In What World Does a 4 Year Old Have to Fight For Her Life?

Wife and child killer Chris Watts was sentenced today to life in prison for his crimes.  He admitted killing his wife and two precious little girls, as well as the unborn son his wife was carrying.  Because his case is now over, authorities released the medical examiner’s report on Shanann, Bella, and Celeste.  The report shows that Shanann was strangled before her husband dumped her body in a field like garbage.  Three year-old Celeste had no visible injuries and was found to have been smothered, probably with a pillow. But four year-old Bella, beautiful Bella, fought her father for her life.  While he tried to smother her, Bella must have battled him with a warrior’s spirit.  Her broken body had cuts and bruises in her mouth, teeth marks on her own tongue, trauma to her jaw, and a dislocated shoulder.  Bella’s father, the man we all expect to protect her with his life, instead took hers most brutally.  Her last moments in life must have been bewildering, agonizing and soul shattering.

What is his punishment?  Life in prison.  Meals, a gym, television, movies, a library.  He will probably be able to have all that.  Is this justice?  Not to me.  I know the death penalty is controversial, but I firmly believe Chris Watts should be put to death for his crimes. There is no doubt he murdered his wife and children.  Bella’s death, in particular, was a heinous act of violence.  He is simply not redeemable.  Justice has a sword for a reason. There are some crimes that are unforgivable.  Society should not forgive or give him a second chance.  We hear all the time of cases where murderers escape from prison, often killing others in their flight.  Murderers serving life sentences also have little incentive to behave, and some kill while in prison.  What do they have to lose?  This pathetic excuse for a human being does not deserve to breathe the same air he denied his wife and two little girls.  The risk of his escape, pardon or compassionate release when he is old or sick is simply too great.

Why did he do it?  He wanted a new life with a new woman and a wife and children were simply inconvenient.  So he killed them all.  Bella died at her father’s hands wearing pink pajamas with hearts and butterflies.  Hearts and butterflies.  Monstrous evil trumps innocence.  Again.

Trump/Cohen Tapes & Legal Analysis

Wow, it is a busy legal analysis week, right!  This week, the media received recordings that appear to have been secretly obtained by Michael Cohen when he was the personal lawyer to President Trump.  The tape we have heard seems to have been secretly recorded by Cohen when he was meeting in person with then-candidate Trump and an unknown woman. (Well, at least unknown to me!)  It is being reported that they are discussing payment to a tabloid for the story rights of a former Playboy model and alleged mistress (from 10 years ago) of Donald Trump.  There are lots of allegations about criminal activity, and the story has gotten complicated because Cohen, under investigation by the US Attorney, has hired Clinton consigliere Lanny Davis.  Davis has equated this tape with the Watergate/Nixon tapes.  For a little sane (!) analysis, check out my interview today on NewsMaxtv.com with John Cardillo, Miranda Khan, and Wendy Patrick……

https://www.newsmaxtv.com/Shows/America-Talks-Live/vid/0_n49tjk23

Commentary on the FISA Issue

Quite a few people have asked me if there might be more/better justification for the warrant in the redacted portions.  Obviously, I don’t know what is in the redacted portions, but I do know that the FBI dropped a footnote in all 4 applications (the original and 3 renewals) that represented they did NOT believe Christopher Steele was the source of the information in the media reports also cited as evidence to the FISA Court.  Between the time they requested the first warrant and when they requested a renewal 90 days later, they “fired” Steele after learning he had lied to them and had, in fact, told various media outlets about the contents of the dossier.  Continuing to opine to the FISA court, then, that he was not that source, is disingenuous at best.  Here is the link to my NewsMax analysis on the Carter Page FISA application and warrant release:  http://www.newsmaxtv.com/Shows/America-Talks-Live/vid/0_3ypcgl7d

A Sad Day for My Beloved DOJ

With the release of heavily redacted documents surrounding the surveillance of one-time Trump campaign advisor Carter Page, the picture has become far more clear.  As hard as it is for me to accept, it looks as though the FBI and DOJ sought to use the most awesome surveillance tools in the American arsenal – designed to spy on terrorists and foreign governments – against an American citizen without vetted and verified documentation that the citizen was an agent of a foreign power engaging in clandestine intelligence activities that broke US laws.  Some people don’t seem to realize that just because you are paid by Russia, talk to Russia, work as an advisor to Russia, it doesn’t follow that you are an agent of a foreign power as that phrase is defined in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

In order to be so accused, the government must have cause to believe the US citizen is acting in a way to conspire with or aid that foreign power in its clandestine intelligence activities.  In other words, the government asserts in its application before the FISA court that Page was so engaged, that he was conspiring with Russia to engage in clandestine intelligence, like spying, and that these activities were violations of law.  But, the government can’t just say, “hey Judge, this guy is an agent of a foreign power.”  No, they must provide evidence for that claim.  In this application, they told the court that the dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele provides that evidence.  The problem?  That evidence was nothing that was witnessed by or even known first hand to Christopher Steele. (He hasn’t been in Russia in decades, apparently.) So, even though the FBI told the court that Steele could be relied upon, what about the sources he used to make the claim?  Stay with me now…..Steele relied upon Russians, some of who also relied upon other Russians, to claim that Page met with 2 still-other Russians who are engaged in nefarious Russian-type anti-US stuff.

