Former federal prosecutors see legal flaws in DOJ's SPLC indictment

Source: msn/CBS News

12h


The Justice Department's indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center may contain serious legal defects that could lead to a full or partial dismissal because it struggles to articulate the elements of the alleged crimes, former federal prosecutors told CBS News.

The 11-count indictment alleges that the civil rights nonprofit organization, best known for its work to oppose the Ku Klux Klan, lied to donors about paying confidential informants to infiltrate hate groups and deceived banks about the bank accounts used to make those payments.

"Not a valid indictment"

Legal experts say it is not clear exactly how the SPLC's statements to donors represent material falsehoods or omissions, or why its past use of paid informants would run counter to its mission of dismantling white supremacist groups, a tactic that federal and local law enforcement also utilize to infiltrate and break up criminal organizations.

"I don't think any prosecutor with white-collar experience would look at this indictment and believe it makes out the elements of a crime," said Kyle Boynton, an attorney who previously worked both as a federal civil rights prosecutor and an FBI agent. "It's not a valid indictment."

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/former-federal-prosecutors-see-legal-flaws-in-dojs-splc-indictment/ar-AA21A0xM