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Felder aide says Va. killer was Clinton fan masked as neo-Nazi

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Updated: Friday, August 25, 2017, 12:38 AM

ALBANY An aide to state Sen. Simcha Felder recently told a constituent that the man who mowed down a counterprotester with his car during the Charlottesville hate rally might actually have been a Hillary Clinton supporter posing as a neo-Nazi.

Felder aide Darlene Leder told a constituent she had heard that the Virginia rally and violence was manufactured between the citys mayor and police.

I was flabbergasted, the constituent, Eliana Meirowitz Nelson, told the Daily News. I told her that none of it was true. I had friends in Charlottesville. What she said was crazy conspiracy theory nonsense.

She said she noted to Leder that even House Speaker Paul Ryan had spoken out against Trumps comments that both sides were responsible for the violence.

Charlottesville covers two Confederate statues with black tarp

Leder followed up the conversation by emailing Nelson a link to a right-wing conspiracy site, News Punch, that claimed the driver in Charlottesville, James Fields, had ties to Clinton and was funded by billionaire liberal activist George Soros. Nelson provided The News with the email.

The back-and-forth started when Nelson, who is a member of a group called NY State District 17 for Progress that has frequently picketed Felder on various issues, began calling the senators office last Friday, asking why he had not publicly spoken out about the Charlottesville rally and President Trumps response to it.

She said she finally reached Leder, Felders Albany director of operations, on Tuesday.

Nelson described Leder as very friendly, but said she couldnt believe what she was espousing.

James Fields held without bond for fatal Charlottesville crash

Felder is the only Orthodox Jewish member of the state Senate. Though a Democrat, Felder caucuses with the Republicans, giving the GOP the 32nd vote it needs to control the chamber.

Nelson said that Leder suggested she call Felders Brooklyn office. She said she did and spoke with Felder communications director Avi Fertig.

Fertig, Nelson said, told her that if Felder commented on Charlottesville, hed have to comment any time something similar happened elsewhere, which would dilute any statement he might make if there is an incident in Brooklyn.

I disagreed very strongly, Nelson said, noting the Charlottesville rally was the largest gathering of Nazis and white supremacists in the U.S. in decades.

White supremacist Chris Cantwell denied bond

Felder and I as Jews have responsibilities to stand up to Nazism and white supremacy, she said.

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Leder could not be reached for comment.

Fertig referred The News to a comment Felder gave KingsCountyPolitics.com, which first reported the issue on Wednesday.

Felder told the site that he was dumbstruck by Leders comments.

I dont agree with her email and I dont know why anyone would send anything from such a crazy website. I will discuss my dissatisfaction with her shortly, he said.

I, as well as any decent human being, deplore any form of racism, Nazism, anti-Semitism and white supremacists. I was also upset by some of Trumps comments, but I dont think he should be impeached.

Nelson said she expects progressive Democrats will try to run a candidate against Felder in 2018 in hopes of flipping control of the Senate to the Dems.

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Simcha Felder aide says Charlottesville killer was Hillary Clinton supporter masked as neo-Nazi - New York Daily News

In American constitutional democracy, democratic choices are limited by restraints imposed by the Constitution. The due process clause of the Fifth Amendment dictates that neither life nor liberty nor property may be deprived absent due process, which the Supreme Court construes to require adjudication by a neutral judge.

In short, under the Constitution one cannot be deprived of liberty without a court ruling upon the legality of the detention. The power of courts to restrain government officers from depriving citizens of liberty absent judicial process is the only meaningful way courts have to enforce important constitutional protections. But if the president can employ the pardon power to circumvent constitutional protections of liberty, there is very little left of the constitutional checks on presidential power.

I am not suggesting that the pardon power itself provides for a due process exception. To the contrary, on its face the pardon power appears virtually unlimited. But as a principle of constitutional law, anything in the body of the Constitution inconsistent with the directive of an amendment is necessarily pre-empted or modified by that amendment. If a particular exercise of the pardon power leads to a violation of the due process clause, the pardon power must be construed to prevent such a violation.

I admit that this is a novel theory. Theres no Supreme Court decision, at least that I know of, that deals specifically with the extent to which the president may employ his pardon power in this way.

But if the president can immunize his agents in this manner, the courts will effectively lose any meaningful authority to protect constitutional rights against invasion by the executive branch. This is surely not the result contemplated by those who drafted and ratified the Fifth Amendment, and surely not the result dictated by precepts of constitutional democracy. All that would remain to the courts by way of enforcement would be the possibility of civil damage awards, hardly an effective means of stopping or deterring invasions of the right to liberty.

