Defense Attorney Arrested After Allegedly Telling Rape Victim That Trump Will Deport Her If She Testifies

The Baltimore Sun reports:

A Baltimore defense attorney was arrested in the downtown courthouse Tuesday and charged with obstruction of justice and witness intimidation for allegedly telling a rape victim she risked deportation by the Trump administration in an effort to dissuade her from testifying against his client.

In a recorded conversation, Christos Vasiliades, 38, and another man charged in the case, Edgar Ivan Rodriguez, told the victim’s husband about the “current environment for immigrants in this country” and offered $3,000 cash if the victim did not show up to court, which would force prosecutors to drop the case, the indictment alleges.

“You know how things are with Trump’s laws now; someone goes to court, and boom, they get taken away,” Rodriguez told the victim’s husband in the recorded conversation, according to an indictment by the Attorney General’s Office. Vasiliades also offered an alternative solution: Just beat up his client.