Trust government bureacracies? The power elites are ruthless liars..

Clinesmith Charging Documents: FBI Withheld Page’s CIA Work From FISA Court, Then Lied About It

Clinesmith falsified documents and helped the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane Team omit exonerating evidence about Carter Page on four separate FISA applications. 

Jonathan Turley takes apart the dishonest jury foreperson in the Roger Stone trial. She is the enemy of justice.

Juror 1261 in Roger Stone's case: Was justice undone?

BY JONATHAN TURLEY, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR —  02/15/20 10:30 AM EST

She was Juror No. 1261, and her examination by the federal court and counsel before the trial was anything but notable. And that is precisely the problem.

Juror 1261, we now know, was Tomeka Hart. Her identity would have remained publicly unknown except for a public statement she made after the Department of Justice (DOJ) rescinded its initial sentencing recommendation for Trump confidant Roger Stone. In the midst of the firestorm of allegations of political interference, Hart disclosed that she was the foreperson on the Stone jury and gave a full-throated defense of the trial prosecutors: “It pains me to see the DOJ now interfere with the hard work of the prosecutors.” 

That statement led many people to Google her name, and what they found was a litany of postings not only hostile to President Trump and his administration but also specifically commenting on Stone and his arrest — before she ever appeared for jury duty.

That lack of knowledge is not surprising since multiple questions on the jury questionnaire allowed her to reveal her past protests and postings. For example, Question 30 asked whether she had any opinion about figures such Donald Trump. There also was Question 23 that asked whether she had "written or posted anything for public consumption about the defendant, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, or the investigation conducted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller?" Questions 34 and 35 specifically ask about her prior knowledge or opinions of the Stone case, which she referenced on social media. It is hard to believe that she disclosed these public statements in her answer and was not questioned about them.

If this information was withheld by Hart, it raises a question about the veracity of her testimony and, more importantly, the fairness of the trial.

It certainly seems Hart had no place on the Stone jury. The Supreme Court has repeatedly declared that the “minimal standards of due process” demand “a panel of impartial, indifferent jurors.” Hart’s record suggests little that is impartial or indifferent. She was perfectly within her right to engage in such commentary and protests — but she had no right to sit in judgment of an associate of the president after her public declarations. Her participation raises serious arguments for setting aside the verdict, from the possibility of ineffective counsel to the denial of due process.

The burden now is on Judge Jackson to hold a hearing on this matter and address the possible need for a mistrial. And one thing will be clear: Judge Jackson, in the words of Juror No. 1261, does not “gotta love” any of this.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law for George Washington University and served as the last lead counsel during a Senate impeachment trial. He testified as a witness expert in the House Judiciary Committee hearing during the impeachment inquiry of President Trump.

TAGS ROGER STONE ROBERT MUELLER DONALD TRUMP ROGER STONE TRIAL SOCIAL MEDIA

Why the Roger Stone case matters

Roger Stone Juror Could Serve Jail Time if It's Determined She Lied About Bias, Napolitano Says

 

BY MATT MARGOLIS FEBRUARY 14, 2020

CHAT COMMENTS

Roger Stone exits federal court Washington, Friday, Nov. 15, 2019. Stone, longtime friend of President Donald Trump, has been found guilty at his trial in federal court in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Andrew Napolitano, who is hardly a cheerleader for Team Trump, told Tucker Carlson Thursday evening that Tomeka Hart, the woman who served as foreperson on the jury during Roger Stone's trial, could face jail time if it's determined she lied about her bias when she was selected to serve on the jury.

Stone was convicted of seven counts of making false statements, witness tampering and obstruction, but Hart, a former Democratic congressional candidate, is rabidly anti-Trump and had no business being on the jury, let alone foreperson.

“Is it your view a problem that the foreman of the jury in Roger Stone’s trial turned out to be a former Democratic congressional candidate who attacked Trump on Twitter and mocked concern, I think most critically, about the FBI raid on Stone’s house?" Tucker Carlson asked Napolitano. "Why was someone like this allowed to remain on the jury?”

“This is information that she must have hidden from the lawyers and the judge who interrogated her before she was put on the jury,” Napolitano told Tucker before explaining that jurors would have been interrogated prior to selection because it was a federal case. “The lawyers sign off ahead of time on the questions the judges are going to ask. The purpose of the interrogation is to weed out people who have a bias, prejudice, and knowledge of the case or interest in the outcome,” Napolitano said.