Before telling a judge he or she should rely upon information from an informant, the FBI must – and usually does – go about verifying the reliability of that person and their information: were they in a position to see what they claimed, have they given reliable information in the past, do they have any kind of bias that might impugn their credibility….  So, in an investigation like this, the FBI should have checked the reliability of Steele’s sources.  Steele’s reliability was far less relevant than that of the people claiming first hand knowledge that Carter Page was spying for mother Russia.

I spent months talking to agents and presenting these FISA warrants to the court in the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (“SCIF”) courtroom deep inside main justice in DC.  I asked the agents about every single paragraph in their proposed FISA warrant applications. Why? Because I had to know that every representation made by the agent was true because I was the one going before the court and answering any questions they had.  Unlike regular criminal court warrants, where the agent is the one under oath and answering any questions the judge has, in this court, the FISA court, it was me in that role.  So, you better believe I asked the agents to explain to me where every single fact came from in that massive document.  And this process is why I am so utterly sad to read the released documents.  It is glaringly obvious that the agents and lawyers involved in this surveillance request against Carter Page did not vet the Steele dossier before providing it to the court as if it were verified and vetted.

In fact, the FBI at the highest level “verified” to the court that every fact was true. Every.  Fact.  We know that was a lie because former Director James Comey told Congress in 2017 that the dossier was “unverified.”  Comey himself signed the verification page in the original application.  See?  So sad.  Mostly it is sad for Carter Page, whose communications (including going backward in time) were intercepted (and his privacy violated), and who has yet to be charged with any crime 2 years later.  But also sad for this country.  We are supposed to be better than this.  The Department of Justice is supposed to be better than this.  Would you want this level of ineptitude or corruption to be directed your way?  I wouldn’t.

For more on this, check out my CNN appearances debating former James Comey insider/friend Josh Campbell on Erin Burnett’s Out Front:

Here:  http://www.snappytv.com/tc/7989126

 

 

 

And here:  http://www.snappytv.com/tc/8013254

 

 

Child Advocacy-Podcast Edition

I am so thrilled to announce the launch of my new podcast “Best Case Worst Case.”  It is available now on iTunes or Wondery.com or your favorite listening app.  My co-host is Jim Clemente, retired FBI profiler and current writer/producer on CBS’ Criminal Minds tv show.  In this podcast, Jim and I interview our friends and colleagues in law enforcement about their best and worst cases.  Some are very high profile, all take you behind police lines through the revelations of the police and prosecutors who lived these cases.  In our newest episode, former FBI agent Bobby Chacon gives a chilling inside look at his experiences on 911, the worst case in US history.  In the very first episode, Jim interviews me about my best, and as it happens my very first, criminal case.  I interview Jim in our second episode about his worst case, and its one that was very high profile and extremely tragic on all sides.  Please subscribe on iTunes and consider giving us 5 stars so we can keep taking you behind police lines.  You can go here for the podcast:  Wondery media podcast  or to YouTube to see videos and get the trailer for the podcast:  YouTube

 

Child Protection and Schools

Since I left the Department of Justice in 2012, I have tried to focus on the prevention side of child protection.  I have trained law enforcement, child advocacy center personnel, and other professionals in understanding offender behavior and how to conduct child exploitation investigations and prosecutions.  But the most important effort, I think, has been with schools.  I have spoken to staff, students and faculty about grooming, digital literacy, offender behavior, and technology monitoring.

I went to Central America last fall to help a school investigate a claim of inappropriate behavior by a staff member toward children.  These interactions with schools give me hope that prevention is possible.  It is a great feeling to arm teachers, students and staff with knowledge about the dangers of child exploitation.  Specifically, though, I try to impart the kind of knowledge that will prevent a child from ever being exploited.  And that is the goal:  prevention.  So, when I see a school embroiled in a child pornography investigation, I am distressed.  So many schools to get to, so little time.

In the latest, tragic, example, a coach at a school in Indiana is being investigated for child pornography.  The investigators are part of the same team that brought down Subway spokesman Jared Fogle.  I know this team well, they are dedicated, talented professionals whose overriding goal is to bring child offenders to justice.  I have no doubt they had strong evidence before they began their investigation.  Tragically, the school’s headmaster committed suicide this weekend after being interviewed in the case.  I certainly won’t speculate as to why, but I can’t help but wonder if this could have been prevented had this school reached out to experts for child protection training.  http://dailym.ai/1SI4t7w

A school in Minnesota took a proactive approach last fall, and asked me to conduct a full two-day training for them.  I spent a full day training their students, faculty and staff, then another day with community members the school generously invited to attend.  I hope I reached them all, especially the children. Knowledge is power for adults and kids when it comes to protecting against those who want to exploit children.  I simply don’t understand schools that ignore the problem.  It is shocking to me that schools don’t provide in-depth training on grooming and offender behavior to educators.  Equally shocking is their complete lack of security policy on their technology to prevent, or at least detect, the trafficking in images of child pornography.

