Joe.My.God. LGBT News
Law & Crime reports:
Right-wing activists, hoaxers and alleged fraudsters Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl gave testimony in a civil case on Monday morning. And some of what was said might have less than positive implications for their upcoming criminal trial in Michigan.
The decidedly bumbling duo was sued in New York federal court in late October by the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP), a self-described and decades-old “nonpartisan civil rights and racial justice organization,” for allegedly violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871.
Burkman and Wohl reportedly struggled over “basic” factual issues–especially when asked to account for their documented and voluminous history of hoaxes and smears. The duo was also forced by the judge to account for whether or not they targeted specific areas with their robocalls.
I’m currently listening to an NYC legal proceeding in which Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl are being hit with a civil legal case by @NCBCP re: sending robocalls. Wohl & Burkman told reporters on Friday they had counsel, turns out no lawyer representing them appeared at the hearing!
— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) October 26, 2020
The plaintiff’s lawyers just brought up all of Wohl and Burkman’s previous smears…from their bogus FBI raid to smearing Democratic lawmakers with fake sexual assault allegations.
— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) October 26, 2020
The judge just asked Wohl and Burkman to respond to the plaintiff — Burkman is seemingly struggling to answer the basic question if they targeted the robocalls at specific areas.
— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) October 26, 2020
The judge just asked Burkman and Wohl about the bogus claims made in their robocall, including their forced vaccination claim. Wohl is currently defending himself – which I’m pretty sure is a bad idea!
— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) October 26, 2020
“The anti-vaccine movement is a diverse movement,” Wohl says, attempting to defend their robocall claim that voting info will be used for forced vaccination.
— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) October 26, 2020
The hearing finished with Wohl objecting that their robocall ever stated to “stay home,” which was promptly proven to be a lie by the plaintiff’s legal team – citing the calls transcripts.
— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) October 26, 2020
Wohl and Burkman, while under indictment for robocalls in one state and investigation in others, are apparently answering questions about it in a hearing in a civil case. /1 https://t.co/hShMnBJV6c
— VaccinnateSantasHat (@Popehat) October 26, 2020
/2 This is Olympic-level recklessness, almost certain to generate incriminating evidence about knowledge and intent. If they have criminal lawyers it’s astounding those lawyers are letting this happen, even if the exact same robocalls aren’t at issue.
— VaccinnateSantasHat (@Popehat) October 26, 2020
/3 I mean at the very minimum you would send a lawyer to the civil hearing rather than put yourself in the position of incriminating yourself. Is this some sort of sad conservative-Borat performance art?https://t.co/dh01btEQ6N https://t.co/kpDKTNDpSc
— VaccinnateSantasHat (@Popehat) October 26, 2020
/4 The normal move, by the way, would be to ask for a stay of the civil case because of the criminal case, because the civil case creates a Fifth Amendment dilemma. You might not succeed but you take a shot. Who is representing these imbeciles in the criminal case?
— VaccinnateSantasHat (@Popehat) October 26, 2020
/5 I recognize these hucksters deserve whatever they get and more but it’s a terrible example to impressionable people, as if high-profile COVID activists were going around hugging Pence staffers and licking doorknobs.
— VaccinnateSantasHat (@Popehat) October 26, 2020
NEW: Right-wing activists Jack Burkman, alongside associate Jacob Wohl, admitted to orchestrating a robocall scheme which targeted 85K voters this morning while defending themselves in court, without representation. https://t.co/sv4t2ymcKH
— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) October 26, 2020
In case you missed it, right-wing operative Jacob Wohl has felony charges against him in Califonia regarding securities fraud, then has additional felony charges stemming from the robocall scheme in Michigan, with an additional civil suit in New York.
— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) October 26, 2020
Jacob Wohl is not only defending himself, but he is answering questions in a civil case even though he has been charged in a criminal case.
What he says in this civil case can and will be used against him! Normally defendants request a “stay” that pauses the civil case. https://t.co/5P80RjmiLe
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) October 26, 2020