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A jury in Colorado on Thursday found police officer Randy Roedema guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the 2019 killing of Elijah McClain, a young Black man who died after being roughly restrained and injected with the sedative ketamine.
The same jury found Jason Rosenblatt, another officer involved in the case and jointly tried with Roedema, not guilty on manslaughter and assault charges.
Roedema, who was also found guilty of second-degree assault, will be sentenced on January 5. He faces up to 19 years in prison.
Aurora officers Roedema and Rosenblatt were tried in the first of three trials in the death of McClain. In all, three police officers and two paramedics have been charged in McClain’s death.
Prosecutors argued throughout the trial that the officers unnecessarily brutalized McClain when they stopped him and that they gave false information to paramedics which contributed to the medical workers administering a large dose of ketamine.
Defense attorneys argued during the trial that it was the ketamine that killed McClain, and that paramedics were solely responsible.
A revised autopsy report in September 2022 concluded McClain died from “complications of ketamine administration following forcible restraint.”
A bystander had called 911 to report that McClain was acting suspiciously as he walked home from a convenience store on Aug. 24, 2019, in the Denver suburb of Aurora. McClain, dressed in a winter coat and face mask on a warm night, was listening to music using ear buds and dancing slightly as he walked, security videos showed.
Rosenblatt, Roedema and a third Aurora police officer arrived and grabbed McClain 9 seconds after confronting him, according to body camera footage showed by prosecutors. A struggle ensued. The footage does not show McClain grabbing for a gun, but Roedema can be heard yelling that McClain tried to get Rosenblatt’s weapon. Prosecutors say McClain did not grab for a gun.
The officers put McClain in a “carotid” choke hold at least twice and held him down for 15 minutes until the arrival of medics.
The episode initially received little attention, but the case gained more notice following the May 2020 killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died at the hands of Minneapolis police. Floyd’s death sparked international outrage and fueled protests against racial injustice and police brutality.
This first trial, for two of the officers, opened on Sept. 20. A manslaughter trial for the third officer is expected to open on Friday. Two paramedics are expected to face trial next month.
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Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives spent hours in closed-door talks on Thursday but appeared no closer to resolving divisions that have prevented them from installing Steve Scalise as speaker of the chamber, which has been leaderless for nine days.
Scalise, the No.2 House Republican, has secured his party’s nomination to replace ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy but is still short of the 217 votes needed to be elected on the House floor, as several of his fellow Republicans said they would not support him.
Republicans can afford no more than four defections as they control the House by a narrow 221-212 margin.
McCarthy, who was deposed by a small group of Republicans on Oct. 3, told reporters that Scalise had a “big hill” to get to 217 votes. “He told a lot of people he was going to be at 150 and he wasn’t there,” McCarthy said.
After a three-hour conference meeting failed to break the impasse, Scalise huddled with a smaller group of his supporters and opponents for a more intimate two-hour discussion that also yielded little progress.
“The progress that was made was those two groups understanding each other better. But I don’t know that anybody moved,” said Representative Thomas Massie, who supports rival Jim Jordan.
The Republican infighting has left the chamber unable to act to support Israel’s war against Palestinian militants of Hamas and pass government spending bills before funding runs out on Nov. 17.
Republicans hope to avoid a repeat of the embarrassing spectacle that occurred in January, when hardline conservatives forced McCarthy to endure 15 floor votes over four days before winning the gavel.
But some said they would not resolve the situation until they scheduled a vote on the House floor, where lawmakers would have to publicly reveal whether or not they supported Scalise.
Several Republicans said they would stick with Jordan, who lost to Scalise in a secret-ballot vote on Wednesday. Jordan has encouraged his supporters to vote for Scalise, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“We’re at a standstill,” said hardline Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Scalise opponent. Asked if the meeting changed her mind, she responded, “No way.”
While McCarthy was the first speaker to be removed in a formal vote, the last two Republicans to hold the job wound up leaving under pressure from party hardliners.
Several Republicans said they may need Democrats to bail them out.
“It’s pretty simple to me that if the House is going to reopen that the Democrats are going to have to be a willing player in whatever happens,” said Representative Steve Womack.
Democrats have backed their leader, Hakeem Jeffries, in past speaker votes and are expected to do so again.
One Democratic leadership aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they could support a bipartisan compromise but have not yet been approached by Republicans.
Scalise, 58, gained near legendary status within Republican circles by surviving a severe gunshot wound after a gunman opened fire during practice for a charity baseball game in 2017. He also commands widespread respect as a veteran legislator, who has spent years in party leadership positions.
But Scalise also faces new health concerns as he undergoes treatment for multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer, which some Jordan supporters cited as a reason not to vote for him.
Jordan was endorsed by former President Donald Trump and appeared to be the favorite of populist minded hardliners.