“She obviously had a prejudice against Roger Stone, a bias in favor of his prosecution, and an interest in seeing him convicted.”

Napolitano believes that Tomeka Hart needs to be brought back into the courtroom "in the presence of Roger Stone and his lawyers and in the presence of the four prosecutors who have since resigned because their resignations are not effective until she, the trial judge, accepts them and interrogate this woman in order to determine whether the bias influenced her guilty vote and whether that bias was passed on to other members of the jury.”

If it's determined that Hart lied in order to get on the jury, she could be prosecuted for perjury and serve jail time, and result in Stone's conviction being overturned. A new trial would certainly be possible as well, but that is, of course, if the government would want to try Stone a second time.

Tomeka Hart's Twitter page, which hasn't been active since November 2019, is full of anti-Trump tweets and links. It's obvious this woman was a hardcore partisan who was set on convicting Stone and lied in order to get on the jury to ensure that happened.

Flynn was railroaded

The Flynn prosecution now stands exposed as massive FBI and DOJ abuse of power

By Post Editorial Board

January 31, 2020 | 8:10pm

Enlarge Image

Former National Security Adviser Gen. Michael Flynn AFP via Getty Images

Here’s another black eye for the Justice Department’s Obama-era leadership: The case against Gen. Michael Flynn is in full collapse.

Federal prosecutors just backed down from their demand that Flynn — President Trump’s first, short-lived national security adviser — serve jail time for lying to FBI investigators, telling a court Wednesday that probation would be a “reasonable” sentence.

In fact, Justice had long wanted leniency, since Flynn cooperated fully with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigations. But last month it started seeking up to six months of confinement — mainly because he’s no longer taking responsibility for his crime.

“I am innocent,” he writes in a new filing, explaining that he pleaded guilty in 2017 to making false statements to the FBI because he felt helpless to fight the charges: He’d already had to sell his home to pay legal costs and was told his son could be indicted, too.

The “crime” came days after the inauguration, when FBI agents Peter Strzok and Joe Pientka questioned Flynn at the White House about his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

SEE ALSO

Ex-Trump adviser Michael Flynn asks feds to reverse guilty plea

Yet the FBI had already reviewed transcripts of the calls and found nothing illicit. The visit was a fishing expedition: The agents even skipped the customary heads-up to the president’s Office of Legal Counsel — aiming to avoid having a lawyer present for the talk.

Even so, Strzok and Pientka wound up finding “no indication” that Flynn had lied to them. But then FBI lawyer Lisa Page (Strzok’s mistress at the time) instructed them to alter their official writeup of the conversation to say otherwise. And that’s the entire basis of the charges against him.

This wasn’t even the only abuse of power here: Before the inauguration, National Security Adviser Susan Rice ensured that the fact of Flynn’s conversations with Kislyak would leak to the media. Then holdover Justice official Sally Yates talked up ridiculous charges that he’d violated the never-enforced, and plainly irrelevant, Logan Act.

That phony controversy forced him from office — leaving him a private citizen when the Justice Department came knocking.

We were never big Flynn fans: He was an idiot to take payment from the Kremlin-sponsored news service RT for a 2015 speech in Moscow where he wound up seated next to Vladimir Putin, and a fool to do lobbying work on behalf of Turkish despot Recep Tayyip Erdogan right up until he started work at the White House.

But that doesn’t excuse these ambushes by Justice Department professionals — behavior that makes it easier to understand the president’s distrust of the “deep state.”

How "red flag laws lead to abuse of due process.

New Jersey man's guns seized under red flag law after his rival in a lawsuit filed a petition

Even though both sides agree no threat was made

Inquisition by mob: Richard Jewell, Duke LaCross team members, right up to the President

Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell” is a Jewel of a Film, a Grand Flourish for the 90 Years Young Director

• ■Movies

by Roger Friedman - November 22, 2019 4:39 pm

0 50431

A friend of mine called this morning who’d seen Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewell last night in Hollywood. She knew I was seeing it this morning in New York. “It’s going to upset your apple cart of an Oscar list,” she said.

