Deep State Judge Amy Berman Jackson Cartoons

Who is Judge Amy Berman Jackson?

Former Trump adviser Roger Stone is expected to be sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who has been involved in several high-profile cases since being appointed to the federal bench in 2011 by former President Barack Obama.
In recent years the 65-year-old Baltimore native and Harvard Law School graduate has presided over cases involving Stone, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former Democratic U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. -- as well as one involving Hillary Clinton's Benghazi-related emails.
Jackson said Tuesday during a pre-sentence hearing that she will move ahead with the sentencing of Stone this week -- rejecting requests by the defense to delay or request a new trial.
She has been described by some as tough, fair and always prepared.
Here are more details about cases over which Judge Jackson has presided.

Roger Stone case

Jackson is presiding over the Roger Stone case, in which a jury found him guilty on all seven counts of obstruction, witness tampering and making false statements to Congress in connection with former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.
Stone was charged with providing false statements to the House Intelligence Committee about communication involving WikiLeaks, obstructing a congressional investigation of Russian interference during the 2016 U.S. presidential election and witness tampering.
During the trial, Jackson barred Stone from speaking publically about the ongoing prosecution after a picture of her appeared on his Instagram with what appeared to be crosshairs on the background.
Stone blamed the decision -- which he reviewed -- on an unnamed volunteer and apologized, to which Jackson replied last February, "I have serious doubts about whether you learned anything at all."

​​​​​​​Roger Stone, a longtime Republican provocateur and former confidant of President Donald Trump, waits in line at the federal court in Washington, Nov. 12, 2019. (Associated Press)

"From this moment on, the defendant may not speak publicly about this case -- period," Jackson said. "No statements about the case on TV, radio, print reporters, or [the] internet. No posts on social media. [You] may not comment on the case through surrogates. You may send out emails about donating to the Roger Stone defense fund."
"This is not baseball. There will be no third chance. If you cannot abide by this, I will be forced to change your surroundings so you have no temptations," she added.

"This is not baseball. There will be no third chance. If you cannot abide by this, I will be forced to change your surroundings so you have no temptations."
— Judge Jackson to Roger Stone

Ahead of Thursday's scheduled hearing, Jackson was attacked by President Trump in a Feb 11 tweet. He also criticized prosecutors' recommendation that Stone should face seven to nine years in prison.
"Is this the Judge that put Paul Manafort in SOLITARY CONFINEMENT, something that not even mobster Al Capone had to endure? How did she treat Crooked Hillary Clinton? Just asking!" Trump wrote.
After his tweets, the Justice Department announced in a surprising decision it was revising the federal sentencing guidelines of term length. Several prosecutors quit and Trump was accused of interfering in the process, which he denied.
Fox News contributor Andrew McCarthy said Jackson can impose whatever sentence she feels is appropriate, regardless of how Trump or Attorney General Bill Barr feel about the case. But McCarthy wrote recently that "the Stone prosecution is more politics than law enforcement. It was the Mueller probe’s last gasp at pretending there might be something to the Russia-collusion narrative."

Paul Manafort case

Jackson sentenced former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort to nearly seven years in prison last March in connection with his guilty plea related to foreign lobbying and witness tampering. She ordered a term of 73 months to be added to a 47-month sentence given earlier on bank and tax fraud charges in a separate case by Virginia Judge T.S. Ellis.
In December, Manafort's state mortgage fraud charges were dismissed citing double jeopardy laws.
“This defendant is not public enemy number one, but he is not a victim either,” Jackson said last March during Manafort's sentencing and prior to his charges being dismissed. “The question of whether there was any collusion with Russia ... was not presented in this case, period, therefore it was not resolved by this case.”
In 2018, Manafort agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, pleading guilty to two felony conspiracy charges in relation to his lobbying work with Ukraine.
Last February, Jackson ruled Manafort intentionally breached his guilty plea agreement by lying to investigators on Mueller's team.
"The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) made its determination that the defendant made false statements and thereby breached the plea agreement in good faith," Jackson wrote. "Therefore, the Office of Special Counsel is no longer bound by its obligations under the plea agreement, including its promise to support a reduction of the offense level in the calculation of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines for acceptance of responsibility."

