Welp. Here is the promised more substantive update, on all matters tangential to Martin Shkreli (from another of my properties):
Mr. Mulleady's lawyers in Miami have moved to have the newly-assigned AUSA on his triple felonies indictment. . . recuse himself. [You'll recall that he made what were apparently pretty credible threats -- to kill Martin and others, on recorded lines -- and in emails and texts. So he's due to go to trial in (what will now likely be moved to late) March, on those.]
In any event, here's the gravamen of it -- and of the two, the second [friends with Ms. Smythe] one may be the more relevant basis for recusal:
. . .On February 5, 2026, AUSA Jonathan Jacobson notified the defense by email that he will be assuming the case from AUSA Hannah for trial. On a phone call on Friday, February 6, 2026, AUSA Jacobson then informed the undersigned of two potential personal conflicts as to this case, and asked the defense to confirm in writing its position on these conflicts. First, he explained that he worked on Martin Shkreli’s criminal case “in a limited capacity” while clerking for the judge who presided over Mr. Shkreli’s criminal trial, Judge Kiyo Matsumoto. Second, he explained that he is friends with and was formerly the colleague of a journalist, Christie Smythe, who engaged in a well-publicized romantic relationship with Martin Shkreli. The undersigned did not initially anticipate that these facts would create a conflict of interest of concern, and informed AUSA Jacobson as much. . . .
Specifically, the defense learned that Mr. Mulleady had been (incorrectly) named as a co-conspirator in Mr. Shkreli’s criminal trial -- that is, the trial on which AUSA Jacobson worked as a law clerk for the presiding judge -- and that he was discussed extensively during that trial. The defense also learned that Mr. Mulleady personally knows Ms. Smythe, the friend of AUSA Jacobson, and has spent time with her on multiple occasions; in addition, Ms. Smythe, who covered Mr. Shkreli’s prosecution in her capacity as a journalist and wrote a self-published memoir about her affair with Mr. Shkreli, has also written about Mr. Mulleady. The defense discussed these issues with AUSA Jacobson on a call on February 10, 2026, in an effort to resolve them without the Court’s intervention.
However, AUSA Jacobson (who had not yet entered an appearance in the case at the time of this phone call) notified the undersigned that he planned to enter his appearance despite the defense’s position, and that he would oppose any motion to recuse him from the case. . . .
Do stay tuned, kids! This might be an entertaining side-narrative, afterall. [More seriously, I cannot imagine why Mr. Jacobsen is the only available AUSA in Miami at the moment. It would seem prudent, to just let another AUSA handle it -- unless this is evidence that AUSAs have been resigning under Trump, and cannot be replaced -- because no one wants to swear the Tangerine loyalty oath he is reputedly requiring of AUSAs. If that is so, then for certain it ought not be Mr. Jacobsen in the first seat (in my opinion).]
नमस्ते
No comments:
Post a Comment