Trump in an interview with Fox News Radio on Thursday said he did not object to Scalise as speaker.
“Steve is a man that is in serious trouble from the standpoint of his cancer. I mean, he’s got to get better for himself,” he said in an interview with Fox News Radio.
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One word was conspicuously absent from President Joe Biden’s speech on Tuesday about Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel: Iran.
On Sunday, an explosive Wall Street Journal article accused Iran of having helped Hamas plot the deadliest attack on Israel in 50 years, a claim that seemed engineered to draw the U.S. into war with Iran. But the Biden administration and the Israel Defense Forces, as well as current and former U.S. national security officials interviewed by The Intercept, say there’s no evidence of direct Iranian involvement.
“We have no evidence or proof” of Iranian direction, Maj. Nir Dinar, IDF spokesperson, told Politico on Monday — an assertion echoed by Biden’s national adviser, Jake Sullivan, on Tuesday. Though the Biden administration can be said to have a political stake in avoiding conflict with Iran ahead of an election year, two senior Pentagon officials also told The Intercept that efforts to determine Iranian direction are intensive and ongoing but that no proof has emerged.
“I don’t understand why the Wall Street Journal’s nondescript ‘Hamas and Hezbollah’ sources are more trustworthy than the U.S. government’s sources, who receive extraordinary scrutiny,” J.D. Maddox, a former CIA branch chief, told The Intercept.
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that the Hamas attack surprised Iranian leadership — a claim echoed later that day in a report by the Wall Street Journal, contradicting its own previous reporting.
Monitoring leadership for communications evincing foreknowledge after a major attack is a common practice for intelligence services. Such communications are valuable indicators of whether parties knew of an operation beforehand.
Despite the growing evidence to the contrary, Iran hawks like John Bolton have seized on the narrative that Iran directed Hamas’s attack, advancing the claim in a CNN interview on Thursday.
“Bolton has no access to intelligence besides the newspaper,” former Obama administration National Security Council spokesperson Tommy Vietor fumed on X. “Zero lessons learned from the Iraq war propaganda disaster.”
Several other former national security officials also drew parallels between claims of Iranian direction of Hamas’s attack and the Iraq weapons of mass destruction fiasco.
“Same suspects, different war,” retired Col. Larry Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Colin Powell, told The Intercept. “I can’t imagine Iran would jeopardize the talks with the U.S. Perhaps interpose no objections and continue arms supplies, but no promotion of the attack.”
Iran is a longtime sponsor of Hamas, and there’s no question that the country provides critical logistical support to the militant group. But whether they directed the attack is another matter.
“My sense is that nuance on this issue is critical,” Marc Polymeropoulos, a former senior CIA officer who worked in the region, said on X. “The difference between ‘directing’ the attack and giving the actual green light (as stated here) vs ‘coordinating’ may be [the] difference between war with Iran or not.”
It’s possible that evidence of Iranian sponsorship exists and simply hasn’t emerged yet, but that reasoning echoes the Iraq WMD imbroglio. “If the Israeli government had any evidence at all of direct Iranian involvement in the Hamas attack, it is very likely that Israel would let the world know about that,” Paul Pillar, a former chief analyst at the CIA’s counterterrorism center, told The Intercept.
According to Pillar, Hamas had plenty of incentive to conduct the operation on its own, including acquiring hostages as bargaining chips to free Palestinian prisoners and also to torpedo the Saudi–Israel normalization deal being pursued by the Biden administration.
“Even extensive relations involving material support do not imply any operational direction or instigation,” Pillar said. “A similar situation is Iran’s relationship with the Houthis in Yemen, who have benefitted from Iranian material support but seized the Yemeni capital of Sana against the advice of Iran.”
Iran has issued fiery statements celebrating the attack, feeding into the theory that they directed it. But experts say it’s more complicated.
“Iran’s praise for Hamas’s attack sounds a lot like Saudi’s praise for the attack,” Maddox, the former CIA branch chief, said. “Israel is surrounded by detractors. It would be wise to withhold judgment until there’s clear evidence of direct support.”
The post Alleged Iran Role in Israel Attack Echoes Bogus Iraq WMD Claims appeared first on The Intercept.
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Anyone but Scalise! This is the unhinged wail from professional liar and Mr. Ripley wanna-be, George Santos. How’s life, George? It’s not too good for the worst member of Congress. Santos got his fee-fees hurt because Scalise did not try to get his vote for Speaker.
So, being the utter fool and hysterically stupid person he is, Santos clamored, on Twitter, that Scalise no longer has his vote — even though Scalise never asked for it anyway.
Santos reminds me of a weasel, a great ugly, conniving little weasel whom nobody wants around, even the mad-as–hatters Republicans.
Look — any day now, Santos will be forced out of Congress. I am not at all worried about THAT. But it IS rather amusing to watch Santos try SO HARD to come off as menacing and scary because nobody in their right mind would be scared of Santos.
