Subject: Re: SPLC was paying Nazis and KKK


Criminal justice

Legal experts skeptical of DOJ’s criminal case against Southern Poverty Law Center
One said the 11-count indictment against the civil rights organization amounted to ‘an abuse of the criminal law.’

https://alabamareflector.com/2...

“It is very thin, (and) does not adequately allege in my judgment any violation of the mail or wire fraud statutes (which are the indictment’s key allegations),” said John C. Coffee Jr., a professor at the Columbia University Law School, in a statement. “SPLC was under no duty to disclose to the world that it was paying secret agents to advise it about the activities of violent organizations. That it paid agents to inform it does not imply that it was supporting these organizations, even if the agents (with mixed motives) gave some of the payments to the organization.”

In the end, Robertson said the government will likely have a difficult time proving its case.

“I would be surprised if this case made it very far in the process,” she said. “I would be absolutely shocked if it went all the way to a conviction. I think it will get dismissed earlier in the process.”
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The primary wire fraud and related money laundering counts hinge on an unusual legal theory. The indictment alleges SPLC obtained donations via "materially false representations" by omitting the fact that funds went to informants.Key legal assessments of the case include:Duty to Disclose: Legal experts point out that the SPLC did not have a defined legal duty to disclose to the public or donors that it operated an informant program. It is common practice for both journalists and government agencies to utilize secret agents or informants to monitor underground groups.

So much for Dope's assessment of the case.