimanding or disciplining Joseph, it cannot remove her from the bench.
While the SJC can prohibit Joseph from sitting on the bench or even disbar her, it cannot remove her, though she could resign.
That power rests with the governor and the eight-member Governor’s Council, all Democrats. The council, which has approval power over gubernatorial judicial nominations, can remove a judge from the bench.
But it hardly ever happens, although it could.
The last (and only) time it did happen in the modern era was in 1973 — fifty-two years ago. That was when the council, after a series of dramatic hearings, voted to remove controversial Dorchester District Court Judge Jerome Troy from the bench.
The once politically connected judge had been accused of, among other things, questionable political and business dealings while on the bench, so the council threw him out on his ear.
And there was not an illegal immigrant in sight.
Veteran political reporter Peter Lucas can be reached at: peter.lucas@bostonherald.com
Nancy Lane/Boston Herald
Gov. Maura Healey (Herald file)
Murphy: Questions don’t answer evidence
Give Karen Read supporters this much —questions raised early on were worth asking.
Like, why would Jen McCabe be awake at 2 in the morning searching the internet for information about how long it takes for someone to die in the cold? (Turns out she searched at 6:24 am, after O’Keefe’s body was found, because Read asked her to).
How can a guy suffer a fatal head injury but no broken bones or injuries to his lower body after being hit by a car? (Not uncommon for sideswipe pedestrian collisions).
How can a human arm crack a taillight and suffer scratches? (Still a bit unsettled except we know the scratches were not from a dog because there was no dog DNA and the medical examiner said the injuries were topical abrasions with no depth).
Most importantly, why would the feds open an investigation of a pending state murder investigation? (Utterly perplexing even today though it did end with no finding of misconduct by anyone).
The first trial didn’t exactly answer all these questions, but it, along with the prosecution’s case thus far in the second trial, did provide a solid pile of forensic proof that Karen Read dropped John O’Keefe off in front of 34 Fairview Ave; he was found dead feet from where she dropped him off; taillight pieces from Read’s car were found on John’s clothing and strewn around the crime scene; and John’s DNA was found on Read’s car, near the taillight.
If that were the only evidence, it would be a lot. But there’s more, including computer data from Read’s car showing that right after she dropped O’Keefe off, she gunned her car backwards at 24 miles per hour, with the gas pedal at 75% force, before leaving the scene and driving back to O’Keefe’s house.
If this isn’t enough to for you, that’s fine. And if these facts don’t answer all the questions about whether evidence was planted, and whether cops behaved badly and acted overzealously because one of their own was killed, that’s fine, too. And if you think Read was overcharged, I can see the argument. It’s fair to assume that extra efforts would be used to prosecute an accused cop-killer.
What’s not fair is pointing the finger at innocent people in the name of due process. Nothing in the Constitution says that a criminal’s fair trial rights include the right to defame an innocent person by falsely claiming that they committed murder. That said, this isn’t the first time innocent people have been falsely accused because the law in this state is ridiculously generous to criminals – to a point where judges in other states roll their eyes when lawyers cite Massachusetts law as a guiding principle.
For example, defendants in this state are allowed to hire experts to lie and the defense can then whip the public into a frenzy by promoting the lies. It’s not that there’s a rule that says “the defense can lie” it’s that there are no meaningful sanctions when they do.
If the prosecution or one of their experts lies, a judge can suppress evidence and even dismiss charges as punishment (remember Annie Dookhan?). This threat of sanctions works very well as a deterrent, but it doesn’t apply to the defense.
No matter how unfair or even unethical the conduct of a defense attorney, a judge cannot suppress evidence or punish the defendant. The Supreme Judicial Court made this clear years ago in a case where a trial judge excluded evidence favorable to the defendant because the lawyers violated the rules of discovery.
The state’s highest court reversed that decision on the grounds that the rights of the accused are more important than the deterrence of defense misconduct. The judge in the Read case, Beverly Cannone, was obviously aware of this when she recently ruled that evidence helpful to Read would not be suppressed even though the defense violated the rules.
