5/20/14, "D’Souza Expected to Plead Guilty to Charge," NY Times, Benjamin Weiser
"A
federal court hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday morning in which
the conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza is expected to
plead guilty to a charge stemming from campaign finance violations,
according to a notice sent out by the government.
Mr. D’Souza was charged in January with using straw donors to contribute to a New York Republican Senate campaign, and his trial was to begin this week in United States District Court.
But
the United States attorney’s office for the Southern District of New
York sent out an advisory late Monday night that said a hearing had been
scheduled on Tuesday, using language that typically indicates that a
plea is expected to occur.
Decisions
to plead guilty are subject to change at the last minute, and a
defendant like Mr. D’Souza could decide instead to go to trial. The
judge, Richard M. Berman, was to oversee jury selection on
Tuesday morning, and opening arguments were expected to take place that
day.
It
was unclear to what charge Mr. D’Souza might be pleading guilty.
Prosecutors and his lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, declined to comment.
Prosecutors had charged that Mr. D'Souza arranged to have two friends each
contribute $10,000 on behalf of themselves and their spouses to the
campaign of Wendy E. Long, a challenger to Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand,
a Democrat, with the understanding that he would reimburse them. That
resulted in a $20,000 contribution that exceeded the $5,000 individual
limit for the 2012 election cycle.
Mr.
Brafman had filed court papers charging that the government “targeted”
Mr. D’Souza “because of his consistently caustic and highly publicized
criticism” of President Obama, and he asked Judge Berman to order the
government to provide discovery materials that would allow him to pursue
the issue. The judge denied that request last week."
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Comment: I could've told Mr. D'Souza that if his friend and candidate was any good, there's no chance she'd be elected in NY state. The NY State GOP to the extent it exists isn't interested in getting good candidates elected. It's only interested in blocking the gates so good people can't get in.
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