She was right. Eastwood, at 90, has made a jewel of a film in “Richard Jewell,” a real masterclass in filmmaking. Eastwood will have to be nominated for Best Director. The screenplay and music (by Arturo Sandoval) will have to be nominated. And the actors, the actors now roll right into the top 5 in their respective categories. Paul Walter Hauser is the most unlikely leading man as Jewell. Sam Rockwell, now on a run, goes into Best Supporting Actor. Kathy Bates in Supporting Actress.

But I would be remiss if I left out Olivia Wilde, Jon Hamm, Ian Gomez and the great Nina Arianda, who plays the whole movie with a Russian accent as if she never left Moscow.

Richard Jewell, dead since 2007, was falsely accused by everyone– the media, the FBI, the Atlanta Journal Constitution– of planting a bomb that blew up at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. For a month in the summer of 96 he was Public Enemy Number 1 until no case could be made besides anecdotal supposition. A year later the real bomber was found, but Jewell’s name was ruined.

There is already the outbreak of a scandal surrounding this movie because in the film an Atlanta Journal female reporter (Wilde, perfection) sleeps with the head of the local FBI office (Jon Hamm in his best work since “Mad Men”) to get Jewell’s name for a scoop. The AJC is furious, insisting this never happened. Frankly it doesn’t matter. This is the usual Oscar campaign mud thrown when a possible Best Picture appears on the scene and threatens the apple cart. Please, please ignore it.

Now keep in mind that filming began five months ago, in June of this year. And the movie is finished. Eastwood was beginning his 90th year (he actually turns 90 next May). His late career directing has been something astonishing. From highlights like  “Unforgiven” to “American Sniper,” “Mystic River,” “Million Dollar Baby,” “The Mule,” to “Gran Torino,” this is an undeniable resume of classics. Even the ones that didn’t quite work remain watchable and underrated.

Until recently, Eastwood also wrote his own scores, or worked on them with his son. For “The Mule,” he tapped Sandoval who returns here with a gorgeous soundtrack that sounds like Clint wrote it. It’s just as good.

Eastwood plays with the idea of American heroes and anti-heroes in his films. Certainly he’s humanized Jewell miraculously, just the way he made Captain Sullenberger in “Sully” into a three dimensional figure. Jewell isn’t handsome or smart, he’s not glib or literate. But with Billy Ray’s banger of a screenplay he builds Jewell into a massively sympathetic, likable hero. What’s the secret? That the people on Jewell’s side– at least in the movie– all like him. So we like him.

The movie is based on a 1997 magazine article by Marie Brenner, and another book by two reporters. Were they completely factual? I guess we’ll find out soon as every complaint will be brought forward. Is the movie factual? Again, as soon as someone says, that’s not what happened, put your fingers in your ears. This is a dramatization of the facts, it’s not a documentary. And we’re so lucky to have it, and to still have Eastwood with his economical, no- nonsense style.

Offend the left and retribution is quick and without due process. So much for the wrong kind of whistle blower.

Woman fired by CBS for reportedly blowing whistle on ABC-Epstein cover-up tells Megyn Kelly she didn't do it. Someone claiming to be the real leaker says they've got the wrong person.

'This is something that everyone saw'

 SARAH TAYLOR

Megyn Kelly released her highly anticipated interview with former ABC and CBS employee Ashley Bianco on Friday.

Bianco lost her job at CBS for reportedly releasing video footage of ABC anchor Amy Robach admitting that the network killed a big story on now-deceased serial pedophile Jeffrey Epstein for more than three years.
On Tuesday, Project Veritas released a hot-mic video showing Robach complaining that ABC killed the Epstein story because it would have potentially impacted relations with influential people such as former President Bill Clinton and the U.K.'s Prince Andrew.
Robach also asserted that Epstein — who reportedly committed suicide in his jail cell in August — may have actually been murdered.

What are the details of the interview? 

In the brief interview, a tearful Bianco tells Kelly that she is not the whistleblower and that she believes the real whistleblower is still behind the scenes at ABC.
Bianco told Kelly that she simply accessed the portion of the Robach video, clipped it, and saved it to the company's internal system for the purpose of "office gossip."