So Read will be able to use every piece of relevant evidence that could possibly help her case – but she has a big problem named Hank Brennan. He is a highly skilled defense attorney – serving as a prosecutor just for this case – and he knows all the tricks. Even worse for Read, she has made too many damning public statements that are devastating to her case and Brennan used all of them brilliantly.
The defense does have some helpful evidence, like disgusting texts sent by the state trooper in charge of her case to a group of his buddies. Read also has in her favor the fact that Brian Higgins, an ATF agent friend of O’Keefe’s, threw his phone away in a very suspicious manner after Read kissed him and they engaged in sexual banter with by phone.
But these sideshows do nothing to diminish the physical and forensic evidence.
The jury can’t help but see this case as a straightforward drunk driving hit-and-run homicide. So the real issue is whether jurors see a murderer in Karen Read.
Most people are uncomfortable thinking that an educated white woman from suburban Massachusetts could be a killer. But if the jurors in this case can get over that discomfort, Karen Read could soon be doing a mandatory 20 years for second degree murder. Even the lesser charge is mandatory five.
Either way Read will have a long time behind bars to contemplate whether the circus was worth it.
Battenfeld: Indignant Healey, Democrats blaming Trump for migrant arrests
After encouraging illegal migrants to come to Massachusetts for political reasons, then almost bankrupting the state supporting them, an indignant Maura Healey and other Democrats are blaming President Trump for spreading fear and intimidation in the immigrant community.
Attorney General Andrea Campbell is putting out “guidance” to illegal immigrants about how they should deal with ICE, when her job is to protect actual citizens of Massachusetts.
“From arresting parents in front of their children to pulling people who present no public safety threat out of their cars in broad daylight, the aggressive ICE tactics we’re seeing across the Commonwealth do not protect the public and instead spread fear,” Campbell, who has had a meteoric rise from failed Boston mayoral candidate to AG, said. “In releasing this guidance, I strongly encourage everyone to inform themselves of their rights when they see immigration officers in their communities.”
Both Healey and Campbell are clearly siding with people who are in Massachusetts illegally, many of whom are felons or criminals.
This could come as a surprise to voters who supported them, and may explain why half of Bay State residents don’t approve of the way Healey is doing her job.
Healey – whose state has an order preventing police from assisting immigration authorities – is demanding information from ICE about the arrest of a Milford high school junior.
“Yet again, local officials and law enforcement have been left in the dark with no heads up and no answers to their questions,” Healey said in a statement. “I’m demanding that ICE provide immediate information about why he was arrested, where he is and how his due process is being protected.”
It’s not a one way street, governor.
If you want ICE’s cooperation, then cooperate with ICE.
Why should ICE tell Healey’s office or police anything? They’re not obligated to inform the governor of anything.
But after getting a beating from Healey and other Democrats, ICE came out swinging on Monday.
“Sanctuary policies put us in a position to go out into communities and look for people,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Acting Director Patricia Hyde said at a press conference. “When jurisdictions don’t cooperate with ICE and we don’t arrest people, in custodial arrests, then we must go out into the community. And when we go out into the community and we find others who are unlawfully here, we are going to arrest them.”
Hyde and officials said they weren’t looking for the 18-year-old Milford student, but his father, who is still in hiding.
Why hasn’t the father surrendered to ICE? Why haven’t they filed for asylum before?
Those are good questions for Democrats now demanding ICE release the 18-year-old and others arrested in sweeps across Massachusetts.
Howie Carr: Karen Read and the Norfolk County hackerama
It’s almost halftime in the second Karen Read murder trial, and right now I’d have to say Meatball Morrissey and the Norfolk County hackerama are behind on points.
That’s not to say that the despicable Quincy crew won’t eventually be able to lynch Read, or at least cheat their way to another “mistrial.”
Maybe, as in the first trial, Judge Bev Cannone will give the jurors voting slips without the option to vote “not guilty.”
When she was called on her kangaroo-court forms last year, she shrugged and said, “That’s the way we’ve always done it here.”