Anyone who has read the Federalist Papers knows how obsessed the framers were with the need to prevent tyranny. They were all too aware of the sad fate of all the republics that had preceded ours rapid degeneration into tyranny. One of the most effective means of preventing tyranny was the vesting of the power of judicial review in a court system insulated from direct political pressures. Subsequent enactment of the Bill of Rights, which included the Fifth Amendment and its due process clause, only strengthened the nations resolve to prevent tyranny.

It has long been recognized that the greatest threat of tyranny derives from the executive branch, where the commander in chief sits, overseeing not just the military but a vast and growing network of law enforcement and regulatory agencies. Indeed, the Articles of Confederation didnt even provide for an executive, for fear of what dangerous power he might exercise.

While the Constitution, in contrast, recognizes the very practical need for an executive, that doesnt mean its framers feared the growth of tyranny any less. The Fifth Amendments guarantee of neutral judicial process before deprivation of liberty cannot function with a weaponized pardon power that enables President Trump, or any president, to circumvent judicial protections of constitutional rights.

Martin H. Redish is a professor of constitutional law at Northwestern and the author of Judicial Independence and the American Constitution: A Democratic Paradox.

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Why Trump Can't Pardon Arpaio - New York Times

Two bankers were indicted in the U.S. on Thursday on allegations that they manipulated a key benchmark interest rate while at French lender Socit Gnrale SA, in the latest U.S. attempt to prosecute alleged participants in a multibillion-dollar scandal that roiled global markets.

The U.S. Justice Department accused Danielle Sindzingre and Muriel Bescond of instructing their subordinates to submit inaccurately low figures that were then used to calculate Libor, or the London interbank offered rate, according to the indictment in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn.

The actions, which are alleged to have happened between May 2010 and October 2011, caused more than $170 million in harm to global financial markets because the false information affected transactions tied to Libor, according to the indictment.

The two bankers were charged with one count of conspiring to transmit false reports concerning market information that tends to affect a commodity and four counts of transmitting false reports.

Ms. Sindzingre, Ms. Bescond and the bank didn't respond to a request for comment. It isn't immediately clear if the women still work for Socit Gnrale.

In July, a federal appeals-court panel overturned the convictions of two former Rabobank traders in the scandal, saying the defendants' Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination had been violated.

Libor is calculated every working day by polling major banks on their estimated borrowing costs. The rate was used to price futures contracts, interest rate swaps and other financial products world-wide. Its integrity has been called into question following a rate-rigging scandal where traders at numerous banks were able to nudge it up or down by submitting false data.

In the wake of the scandal, a top U.K. regulator said in July that it would phase out the rate, which is used to set the price of trillions of dollars of loans and derivatives across the world.

Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com

Two bankers were indicted in the U.S. on allegations that they manipulated a key benchmark interest rate while at French lender Socit Gnrale SA, in the latest U.S. attempt to prosecute alleged participants in a multibillion-dollar scandal that roiled global markets.

The U.S. Justice Department accused Danielle Sindzingre and Muriel Bescond of instructing their subordinates to submit inaccurately low figures that were then used to calculate the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, according to Thursday's indictment in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn.

The actions, which are alleged to have happened between May 2010 and October 2011, caused more than $170 million in harm to global financial markets because the false information affected transactions tied to Libor, according to the indictment.

The two bankers were charged with one count of conspiring to transmit false reports concerning market information that tends to affect a commodity and four counts of transmitting false reports.

Ms. Sindzingre, Ms. Bescond and the bank didn't respond to a request for comment. The women remain employed at Socit Gnrale, a Justice Department spokeswoman said Thursday.

In July, a federal appeals-court panel overturned the convictions of two former Rabobank traders in the scandal, saying the defendants' Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination had been violated.

Libor is calculated every working day by polling major banks on their estimated borrowing costs. The rate was used to price futures contracts, interest-rate swaps and other financial products world-wide. Its integrity has been called into question after a rate-rigging scandal where traders at numerous banks were able to nudge it up or down by submitting false data.

In the wake of the scandal, a top U.K. regulator said in July that it would phase out the rate, which is used to set the price of trillions of dollars of loans and derivatives across the world.

Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com

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US indicts 2 bankers in Libor-rigging case - MarketWatch

TRENTON >> Scott Schoellkopf is back in uniform.

The Mercer County Sheriffs officer, who was arrested for beating his wife on April 28 and ultimately had the charges dismissed, returned to work on Aug. 16, authorities said Thursday.

Schoellkopf, a lieutenant, was re-assigned out of the fugitive unit to the courthouse security unit. Under the state legal system, Schoellkopf was cleared for duty and given the legal right to return to work, according to information provided by the Mercer County Sheriffs Office.