"I did not [leak the tape]," Bianco adamantly insisted. "I just clipped it off, marked it in the system. We do it all the time."
"Everyone in the office was freaked out by what she was saying, and was watching it. ... I did it just for office gossip," she reasoned.
Bianco said that she enjoyed her time at ABC and would never have done anything to embarrass the company.
"Part of my job is a video editor. I clip off moments all the time. I put together funny anchor reels of them off-camera, doing funny stuff," she said. "I didn't think about it after that day."
Bianco said that she didn't ever go back to the clip after that day, let alone download it or distribute it.
She said that she left ABC to take a more lucrative position at CBS, and was only working there for four days before CBS fired her in connection with the video.
"I wasn't even given the professional courtesy to defend myself," a tearful Bianco said. "I didn't even know [what Project Veritas was] before this week."
"It was devastating," she wept. "It wasn't me. I'm not the whistleblower. I'm sorry to ABC, but the leaker is still inside. I may have accessed it, but I never leaked it, I never showed it to anyone, I never talked about the situation outside of the company."
Bianco said the clip was "something that everyone saw," but did not provide further information on who she believes the whistleblower to be.
"Anyone else could have clipped it off," she said.
Bianco said her only hope is that she can get her career back.

What else? 

In a lengthy letter published on Project Veritas' website, the person purporting to be the whistleblower revealed why he or she decided to release the footage to the site.
The letter, titled, "Why I, alone, released the Amy Robach Epstein tape," said, "I came forward with this information bearing no motives other than to have this information public."
"I did not and do not seek any personal gain from this information whether it be financial or otherwise and will always decline," the person — who goes by "Ignotus" — wrote. "When I became aware of this moment, I had the same reaction as many of you did. Anger, confusion, and sadness."
You can read the letter in its entirety below.

To my fellow man:

I came forward with this information bearing no motives other than to have this information public. I did not and do not seek any personal gain from this information whether it be financial or otherwise and will always decline. When I became aware of this moment, I had the same reaction as many of you did. Anger, confusion and sadness. I care not about petty political quarrels and only hope for the best in all of us.

To my fellow ABC News employees:

I've walked the halls experiencing similar feelings we are all having right now. All of you regardless of your own personal differences in one form or another do an outstanding job. I sincerely enjoy working with each and every one of you and will continue to do so throughout our careers.

To those wrongfully accused:

It is terrible that you have been lashed out at by the company. I know some may put the burden of guilt on me, but my conscience is clear. The actions of the company towards you are the result of their own and not anyone else. The public outcry, from coast to coast, of all people, creeds, and political affiliations, is clear. I have not one doubt that there will always be support for you, and you will have prosperous careers. For neither you, nor I, have done anything wrong.

To Amy Robach:

You are the only person deserving of an apology. I am most certainly sorry. Not for my actions or for this to center around you, but for what is clear to have happened. When I first stumbled across this, my initial reaction was outrage. But this soon turned towards empathy. I can not imagine doing all the hard work to only have it shelved. If the past few years have taught us anything, it is the truth that some of us have endured many hardships in this industry. From the spiking of stories regarding prominent and powerful people in this world, and to yours. I believe you are an outstanding reporter and have done such tremendous work in the community as well.

To ABC News:

I sit right here with you all in complete shock. I, like many, are at a loss for words on how this has been handled. Instead of addressing this head-on like the company has in the past, it has spun into a mission of seek-and-destroy. Innocent people that have absolutely nothing to do with this are being hunted down as if we are all a sport. I challenge all of you to actually look inwards and remember why this company engages in journalism. We all hold the First Amendment at the foundation of this company, yet forget its history, its purpose, and its reasoning for even coming into existence to begin with. How lost we are… yearning to be found. I went to Project Veritas for the sole reason that any other media outlet else would have probably shelved this as well. I thank all of them, and James, for seeking truth.

We are all human and mortal, creatures of mistakes and redemption.

The road to redemption favors no soul.

Sincerely,

Death by a thousand insults

 25, 2019

In the age of leftism

By Valerie Sobel

Christopher Columbus is a warmonger.

NBA players are profiteers of a communist regime.

Democratic 2020 candidates propose elimination of mandatory HIV disclosures.

Canada elects a substitute drama teacher for prime minister. 

Third-trimester abortions of fully formed babies are legal

Calling someone an "illegal alien" (a legal term), carries a fine of up to $250,000. 

There are 72 genders. 

Climate change will kill us in 12 years unless we kill our transportation and cows and turn to cannibalism. 

A violent, anarchist group that beats up people is called "anti-fascist" or Antifa." 