Just ask Sacco and Vanzetti. They were framed in the same courthouse in Dedham, in 1921, at least in part on the false testimony of a corrupt state trooper named Proctor.
History does indeed repeat itself, or tries to anyway.
If she can’t pass out the fake jury slips this time, perhaps the judge will again try to ignore any unanimous not-guilty verdicts, the way she did with two of the three counts the first jury returned against Karen last summer.
In school, children are taught that double jeopardy is unconstitutional in America.
But remember, kids, we’re not in America. We’re in Norfolk County.
In Norfolk County, in the halls of justice, the only justice is in the halls.
Still, the hacks’ grip on this rotten borough appears more tenuous than ever. They’ve lost control of the board of selectmen in Canton, the belly of the beast. Last year the Morrissey stooge lost by 200 votes, this year their 30-year incumbent was crushed by a 2-1 margin.
The Meatball Mob couldn’t oust a dissident county politician last year, even with a well-financed Quincy hack who’s thisclose to Meatball Morrissey. In fact, that’s probably why the hack (a landscaper by trade) lost 72-28, after his connections to the odious Quincy mob were exposed.
As you know, in the hackerama, Memorial Day is Memorial Week. Which is why the Read trial recessed at mid-afternoon Wednesday, until next Tuesday. But there was another reason why the pot-bellied courthouse stooges took an early slide Wednesday.
Over in Norwood, the Norfolk County Bar Association was holding its annual bender, er, dinner.
And the Person of the Year was Judge Beverly Cannone. Of course she was!
But wait, it gets better. Every phony-baloney banquet needs a Keynote Speaker. For their annual toot, the Bar Association selected the new $174,532-a-year county clerk of courts, Walter F. Timilty, who has succeeded his father, Walter F. Timilty.
Would you care to guess how many times the Keynote Speaker failed the bar exam?
The over-under is five, and if you took the under, you lose.
The Keynote Speaker for the Norfolk County Bar Association dinner, who is also the county’s clerk of courts, has failed the bar exam six times — once each in 1995, 1997, 2000 and 2001, and twice in 1996.
By the way, on his birth certificate his name was listed as Walter F. Timilty III. His father was Walter Timilty Jr., until Walter III needed his own hack job, in the legislature. So on the ballot, Jr. became Sr., and III became Jr.
Shouldn’t running for office under false names be against the law? Oh, I forgot, it’s Norfolk County.
(By the way, now that he’s retired, Daddy Timilty’s pension is $106,146 a year, not to mention the $16,664.97 he pocketed as “leave buy back” when he handed the hack job to his dim-bulb son.)
It’s a very prestigious body, the Norfolk County Bar Association. The secretary is one Michael Barbadoro. Would you care to guess if Barbadoro works in the Dreaded Private Sector, or in the Norfolk County hackerama?
You are correct. He’s “first assistant register” of probate in Norfolk County. Two diminutives in his job title — he’s a hack for sure.
Perhaps this political incestuousness is why the hackerama is struggling so to frame Karen Read. It’s one thing to be stupid, which they all are, but they’re also inbred.
I mean, why would anyone capable of earning an honest living want to associate with the dismal low-IQ likes of Meatball, Auntie Bev, Walter Timilty or the first assistant?
Those who can, do. Those who can’t, get hack jobs with Norfolk County.
Some become judges, others cut grass at Presidents Golf Course. The pay varies, but every last one of them is a hack job, and there’s only one qualification. You must know somebody, preferably somebody named Meatball.
The talent pool in Norfolk County has gotten so shallow that Morrissey has had to hire three “special prosecutors” to try to railroad Karen Read and her supporter Aidan “Turtleboy” Kearney.
One of Turtleboy’s persecutors is Robert “Triple Dip” Cosgrove, who is 73 years old and has never once raised his snout from the public trough. Currently he’s pocketing a $64,264-a-year pension from Meatball’s DA office, as well as a $139,301-a-year pension as a retired judge, and we all know what an ethical bunch Massachusetts judges are.
Just ask Bev Cannone.