Santos also reminds me of that kid in school. You know the type. Scuttling after the popular kids, doing their bidding, wanting only to be liked and showered in glory. Santos is like a smudge on the floor waiting to be wiped down.
It is hysterical how he tried to “own” Steve Scalise on Twitter, bringing a brief moment of pure amusement to some very sober times.
“I’ve come to the conclusion that my VOTE doesn’t matter to him,” Santos wailed, inexplicably capitalizing “Vote.”
“I’m now declaring I’m anyone but Scalise, and come hell or high water, I won’t change my mind.”
Amazing the dramatic lengths people go to for a little attention, right? Santos does NOT want to be forced out of his job because — to quote the opening number in “A chorus line” — “I really need this job, Please God, I need this job.” (Otherwise I’ll be broke — my quote and likely the REAL reason Santos is doubling down.)
Only George Santos, to continue the Song quotes, “really blew it.” “How could I do a thing like that?” Because perhaps George you’re just not very bright? People like Trump and Santos live in worlds of their own. How Santos could think anyone would ever take him seriously is amazing. It does show the toxicity of narcissism at its most potent.
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Georgia adopts a new Defense Code
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili signed the new Defense Code. Chief Advisor to the President on Strategic Planning David Tevzadze stated at a special briefing that despite its shortcomings, this code eliminates one of the important problems – from now on conscripts will serve only in the Defense Forces, which, according to Tevzadze, “corresponds to the essence of military service and the interests of the country”.
Tevzadze explained that the new code will put an end to “the harmful practice that has been in place for years, when young people had to undergo compulsory service in various departments, mostly in guardhouses.”
The amendments to the Defense Code were adopted by parliament in the third reading on September 21, 2023. According to the explanatory map, the amendments are aimed at improving the efficiency of defense force management, correcting identified gaps in norms related to military service and creating a single codified legal act in the defense sphere.
The government says the draft law is based on the Finnish-Estonian model.
● First of all, the duration of compulsory military service, which is called “national conscript military service” under the new code, will be changed. Whereas previously compulsory military service lasted 12 months, it will now have differentiated terms: 6 months for service in a combat unit, 8 months for service in a guard and support unit, 11 months for service in junior command positions and predetermined specialties.
● National military service of conscripts will be possible only within the Ministry of Defense system. Accordingly, conscripts will no longer have to report to the bases of the Special Penitentiary Service, the Special State Guard Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. After the adoption of the draft law, this change will enter into force in 2025.
● Conscription to national military service will be based on the principle of annual random selection in an established order through an electronic system, the issues of management and functioning of which shall be determined by the Government of Georgia.
● Based on the principle of “total defense”, types of military service are divided as follows: regular military service (which is divided into professional military service and national conscription military service) and defense force reserve (divided into active and mobilization reserves).
The new code provides for additional “motivational” benefits for conscripts and military personnel. Thus, according to the explanatory note to the draft law, servicemen will be able to enjoy free travel on railway and municipal transport within the limits of allocations from the state budget, as well as – will receive a 50% “discount” on public utilities. In addition, it is planned to increase the wages of conscripts.
The amount of compensation paid in case of injury or death of a serviceman is also changing. Under the current law, a serviceman receives GEL 7,000 [about $2600] for wounding and maiming, while under the new code this amount will increase to GEL 20,000 [about $7500]. The amount of compensation to the family in case of death of a serviceman will increase from 15,000 GEL [about $5500] to 30,000 GEL [about $11,000].
David Tevzadze, the president’s chief advisor on strategic planning, said he was surprised that the naval defense forces had no place in the new code.
“The solution of strategic and operational tasks in the maritime space is left to the trust of the maritime police. Finally, the powers and rules of operation of the National Defense Council defined by the Defense Code do not correspond to those established by the Constitution, due to which the coordination between the current National Security Council and the Defense Council is unclear, which may create significant problems in the management of martial law,” Tevzadze said at a briefing at the presidential administration.
Some opposition parties have criticized the part of the code that abolishes army deferment for church ministers. Previously, the law allowed priests not to go into the army, a loophole exploited by the opposition Girchi party, which in 2017 created a non-governmental organization, called it a church and issued clergy certificates to young people who did not want to serve in the army.
Girchi deputies sharply criticize the new model of compulsory military service and call it a “legalization of slavery.”
“Our goal is to abolish compulsory military service. We want the army to be professional. Today, the Georgian army has 30,000 professional military men, and they need about 4,000 recruits every year. This code has nothing to do with strengthening defense,” says one of the party leaders Yago Khvichia.
And another member of Girchi, Sandro Rakviashvili wrote in social networks that the president and his entire administration are extremely incompetent, but “unfortunately” this is part of a pre-planned religiously-motivated effort to postpone service in the army.
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