Alex Murdaugh may get new murder trial over jury tampering – National & International News – WED 14Aug2024

Disgraced S. Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh may get new murder trial over jury tampering.

Newly released docs show Hunter Biden lobbied US diplomats on behalf of Burisma.

Alex Murdaugh may get new murder trial over jury tampering

Former South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was convicted last year in the brutal 2021 slayings of his wife Maggie and youngest son Paul following a 6-week trial. During that trial, prosecutors also delved into accusations that Murdaugh stole over $10 million from clients at his personal injury law firm over a decade. The prosecution contended that Murdaugh murdered his wife and son in an attempt to keep his financial crimes concealed.

Late last year, Murdaugh’s attorneys revealed that jurors in the murder case had claimed that the now-former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill had made inappropriate comments to jurors during the trial pointing to Murdaugh’s guilt. Murdaugh’s attorneys alleged that Hill had tried to pressure jurors for a swift guilty verdict because she was promoting a tell-all book about the trial.

A hearing took place in January 2024 to investigate these allegations.  The judge in that hearing, Jean Toal, concluded that while one juror testified that Ms. Hill’s comments had influenced her thinking about Murdaugh’s guilt or innocence, the other 11 jurors were not swayed by Hill’s comments. Therefore, Toal concluded that a new murder trial was unnecessary. This was also based on the Toal’s opinion that the evidence against Murdaugh was “overwhelming” and that the jury’s verdict was “unsurprising”.

Becky Hill has now been accused of 76 ethics violations by a state oversight board. These allegations are not directly related to her inappropriate comments to Murdaugh jurors, but instead pertain to her using her office to improperly enrich herself. Hill denies all the allegations against her but has resigned from her position as clerk of court.

State Supreme Court to hear case

Today, the South Carolina Supreme Court has agreed to review the Toal’s decision in the January 2024 hearing. Murdaugh’s attorneys argued it was appropriate for the state’s highest court to hear the case due to the pressing appellate issues involved. Specifically, Murdaugh’s attorneys want the court to weigh in on whether attempts at jury tampering by a public official are themselves grounds for a new trial, whether or not those attempts at jury tampering are proven to have influenced the outcome of the trial.

The state supreme court had previously set a standard that overturing a jury verdict due to evidence tampering required a determination that at least one juror had changed their mind due to improper influence. Murdaugh’s attorneys instead want the court to uphold a federal standard, that attempts by a court official to improperly influence a jury are sufficiently prejudicial for a verdict to be thrown out.

The defense team argues that Toal’s ruling was inappropriate in any case, since one juror did testify at the hearing that they were influenced by Hill’s comments.

If the state court finds in Murdaugh’s favor, a new trial could be ordered. The court hasn’t yet set a date to hear arguments.

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Newly released docs show Hunter Biden reached out to US diplomats on behalf of Burisma

The New York Times has waged a three-year battle with the US government to obtain documents pertaining to Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings through Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests. The outlet has now succeeded in obtaining documents showing that in 2016, when his father was Vice President, Hunter Biden reached out to the US ambassador to Italy seeking help arranging a meeting with the president of the Tuscan regional government on behalf of Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Burisma was apparently seeking to get involved in a geothermal energy project in Tuscany.

The contents of Biden’s letter to ambassador John Philips were entirely redacted. However, a reply from a Department of Commerce official at the Embassy in Rome was produced in full. The official was apparently uncomfortable with the request and advised Biden that such arrangements should be made through official channels. “This is a Ukrainian company and, purely to protect ourselves, U.S.G. [United States government] should not be actively advocating with the government of Italy without the company going through the D.O.C. [Department of Commerce] Advocacy Center,” the reply read.

The Times report indicates that no business resulted from Hunter’s request from the Embassy in Rome.

Today’s revelation comes days after federal prosecutors in Hunter Biden’s tax evasion case remarked publicly on Hunter’s efforts to lobby the State Department on behalf of a Romanian oligarch, who was facing corruption charges in his home country at the time. Some Republicans have questioned the timing of the recent release of documents, coming weeks after President Biden ended his 2024 re-election bid. However, reporting indicates that the documents had been approved for release before President Biden decided to end his campaign.

So far, Hunter Biden has not been charged with violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) by working as an unregistered lobbyist for Burisma or the Romanian businessman.

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