And now on top of his $204,000 in state pensions, Triple Dip Cosgrove collects a third check for trying to throw Turtleboy in prison. His crime? He exercised his First Amendment rights to make a face in the window of a business owned by an ex-con selectman in Canton who was represented in his hit-and-run manslaughter case by Judge Bev’s brother.
You see what I mean about the political inbreeding in Norfolk County?
And I haven’t even mentioned Hank Brennan, another of Meatball Morrissey’s special prosecutors, currently handling the Karen Read frame up.
He was the lawyer for Whitey Bulger, Norfolk County’s preeminent gangster and serial killer for many years (after moving from Southie to Quincy). In those days, Meatball was a state senator and Whitey’s brother Billy was the president of the Senate, known as “the Corrupt Midget.”
The Corrupt Midget would tell Morrissey, “Jump!” and Meatball would answer, “How high?”
(Bulger’s pension, for the record, is now $274,149 a year. He’s been collecting since 2003.)
Nothing ever really changes in Norfolk County, except the COLA increases in all their hack pensions. But if Karen Read is found not guilty, it will be the end of an era, or should I say error?
It’s the hackerama.
Follow the Karen Read trial on Howie’s radio show, 2-6 on WRKO AM 680.
Battenfeld: Probe of fatal bus crash should be swift and transparent
Mayor Michelle Wu’s “independent” investigation into the fatal bus accident in Hyde Park should be swift and totally transparent and include the city’s failed oversight of the bus vendor Transdev in order to ensure Boston kids are safe getting to school.
The investigation should not take until the end of Wu’s reelection campaign and should rise above politics in the interest of the public and parents.
Wu and BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper should already be taking action to shore up their own weak oversight of Transdev. And police need to immediately release the accident report, which has been kept under wraps.
But there are signs the fix is already in – the investigator, a white collar defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor, has donated to several far-left Democrats and works for a politically connected law firm. And Wu has already determined it was the vendor’s fault and not her administration.
“There are protocols and this is a case where it looks like the responsibilities and obligations of the vendor were not held up,” Wu said last week.
Wu’s appointment of the investigator – Mintz Levin lawyer Natashia Tidwell – came just a week after the Herald and several city councilors called for an outside review of the crash.
Why did it take Wu so long to appoint an investigator in the April 28 accident that killed a 5-year-old Hyde Park boy, Lens Arthur Joseph?
It appears that she finally caved to political and public pressure because of the horrific nature of the crash and the fact that it was blowing back against her administration. Tidwell is charged with reviewing existing safety policies, the bus company’s performance, and making recommendations if more safety measures are needed.
“The public deserves a full understanding of how this could have happened and what changes are needed,” Wu said in a statement.
But will the public really get a “full understanding” of the accident if the investigation is focused on only Transdev and she has already absolved the School department of blame?
And why didn’t Wu appoint someone with no ties to Boston politics?
Tidwell has donated to a number of left-of-center Democratic pols, including Attorney General Andrea Campbell in 2022, 2021 and 2020, former Suffolk County DA Rachel Rollins, Cambridge City Councilor Paul Toner and Plymouth County DA candidate Rahsaan Hall, records show.
Tidwell has not donated campaign money to Wu.
But Wu’s campaign has received more than $28,000 from Mintz Levin lawyers and employees, according to campaign finance records.
The Wu administration finally released more detailed information about the accident and the bus driver, Jean Charles, in a Friday news dump, and after nearly a month of silence, Transdev released a statement.
Charles had been involved in four incidents in the last two years, and hit a parked car during the day of the fatal accident, but kept driving against protocol.
It was previously reported that Charles’s certificate to drive the bus had expired in 2024, and he did not try to renew it.
Charles resigned his position after Transdev moved to terminate him.
Battenfeld: Buck stops with Mayor Wu on deadly bus accident
Wu can’t just point the finger at the bus vendor and the driver – she needs to take full accountability for the city’s needless delay in reporting details of the April 28 accident and appoint an independent investigator to oversee the deadly incident.