​​​​​​​Paul Manafort arrives in court in New York, June 27, 2019 after a judge threw out his New York mortgage fraud case on double jeopardy grounds. (Associated Press)

Jackson grilled Mueller's team during the probe on whether Manafort lied to investigators before her eventual ruling.
"So, I'm trying to figure out what the importance is of his ongoing work for a potential candidate in the Ukraine at that time is, and the importance of any lies about that, or lies about Konstantin Kilimnik's [who has ties to Russian intelligence] knowledge about that," Jackson said.
She appreciated Manafort's attendance in court last February after denying his attempt to skip the hearing due to what he described were health reasons.
"I believe it was very helpful, very useful and very important for you to have been here, Mr. Manafort," Jackson said. "I know that we've had hearings where counsel sought to minimize the burden on you and not have you be here, but this is about you, it's not about them. And I think it's very important that they have you available to ask questions to."

Jesse Jackson Jr. case

The judge sentenced former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. to 2-1/2 years in prison back in 2013 after he was convicted of spending $750,000 in campaign funds on personal items -- such as a gold watch, cigars and mounted elk heads.
Jessie Jackson Jr. is the son of civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., arrives at the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington, Feb. 20, 2013. (Associated Press)

During the case, she said that if she had given him no prison time it would have suggested there was one system for the well-connected and one for everyone else.
"I cannot do it. I will not do it," she said, adding that as a public official, Jackson Jr. was expected to "live up to a higher standard of ethics and integrity."

Clinton Benghazi email case

Jackson tossed out a wrongful-death lawsuit against Hillary Clinton in 2017 by the parents of two Americans who were among those killed in a terror attack against a diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. The lawsuit alleged that Clinton's use of the private email server caused their deaths.
The ruling was based on the Westfall Act, which gives federal employees immunity from tort claims arising out of acts made during the course of their official duties.
“Her actions – communicating with other State Department personnel and advisers about the official business of the department – fall squarely within the scope of her duty to run the Department and conduct the foreign affairs of the nation as Secretary of State,” Jackson wrote.
Jackson ruled the parents didn't sufficiency challenge that Clinton wasn't acting in her official capacity when she used the email server.
"The untimely death of plaintiffs' sons is tragic, and the Court does not mean to minimize the unspeakable loss that plaintiffs have suffered in any way," Jackson wrote in a 29-page opinion.
Fox News' Brooke Singman, Gregg Re and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Laura Ingraham: Virginia's Second Amendment advocates score a win over Democrats Northam, Bloomberg

Gun-rights activists scored a Second Amendment victory in Virginia this week over the state's Democrat governor and legislature -- and gun-control financier and Democrat presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg, Laura Ingraham reported Tuesday.
"Just a few months ago, anti-gun Democrats in Virginia thought they could easily ram through a new ban on so-called assault weapons and high-capacity magazines," Ingraham said Tuesday night on "The Ingraham Angle," "and Gov. Ralph Northam was supporting this bill, of course, with a phony argument that rolling back the gun rights of law-abiding Virginians would make all Virginians safer."
"But Northam wasn't ready for the pushback, was he?" Ingraham said. "The opposition made sure that their voices were gonna be heard -- and boy, were they heard."
The bill backed by Gov. Ralph Northam would have banned the sale of assault-style weapons in Virginia. It failed on a committee vote Monday morning, setting back one of the biggest priorities for the newly minted Democrat-controlled government in the state.
Ingraham celebrated the victory in Virginia with lawmakers losing out on their anti-Second Amendment push and noted Bloomberg's involvement.
"It's important to note that this grassroots uprising was successful despite the millions that have been pumped into the Commonwealth from out-of-staters like Democrat presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg," Ingraham said. "Through his group, Every Town for Gun Safety, he funneled 2.5 million into Virginia last year to elect anti-Second Amendment Democrats."
"But it turns out there's still a lot of Jeffersonian spirit left in Virginia," Ingraham said. "Their Second Amendment rights aren't for sale."

