D'Souza, Anti-Obama filmmaker, pleads guilty in federal court

[bsteadman1]

D'Souza fails to win dismissal of U.S. charges over straw donors

Reuters
Nate Raymond and Jonathan Stempel / New York
5/15/2014

Excerpt:

(Reuters) - Dinesh D'Souza, the conservative author and filmmaker, on Thursday failed to win the dismissal of U.S. criminal charges that he used straw donors to make excessive contributions to a 2012 Senate candidate.

Ruling from the bench, U.S. District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan rejected D'Souza's contention that last month's U.S. Supreme Court decision striking some limits on political donations also rendered a straw donor prohibition as unconstitutionally vague.

The judge also denied a request by D'Souza, a prominent critic of President Barack Obama, to seek the production of evidence that would support his claim the prosecution was in retaliation for his political activities.

"The court concludes the defendant has respectfully submitted no evidence he was selectively prosecuted," Berman said.

D'Souza sat silently as Berman made his ruling. Benjamin Brafman, D'Souza's lawyer, afterwards said he was disappointed but was prepared for trial, which is expected Tuesday.

"We have always believed this is a case that should be decided by a jury," Brafman said.

D'Souza, 53, has been accused of illegally directing others to contribute a total of $20,000 to the campaign of Wendy Long, a Republican who unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat, for a Senate seat from New York.

The defendant subsequently reimbursed the donors. Federal law at the time limited primary and general election campaign contributions to $2,500 each, for a total of $5,000, from any individual to any one candidate.

View the complete article at:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/...A4E0VQ20140515

[bsteadman]

Anti-Obama filmmaker pleads guilty in federal court

D'Souza takes responsibility for campaign cash

WND
Jerome R. Corsi
5/20/2014

Excerpt:

NEW YORK — Filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza, whose movie “2016: Obama’s America” rocked the 2012 presidential election campaign, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a charge that involves two instances of illegal campaign contributions.

In a hearing before U.S. District Judge Richard Berman that lasted just under an hour, he admitted reimbursing friends for making contributions to Wendy Long’s U.S. Senate campaign in 2012.

He confirmed that he reimbursed two friends $10,000 in cash for their contributions to the campaign. The federal limit for individuals making contributions was $5,000.

The plea bargain had been expected. In a statement announcing the Tuesday hearing, the U.S. attorney’s office used language “that typically indicates that a plea is expected to occur,” according to a New York Times analysis.

Long was challenging Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand, D-N.Y., in the 2012 race and the filmmaker had friends contribute $20,000 then reimbursed them in cash, according to details available through the court hearing.

The contributions to the campaign were made Aug. 19 and 20, 2012.

Berman scheduled a sentencing hearing for Sept. 23 and told D’Souza to report to the probation office for a pre-sentencing investigation.

Court officials said the sentencing range for the counts runs up to 24 months, although the judge has sentencing discretion.

WND learned that negotiations resulted in federal prosecutors agreeing to drop allegations that D’Souza made false statements to be filed with the FEC, a second charge that carried a maximum penalty of five years.

D’Souza was not available for comment and his attorneys did not meet with reporters.

In a statement released by his attorney, Benjamin Brafman, D’Souza said he was accepting responsibility for “having urged two close associates to make contributions” to the unsuccessful campaign and then reimbursing them.

The statement said that because of the “technical nature” of the charges, there was no “viable defense.”

The statement said it was hoped that Berman would recognize the responsible life D’Souza has led.

The filmmaker was charged in January with the campaign-finance counts.

A trial in the case had been expected to begin on Tuesday on the charges D’Souza was making contributions in the names of others.

See “2016,” the film that Heritage Foundation Senior Fellow Helle Dale said reveals an “aloof” and hard-to-understand president.

D’Souza ‘s newest project is called “America” and is expected to be released this summer.

D’Souza said he was not happy that his predictions about Obama in “2016: Obama’s America,” have come true.

But if Obama was upset about that movie, he said, “Wait until he sees the new one.”

He said Obama is “playing out our script” like an actor.

“He reminds me a bit of a toy soldier who walks into the wall and keeps going,” D’Souza said.

As WND reported, Republican Sens. Charles E. Grassley, Jeff Sessions, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee are among the lawmakers who have signed a letter to the FBI demanding details of the D’Souza investigation, saying it smacks of “selective prosecution.”

The suggestion was that there have been a multitude of campaign contribution cases, but most have not been prosecuted in the way the D’Souza case was handled.

WND reported Gerald Molen, the producer of D’Souza’s two full-length feature film documentaries, “2016: Obama’s America,” released in 2012, and the about-to-be-released “America,” characterized D’Souza’s criminal indictment as a Soviet-style “political prosecution.”
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View the complete article at:

http://www.wnd.com/2014/05/dsouza-ta...campaign-cash/