Up to 100,000 illegals cross the border monthly, bringing with them MS-13 thugs and narcotics.  Democrats call it a "manufactured crisis."

Israel is an apartheid state.

Benjamin Netanyahu is Hitler.

The Holocaust has two equally credible debate positions: 1) it happened 2) it didn't happen.

Teachers are required to present LGBT content to junior high school kids. 

Women march with vaginas on their heads. 

Illegal aliens can obtain driver's licenses.

A child with Asperger's lectures U.N. adults on climate fluctuations as a man-made phenomenon. 

The P.M. of Canada invents a new word: "peoplekind."

Al Gore, the man who predicted there will be no icebergs by 2013 in a video, is awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. 

Democrats perpetuate world's greatest lie: the president of their country is a "Russian spy."

Democrats attempt to remove a president because he is looking into corruption. 

Socialism, a failed and murderous ideology, is at the forefront of American politics.  

Bartenders are elected to government posts and demand abolition of all prisons to end an "American apartheid."

A sharia law Islamist who married her brother to circumvent American laws is now an American congresswoman.

The House fails to pass a resolution against anti-Semitism by its own members.  Because those members are Muslim.

Liberal American Jews write proclamations against a president who is raising Jewish grandchildren and recognizes Jerusalem as the eternal capital of the Jews. 

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A third world nation would understand Adam Schiff's secret tribunals.

October 18, 2019

Schiff caught tampering with another witness

By Monica Showalter

Its what you would expect from someone raised with a Middle Eastern cultural mentality...due process is optional

Unhinged: Rashida Tlaib Agrees US Marshals Should Hunt Down White House Officials

During a town hall meeting with constituents in Michigan this week, Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib agreed that U.S. Marshals should “hunt down” White House officials and remove them from office if they "refuse to leave power." This includes President Trump.

The idea was suggested by a man questioning Tlaib, who nodded in agreement, and then admitted Democrats on Capitol Hill have been having a discussion about who can arrest administration officials and where they could be held.

"This is the last caucus conversation we've had. Did you know this is really unprecedented? This is the worst time we've ever had a situation like this. They're trying to figure out, no joke, is it the DC police that goes and gets them?" Tlaib said. "Where do we hold them? Like, I'm not in those kinds of conversations but I'm asking, what happens?"

"I'm telling you, they're trying to be like, 'Well where are we going put them? Where are we going to hold...'" she continued, suggesting they can be held in Detroit. "What happens when they don't comply? The fact of the matter is we held Barr and Secretary Ross from Commerce, the Secretary of Commerce, in contempt. Well, what happens if they continue to not comply?"

As a reminder, Tlaib was one of the first Democrats to call for impeachment of President Trump immediately after she was elected in 2018. She infamously said she was going to "impeach the motherf*cker."

Before becoming a member of Congress Tlaib, kicking and screaming, was escorted out of a speech by President Trump.

Katie Pavlich's Latest Books, Assault and Flattery: The Truth About the Left and Their War on Womenand Fast and Furious: Barack Obama's Bloodiest Scandal and the Shameless Cover-Up are available on Amazon

EXCLUSIVE-In a world first, Facebook to give data on hate speech suspects to French courts...what is hate speech to Facebook?

EXCLUSIVE-In a world first, Facebook to give data on hate speech suspects to French courts

* Follows Macron-Zuckerberg meetings

* France seeks to take lead role in regulating tech groups

* Hate speech now at "same level as terrorism" - lawyer (Adds comment, background)

By Mathieu Rosemain

PARIS, June 25 (Reuters) - In a world first, Facebook has agreed to hand over the identification data of French users suspected of hate speech on its platform to judges, France's minister for digital affairs Cedric O said on Tuesday.

O, whose father is South Korean, is one of French President Emmanuel Macron's earliest followers, and has been influential in shaping the president's thinking on Big Tech as an advisor at the Elysee palace in the first two years of Macron's presidency.

The decision by the world's biggest social media network comes after successive meetings between Zuckerberg and Macron, who wants to take a leading role globally on the regulation of hate speech and the spread of false information online.

So far, Facebook has cooperated with French justice on matters related to terrorist attacks and violent acts by transferring the IP addresses and other identification data of suspected individuals to French judges who formally demanded it.

Following a meeting between Nick Clegg, Facebook's head of global affairs, and O last week, the social media company has extended this cooperation to hate speech.