I realize that such training isn’t free, but what is prevention worth?  What is the price to children being sexually abused?  Aren’t they worth it?  Shattuck St Mary article on FDH training

Condoning the Rape of Little Boys?

It has taken me a couple of days to calm down enough even to write about the latest story of the sexual exploitation of children.  This time, it is my own government that is guilty.  I admit, I am one of those patriotic types.  I tend to tear up at the National Anthem and when I hear about the bravery of our troops who fight and die to protect me and mine.  But this, this latest story has me nearly speechless with rage.  Two brave Marines learned of an Afghan man holding young boys in sexual slavery ON A U.S. BASE in Afghanistan.  Reports say some personnel have routinely heard young boys screaming and crying at night while being sexually assaulted.  These two Marines, having had enough of these reports, found the man and delivered some well deserved frontier justice.  Enough, they apparently thought, of reporting these abuses up the chain of command and being ignored.  Enough, they thought, of reporting the rape of little boys to Afghan authorities and being ignored.  In one instance, they reported the rape of a 14 year old girl to Afghan authorities.  What happened?  The Afghan rapist was sentenced to one day in prison.  The innocent girl? She was sentenced to life imprisonment:  she was forced to marry her rapist!  What have we become?  When did we decide it was ok to ignore the rape and sexual slavery of children because it was expedient?  And those two hero Marines?  Cashiered out of the military for daring to take on this horrific policy of condoning rape and exacting some small measure of justice for the victims.

This is not the country I love and was proud to serve as a public prosecutor for 16 years.  Protecting children is never a hard choice.  At least, it shouldn’t be.  All the officials asked to comment since the story broke in the NY Times have either said “ask someone else,” or “there is no such official policy to ignore child rape,” as if looking the other way is acceptable.  Nelson Mandela said “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”  This country has lost its soul.  And I’m disgusted by it. I sincerely hope those responsible, including every person who stood silently by and let children be raped, are held to account for it.  I hope they never get another moment’s peace or rest.  Like the children they failed.

How Could A Bishop Hide A Child Abuser?

I simply don’t understand how this keeps happening.  My inbox is full, every day, of cases where schools, employers, youth organizations, and churches ignore all the evidence in front of their eyes and fail to act to protect children.  The most recent story is appalling.  In 2012, Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City was convicted – not just accused, but convicted – of failing to report child abuse.  He apparently found a priest in his diocese in possession of child pornography on his computer.  Did he report this to police?  No.  Did he call child services to aid the children depicted in the images of child sexual assault?  No.  He sent the priest to a therapist and told him to stay away from children.  I’m sure that is a comfort to all the children the priest abused by trafficking in the images of their sexual assault.

I must admit, all the lessons, speeches, training, documents, studies etc over the last few years have apparently aided children very little.  When a Bishop, after all the church scandals of the past couple decades, all the coaching scandals, the teacher scandals, still fails to call the authorities when he catches a priest abusing children by trafficking in the horror of their abuse, well, we have all failed.  We are failing these children.  As I have said in this space before, I have had to view the images of children being abused.  It is indescribably awful.  There is absolutely no excuse for this failure by the Bishop.  None.  And the fact that the Church waited nearly three years to act on the Bishop’s contribution to the abuse of children, and even now has allowed the Bishop to resign, is disgusting.  The news account I link to at the end of this post doesn’t say, but I sincerely hope the Bishop went to jail.  Sadly, I doubt it.  The conviction was probably a misdemeanor.  What is the violation of the public trust worth?  What is the violation of human decency worth?  What are the children Bishop Finn disregarded in their most urgent time of need worth?  Apparently nothing.  At least, nothing to Bishop Finn and the Catholic Church.  http://nbcnews.to/1HrU8Wm

The Worst of the Worst: Predators Targeting Babies

I made another appearance on TheLip.TV’s show Crime Time here in Los Angeles this afternoon.  If you don’t subscribe to their YouTube Channel, you should!  The show features the juxtaposition of the law and current events.  The host of the show is Allison Hope Weiner.  On today’s show, we discussed some of the most disturbing kinds of child sexual abuse cases:  those where the offender has a deviant sexual interest in infants.  I know, it doesn’t seem real but it is.  The very worst images I ever had to view during my time as a federal prosecutor were those that featured toddlers and infants.  I will never forget them.  I wish I could.  How could anyone think it is ok for these people to live outside prison walls?  For the full interview, please go to  http://bit.ly/1FqXFAT

Movie with a Heart

I recently had the opportunity to see a movie called “Nowhere Safe.” It is a great film with an important message. It tackles cyberbullying in a refreshing way. In the film, a teen is victimized by a harsh online campaign, which causes her and her mother to move to a new town to escape the backlash. But, moving only delays the inevitable, and the teen is once again harassed in her new school. The movie has great acting and good role models in the teen’s mom and a concerned teacher. I highly recommend it! It will be on cable this Sunday. You can find more information about it here: http://www.uptv.com/nowheresafe