"It turns out there's still a lot of Jeffersonian spirit left in Virginia. Their Second Amendment rights aren't for sale."
— Laura Ingraham

The host warned that future anti-gun pushes will continue and asked viewers to imagine what Bloomberg would do as president.
"But Bloomberg and the rest of the anti-gun forces in America won't let this defeat stop them," Ingraham said. "But what happened in Virginia yesterday shows that when we the people argue the facts and we stand united for a noble cause, we can overcome the corrupting influence of money and leftist ideology."
"A Bloomberg nomination is guaranteed to do at least two things," Ingraham said. "One, motivate the Republican base and two, drive up the price of Smith & Wesson stock."
Fox News' Tyler Olson contributed to this report.

Hillary Clinton denies she could be Bloomberg's running mate: 'Oh no!'

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday reportedly shut down rumors that she might consider serving as Michael Bloomberg’s running mate if he were to win the Democratic presidential nomination.
"Oh no! I'm just waiting and watching as this plays out. I will support whoever the nominee is,” she told the moderator while in Puerto Rico for a Clinton Global Initiative event.
Last week, the 2016 Democratic nominee played down the idea that she could be a vice presidential pick, telling Ellen DeGeneres on her show, "Well, that's not going to happen, but no.”
In the interview last Thursday she clarified, “I never say never because I do believe in serving my country -- but it's not going to happen,” citing when former President Obama asked her to be his secretary of state after their hard-fought primary race in 2008.
Clinton, who lost the 2016 general election to Republican Donald Trump, posited during the interview that Trump's behavior as president underscores the double standard female candidates face.
"We've got one of the most emotionally acting-out people ever in the history of our country in the White House and I don't hear anybody saying, 'He's just too emotional,'” Clinton said, referring to a common critique of female politicians.
Last November, she told the BBC that “many, many, many people” were pressuring her to think about running for president again, but added, “I, as I say, never, never, never say never. ... But as of this moment, sitting here in this studio talking to you, that is absolutely not in my plans."
If she did enter the race as a presidential candidate, she would face an uphill battle, having already missed primary voting in several states and the deadline to be on the Democratic ballot in most others.

DOJ pushes back at reports Barr considered quitting over Trump tweets

The Justice Department pushed back Tuesday night at multiple reports claiming Attorney General William Barr told people close to him he's considering stepping down over President Trump's tweets, days after Barr admitted that Trump's tweeting made it "'impossible for me to do my job."
"Addressing Beltway rumors: The Attorney General has no plans to resign," DOJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec tweeted.
Barr "has his limits," one person familiar with Barr’s thinking told The Washington Post. Its report suggested that Barr wanted Trump to "get the message" to stop weighing in publicly in ongoing criminal cases. An administration official gave a similar admission on Barr to The Associated Press.
Barr, speaking to ABC News last week, also denied ever acting on improper influence from Trump or the White House. White House officials told the Post that the president had no plans to stop tweeting about Justice Department cases. He insisted he had a "legal right" to make his voice heard on criminal cases.
The White House did not immediately comment on the Tuesday night reports.
Trump tweeted Tuesday he's considering suing those involved in former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation and said his confidant Roger Stone deserved a new trial after being convicted of witness tampering, obstruction and lying to Congress during the Mueller probe. Hours later, a Justice Department official revealed prosecutors had filed a sealed motion in court arguing the opposite, and that they had Barr's approval to do so.
Last week, Trump, in a late-night tweet, criticized a federal prosecutor's earlier recommendation that that Stone should be sentenced to seven to nine years in prison. Soon afterward, DOJ leaders adjusted the sentencing recommendation downward, saying it was clearly excessive given Stone's obstruction-related offenses. All four prosecutors on the case stepped down within hours.
Barr asserted his independence in the Justice Department's decision to intervene. "I'm not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody... whether it's Congress, a newspaper editorial board, or the president.”
Over the weekend, more than 2,000 former department employees signed a public letter urging Barr to resign over his handling of the Stone case. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., came to Barr's defense on Tuesday. The top Republicans insisted Barr had the "highest character and unquestionable integrity" and Democrats' efforts to "intimidate" him would fail spectacularly.
Trump, too, assured reporters he stood behind his attorney general, despite the criticisms. "I have total confidence in my attorney general," Trump told reporters earlier Tuesday. "I do make his job harder. I do agree on that. ... We have a great attorney general and he's working very hard."
Stone has been a friend and adviser to the president for decades and was a key figure in his 2016 campaign, working to discover damaging information about the Clinton campaign.
Stone's defense has asked for a sentence of probation, citing his age, 67, and lack of criminal history.
Fox News' Mike Arroyo contributed to this report.