"This is huge news, it means that the judicial process will be able to run normally," O told Reuters in an interview. "It's really very important, they're only doing it for France."

O, who said he had been in close contact with Clegg over the last few days on the issue, said Facebook's decision was the result of an ongoing conversation between the internet giant and the French administration.

Since his nomination as minister in March, O has made the fight against hate speech online a key priority through regular contacts with Facebook's top executives, including founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Facebook declined to comment.

STRONG SIGNAL

"It is a strong signal in terms of regulation," said Sonia Cisse, a counsel at law firm Linklaters, adding that it was a world first. "Hate speech is no longer considered part of freedom of speech, it's now on the same level as terrorism."

With Facebook's latest move, France is now a clear frontrunner in the quest to regulate big social media outlets, and other platforms might follow suite, Cisse said.

The discussions on how to best regulate tech giants began with a Zuckerberg-Macron meeting last year, followed by a report on tech regulation last month that Facebook's founder considered could be a blueprint for wider EU regulation.

Facebook had refrained from handing over identification data of people suspected of hate speech because it was not compelled to do so under U.S.-French legal conventions and because it was worried countries without an independent judiciary could abuse it.

France's parliament, where Macron's ruling party has a comfortable majority, is debating legislation that would give the new regulator the power to fine tech companies up to 4% of their global revenue if they don't do enough to remove hateful content from their network.

O also signalled his openness to seeing French startups being snapped up by larger U.S. companies, in a spite of recent measures taken by Macron's government to bolster anti-takeover rules to protect the country's strategic companies.

"My only goal is to spur the creation of a lot of companies," he said. "I have no problem with the fact that some of them are bought by U.S. companies, as long as they don't have critical technology."

TOO BIG

The minister is also reluctant to support the idea of breaking up companies like Facebook or Google, whose size, weight on the Internet and financial firepower have turned them into systemic players just as much as big banks.

Facebook has been called a social media monopoly by co-founder Chris Hughes, and calls for a break-up of the group have intensified.

"We cannot impose very tough obligations on Western companies and dismantle them because they are very big, and not do the same thing with Chinese companies that enter the Western market," he said, referring to groups like Alibaba and Tencent.

A graduate of France's top business school, HEC, O combines political experience - he was an aide to Dominique Strauss-Khan, like many of the tight group of "Macron Boys" who propelled him to power - and a stint in the private sector, at engine maker Safran.

At the Elysee, he was in charge of advising Macron on the French government's vast portfolio of stakes in French companies, having to deal with hot corporate sagas such as Renault-Nissan, as well as handling relations with Big Tech. (Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Additional reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by Mark Potter and Jan Harvey)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Democrats behaving like the thugs they are.

Report: Former top Clinton aide running 'dark money' campaign to get Brett Kavanaugh fired from teaching job

Anything to stop Kavanaugh

CHRIS ENLOE

Hillary Clinton's former campaign spokesman is leading a "dark money" campaign to get Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh fired from his summer teaching job at George Mason University, according to a new report.

What are the details?

Fox News reported that Brian Fallon, who served as Clinton's 2016 national spokesman, is backing an effort to prevent Kavanaugh from teaching for the university this summer. Fallon leads Demand Justice, a progressive advocacy group that does not disclose its funding.
The effort, which has been dubbed "Mason 4 Survivors," is circulating a petition that has so far garnered more than 5,000 signatures. The group is urging George Mason president Angel Cabrera to "terminate AND void ALL contracts and affiliation with Brett Kavanaugh at George Mason University."
"There is a historic amount of institutional negligence on your part to support survivors of sexual assault and the student body as a whole, which has bred a sense of mistrust and suffering within the Mason community and allies," the petition claims.

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Are we watching the death of our right to the presumption of innocence?

Sexual misconduct allegations against Time’s Up CEO Lisa Borders’ son prompted her resignation

By MEG JAMES and AMY KAUFMAN

FEB 21, 2019 | 10:05 PM 

  

Lisa Borders, seen at the Makers Conference on Feb. 7, resigned from her position as chief executive of Time's Up on Monday, citing family issues. (Vivien Killilea / Getty Images)

When Lisa Borders announced her resignation this week as the inaugural chief executive of Time’s Up, she cited a need “to address family concerns that require my singular focus.”