However, Chesterfield police confirmed Wednesday that his wifes death still remains under investigation.

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Regina Schoellkopfs body was found was found hanging in the couples home on the first block of Settlers Way in Chesterfield on July 2.

Five days earlier, a judge dismissed a simple assault charge that was filed by police against Scott Schoellkopf because his wife invoked her 5th Amendment rights to testify against her husband. Shortly after Scott Schoellkopf was charged with pushing his wife to the ground, causing redness and pain to the thigh area of her right leg, he filed a counter complaint against his wife, alleging she pushed him, causing red marks to his shoulder, according to court documents obtained by The Trentonian through a public records request.

Scott Schoellkopfs complaint was a private citizens complaint that Chesterfield Township Municipal Court Judge Lis Downey authorized on May 8, despite not being signed by police, court records show.

Scott Schoellkopf also invoked his Fifth Amendment right to testify against his wife and the charge against Regina Schoellkopf was dismissed.

According to a 9-1-1 tape obtained by The Trentonian through a public records request, Scott Schoellkopf called police the day his 39-year-old wife was found dead to report she had not shown up to pick up their two kids.

Me and my wife are getting divorced and my wife was supposed to pick our kids up at Wawa, Scott Schoellkopf tells the dispatcher. She never showed up so we came to the house and her cars in the driveway and the whole house is dark and everything. Shes never been late before.

The house is in the couples name, property records indicate.

A welfare check was then detailed to the house and Reginas Schoellkopfs lifeless body was found by police.

Authorities confirmed Wednesday that their investigation into the death is not over.

Chesterfield Police Chief Kyle Wilson said in an email that the investigation is still open. Initially, the chief said there was nothing suspicious.

The Burlington County Prosecutors Office said on July 6 and then again on July 7 that the agency is not involved in the investigation.

However, Burlington County Prosecutors Office spokesman Joel Bewley said Wednesday via email that the agencys High-Tech Crimes Unit has provided assistance in the probe.

Regina Schoellkopfs family also assumed custody of her body to perform their own autopsy, signaling they have concerns about her death.

The domestic violence incident on April 28 was documented in a 9-1-1 call obtained by The Trentonian. It shows that Regina Schoellkopf was afraid of her spouse.

My husband just hurt me, Regina Schoellkopf says to a police dispatcher with panic in her voice. Hes threatening me ... please hurry.

The wife, who was barricaded in the bathroom when she called police, said she was knocked down, causing pain and redness to her side.

At one point in the audio recording, Regina is heard saying, Im trying to protect myself to someone in the home.

F**k you, a man shouts back.

Scott Schoellkopf, an 18-year veteran who earns an annual salary of $115,083, was suspended without pay from the Mercer County Sheriffs Office following his arrest.

Scott Schoellkopfs arrest was the third time a Mercer County Sheriffs officer allegedly hit a female partner in a five-month span.

The Mercer County Sheriffs Office said Thursday that it stands firm on its disdain for domestic violence in the community and within its ranks.

Victims of domestic violence have help available. Online chat is available so victims can ask for help quietly at thehotline.org or the phone line is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Help for all kinds of crisis is available at crisistextline.org, if you are in crisis text HOME to 741741.

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Mercer County Sheriff's officer returns to work despite wife's death still under investigation - The Trentonian

Turkey will never be a member of the European Union as long as it is governed by its current president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has said.

His remarks in an interview with newspaper Bild are likely to further inflame relations between the two Natoallies after Mr Erdogan urged German Turks to boycott Germany's main parties in next month's general election.

"It is clear that in this state, Turkey will never become a member of the EU," Mr Gabriel said.

"It's not because we don't want them but because the Turkish government and Erdogan are moving fast away from everything that Europe stands for."

EU leaders have been critical of Mr Erdogan's crackdown on opponents before and after a failed military coup against him in July last year.

Accession talks have ground to a virtual halt though Turkey remains a candidate for membership.

Turkey's Western allies fear that sweeping new powers Mr Erdogan won in a tightly fought referendum in April are pushing Turkey away from democratic values.

Turkey's president Recep Erdogan wins referendum to greatly expand powers

Mr Erdogan says both the crackdown and the increased presidential powers are needed to help tackle serious challenges to Turkey's security both at home and beyond its borders.

At a highpoint in tensions earlier this year, Mr Erdogan angered Germany, home to threemillion Turks, about half of whom can vote in the election on 24 September,by accusing German authorities of Nazi-like behaviour.

Relations between the two countries have also been strained by Turkey's arrest of a Turkish-German journalist and a German human rights activist.

Reuters

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Germany warns Turkey it will never join EU while Erdogan remains in charge - The Independent