Democrat George Soros Cartoons

HSBC cuts headcount by 35,000 in next three years.

FILE - In this May 4, 2018, file photo, a man walks past a branch of HSBC bank in Hong Kong. Europe's biggest bank has reported that its net profit fell 53% in 2019 to $6 billion. London-based HSBC, whose profit is mainly from Asia, said it plans to revamp its U.S. and European business and shed $100 billion in assets to improve its profitability. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

HSBC bank said Tuesday it will shed some 35,000 jobs as part of a deep overhaul to focus on faster-growing markets in Asia and better cope with a slew of global uncertainties.

The interim chief executive, Noel Quinn, said the number of people employed by the bank would fall from 235,000 to 200,000 in the next three years. But he said that some of the reductions would come from attrition as opposed to outright cuts.

Quinn said his team is already carrying out his plans. The restructure involves “consolidating” of some parts of the business and “reorganising the global functions and head office.’’

In August, the company announced 4,700 job cuts from a workforce of 238,000 at the time.

The bank, which is headquartered in London but makes most of its money in Asia, reported that its net profit fell 53% in 2019 to $6 billion.

It said that it plans to revamp its U.S. and European business and shed $100 billion in assets to improve its profitability.

The bank said the virus outbreak that began in China has caused a “significant disruption” for its staff, suppliers and customers, especially in the Chinese mainland and in Hong Kong.

“Depending on how the situation develops, there is the potential for any associated economic slowdown to impact our expected credit losses in Hong Kong and mainland China,” the bank said in a statement. “Longer term, it is also possible that we may see revenue reductions from lower lending and transaction volumes, and further credit losses stemming from disruption to customer supply chains. We continue to monitor the situation closely,” it said.

HSBC’s revenue rose 5.9% in 2019 to $55.4 billion.

The sharp drop in 2019 profit reflected slower economic activity but also a $7.3 billion write-down for HSBC’s Global Banking and Markets and Commercial Banking divisions in Europe. Pretax profit fell 33%, to $13.3 billion. HSBC reported $12.6 billion in net profit in 2018.

HSBC said months’ long protests in Hong Kong also weighed on the local economy and caused disruptions to the bank’s business.

The bank has been carrying out a corporate overhaul designed to boost profitability by focusing on high-growth markets in Asia while shedding businesses and workers in other countries.

“Our immediate aims are to increase returns, create the capacity to invest in the future, and build a platform for sustainable growth,” the bank’s group CEO, Noel Quinn, said in the statement.

The bank said it would shrink its sales and trading and equity research in Europe and shift resources to Asia. In the U.S., HSBC plans to grow its international-client corporate banking business.

The restructuring is expected to cost $6 billion, with another $1.2 billion for asset sales, mainly in 2020 and 2021, the bank said.

Karen Pence adds campaigning for Trump to busy to-do list

WASHINGTON (AP) — Karen Pence has no shortage of projects.

The wife of Vice President Mike Pence promotes the healing power of art therapy and help for military spouses. She’s into honeybees and supports sister cities. She’s a watercolorist who designs the family’s annual Christmas card and teaches art at a religious elementary school.

Now, she’s beginning to campaign on her own to help win a second term for President Donald Trump and her husband. And with first lady Melania Trump largely avoiding the political scene, the campaign sees Mrs. Pence as an asset in one of the areas where they most need help — with suburban woman.