Borders, 61, did not explain the circumstances behind her abrupt exit, which came after just four months on the job. But the Los Angeles Times has learned that Borders suddenly found herself at odds with the core mission of Time’s Up because of a desire to stand by a man — her son — facing allegations of sexual misconduct.

Borders stepped down four days after a 31-year-old Santa Monica woman alleged, in a Facebook post, that Borders’ 36-year-old son had been sexually inappropriate with her. People familiar with the situation who were not authorized to comment said Borders quickly brought the allegations to the attention of the Time’s Up board. The group and Borders, these people said, soon recognized that she was in an untenable position.

Celia Gellert told The Times that Borders’ son, a photographer, podcast host and life coach named Garry “Dijon” Bowden Jr., offered her a “healing session.” She said she was surprised and felt “violated” when, she alleged, he touched her genitalia, kissed her neck and brushed his erect but clothed penis against her body during the session.

An attorney for Bowden, Alan Jackson, disputed Gellert’s account, saying that Bowden was giving a healing massage that Gellert had requested. He showed The Times a text exchange in which Gellert thanked Bowden afterward, calling the massage “gentle and authentic and loving.”

“My client vehemently denies that any inappropriate or nonconsensual touching occurred at any time,” Jackson said.

Gellert went public with her experience on Facebook “because I don’t want it to happen to anyone else,” she said. “And I want to be strong and stand my ground and speak my truth.”

Encouraging victims to “speak their truth” is a key tenet of the #MeToo movement and Time’s Up. But the interaction between Gellert and Bowden illustrates the complexities that can arise with sexual misconduct claims. The situation also demonstrates how a person’s loyalties can be divided, particularly when a loved one faces serious allegations.

Halle Berry, Reese Witherspoon and Eva Longoria helped launch Time's Up at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards, where they all wore black gowns. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Borders’ “role as the president of Time’s Up was in conflict with being a mother who was taking active steps to defend her son,” said one of the knowledgeable people, who asked not to be identified. “Lisa’s decision to step down was the right one for her — and for the organization.”

Time’s Up started with more than 300 Hollywood women, including Shonda Rhimes, Natalie Portman and Reese Witherspoon, who vowed to raise their voices on behalf of women who lack power. Over the last 14 months, the group has expanded its campaign for gender parity and workplace safety across disciplines. Its legal defense fund has raised more than $22 million to help victims pursue their claims of harassment and abuse.

“We can no longer stand by and tolerate women's voices not being heard,” Borders said during an October news conference when Time’s Up triumphantly introduced her as CEO after a months-long search. She took the group’s reins in November, embarking on a public relations blitz to raise awareness about the mission of Time’s Up and the need for societal change.

Then, late last week, came the accusations against her son. Last weekend, within 24 hours of learning about the allegations, the Time’s Up board met with Borders and members debated whether the situation would undermine the mission of Time’s Up, one knowledgeable person said. Borders volunteered to step down, and group members accepted her resignation, a second individual said.

Late Thursday, after The Times published its findings, Time’s Up released a statement: “On Friday, Lisa Borders informed members of Time’s Up leadership that sexual assault allegations had been made against her son in a private forum. Within 24 hours, Lisa made the decision to resign as president and CEO of Time’s Up and we agreed that it was the right decision for all parties involved. All of our actions were fully guided by our support for survivors.”

Gloria Steinem with Lisa Borders at the Makers Conference in early February, shortly before Borders resigned from her post at Time's Up. (Rachel Murray / Getty Images)

Borders did not respond to repeated and detailed requests for comment.

Gellert and Bowden offer divergent accounts of the events in question.

Gellert, a yoga instructor, said that she met Bowden about a year ago and that they worked together on wellness events, including a December beach yoga session, which Borders attended. Gellert said she considered Bowden to be a friend, collaborator and fellow professional in the wellness community.

On his website, Dijon’s Dimension, Bowden until Thursday advertised four experiences, including a two-hour, $333 treatment called Shakti Invocation. He wrote that he uses “intuitive touch,” crystals and chocolate to “calm the nervous system and awaken and energize your inner Shakti.” Shakti is a term from Hinduism that is also used in wellness circles to represent creative power and the female principle of divine energy.

“It’s your time to feel safe, open and receptive to bliss,” his site read. “Indulge yourself, you deserve it.”

Gellert, who practices the spiritual art of reiki healing, said she wanted to be supportive of her friend whom she regarded as a fellow professional. She asked him for a “healing session,” and they arranged for him to come to her home. During a Jan. 21 encounter at her home, Gellert said, Bowden instructed her to disrobe and lie on a mat on a massage table. He slathered her with coconut oil. “He touched me in really inappropriate places. I just froze,” she said, adding that she began to cry.

“I told him I didn’t feel well and he kept saying, ‘Trust me,’” she said. He “kissed the back of my neck,” she said, adding that he said, “Don’t worry if you are afraid.” She said he then brushed his penis over her arm, jiggled her buttocks and blew air on her private area.

“It was not healing, it was disgusting,” Gellert said.

Jackson, Bowden’s attorney, asserted that the healing session did not include any nonconsensual or inappropriate touching. He provided The Times with the text message exchange between Gellert and Bowden, which also indicated that Gellert reached out to arrange the session and that she suggested it take place in her home. “So is that a yes for tonight?” Bowden asked.

The morning after the treatment, Gellert told Bowden she had had disturbing dreams. He recommended the name of another healer. She thanked him for the session, calling the massage “gentle and authentic and loving” and calling him “soul family/angelic soul.”

Two days after the session, Gellert reached out again to say she was uncomfortable with what had transpired. Bowden wrote back, “When you say uncomfortable, do you mean your stomach still hurts?” She told The Times that her discomfort stemmed from his touching of her private areas.

“I do feel a little surprised to that you’re saying you feel uncomfortable with the process [because] you said multiple times during and after how beautiful and supportive it was,” Bowden wrote in the text exchange. She responded that while portions of the session worked for her, “I’m still left feeling uncomfortable and violated.”

In the days that followed, Gellert spoke with at least two friends about the incident by phone. The friends, Lauren Aubrey, 34, of Los Angeles and another woman who preferred not to use her name, confirmed to The Times that Gellert gave consistent descriptions of Bowden’s behavior and her reactions. Both noted that she cried during her separate conversations with them.

Three weeks after the alleged incident, on Feb. 14, Gellert wrote about her experience in a private Facebook group, Inspired Women of Los Angeles. In her post, Gellert warned others to “stay far away” from Bowden. Borders resigned Feb. 18. Gellert said she reported the incident to the Santa Monica Police Department on Wednesday.

Bowden has written extensively about his life on social media. On his website, he said he moved from Atlanta to San Francisco in 2007 but became homeless and slept in a friend’s car. In November he published an article on Medium titled “How to Heal Your Relationship with Your Parents.”

“While I was growing up,” Bowden wrote, “my mom was too busy working to be present with my creations and my dad wasn’t there.​” He then described a recent trip his estranged father took to see him in California, during which Bowden said he shared “my own struggles with alcohol and drugs.” He noted he was “past all that now.”

He also wrote about a breakthrough: He’d recently changed his mother’s contact listing in his phone from “Lisa Borders” to “Mom.”

Lisa Borders with Oprah Winfrey as she participated in a "SuperSoul Conversation" on Feb. 5. (Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images)

Borders’ resignation represents a setback for Time’s Up, which now must search again for a leader. In an interview this month with Borders for an upcoming TV episode, Oprah Winfrey described meeting her last fall in television producer Rhimes’ backyard. There Winfrey learned that the former president of the WNBA professional basketball league, who previously was a senior executive at Coca-Cola Co., was joining Time’s Up.

“Everybody said, ‘Hallelujah, we have found her!’” Winfrey said during the taping of the “SuperSoul Conversation,” which is scheduled to air on Winfrey’s OWN channel in March. The conversation centered on the progress of Time’s Up. “Time’s Up seeks to bring solutions to the table so no woman or man ever has to say #MeToo again,” Borders told Winfrey in the episode.

Borders told Winfrey that she only agreed to take the Time’s Up job after she made it clear “we’re going to include men” in the conversation. “We’re going to help teach men what is correct interaction, what is a good healthy relationship and a sharing of power.”

Gellert came forward “not out of malice or ill intent,” she said. “I’m just trying to raise awareness and create a change so that men can get the help that they need.”

Aubrey defended her friend, Gellert, who she said felt vulnerable.

“It is so ironic to me that his mother is ... was leading this organization that was supposed to be about protecting women,” Aubrey said, “and helping women find their voice.”