“I just feel like I want to do my part,” Mrs. Pence told The Associated Press in an interview shortly before she took a solo trip home to Indianapolis to add the Trump-Pence ticket to the ballot for the state’s Republican presidential primary in May. Mike Pence is a former Indiana governor.

“This is so exciting for me,” she told supporters at the Indiana Statehouse. “Under the leadership of President Trump and Vice President Pence — I have to put his name in there, too — we are getting things done.”

Her pitch includes highlighting economic gains under Trump, including historically low unemployment, along with tax cuts, the creation of “opportunity zones” to lure investment to low-income neighborhoods across the U.S., deregulation and trade policy.

Mrs. Pence told AP she sees her role as “telling the story. Promises made, promises kept.”

Over the past several months, she’s told that story at a “Latinos for Trump” event in Las Vegas and a “Women for Trump” gathering in St. Paul, Minnesota. Trump narrowly lost Nevada and Minnesota in 2016.

The day after the Indiana stop, she flew to New Hampshire to help rev up Trump supporters before the president arrived a few days later for a campaign rally on the eve of the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary.

“Whatever you’re doing, we need you to do more, and whatever you’re giving, we need you to give more,” she told the crowd at a Nashua hotel. “We need four more years of President Donald Trump.”

Karen Pence is no stranger to the campaign trail. Mike Pence represented Indiana in the U.S. House for six terms before he was elected governor and later joined Trump’s ticket.

But the 63-year-old mother of three did little campaigning for Trump after he brought Mike Pence onto the ticket. An evangelical Christian, she was said to have been turned off by Trump’s past personal behavior, including hearing him talk on a years-old audiotape that surfaced before the November 2016 election about grabbing women by their private parts.

Aides say Mrs. Pence supports Trump, and that claims suggesting otherwise are false.

Mike Pence, meanwhile, is seen as harboring ambitions to succeed Trump as the GOP presidential nominee in 2024, and having his wife, who is also one of his closest advisers, publicly advocate for him could aid in such efforts. It could help boost her profile, too.

“The only time that she gets much attention nationally is in reference to her husband and their relationship,” said Tammy Vigil, a Boston University communications professor who studies women as political communicators. “She could definitely improve her image by being active and going on her own.”

Mrs. Pence drew some criticism last year after she resumed teaching art part-time at a Christian school that bars lesbian and gay students and teachers. She had taught at the Northern Virginia school when Mike Pence was a member of Congress. Her husband pushed back against the critics by saying that “attacking Christian education” was offensive.

The Trump campaign calls Mrs. Pence a “tremendous asset.”

“She knows how to appeal to key conservative and suburban voters, relates closely to the Midwestern voting bloc that Republicans need to win the race, and is eager to explain why the president and vice president deserve reelection,” said campaign spokesman Jon Thompson.

Mrs. Pence is also deeply involved in another campaign, one to help educate military spouses about resources to help them cope with lengthy deployments, frequent moves or other issues specific to their experiences.

She and Leah Esper, the wife of Defense Secretary Mark Esper, have begun monthly visits to military bases to meet with spouses. Their first stop was North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune in January.

“I think for them to see both of us, it was really special,” Karen Pence told AP in her second-floor office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House grounds.

She has personal experience with military spouse issues. Her son, Michael, is a Marine Corps pilot. His wife, Sarah, accompanied Mike and Karen Pence on a recent trip to Israel and Rome.

Karen Pence is carrying out her myriad responsibilities with a slightly updated image.

Below-the-shoulder locks have replaced the tight bob and bangs she sported at the dawn of the administration. She’s noticeably thinner, too, with credit going to an exercise regimen that includes using weights and pulleys, along with apps to aid calorie counting.

She hasn’t cut anything out of her diet. “I just have cut back,” she said.

So exactly how many pounds did Karen Pence drop from her 5-foot-2 frame? She said only that it took her six months to a year to shed it.

“I would say that I’ve kept 10 off,” she added. “Let’s put it that way.”

___

Associated Press writer Tom Davies in Indianapolis contributed to this report.