Alex Murdaugh lawyer cites Trump FBI raid in demand for evidence in murders of wife, son: 'Manufactured drama'

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The lawyer defending the once powerful and now disbarred attorney, Alex Murdaugh, blasted South Carolina prosecutors on Wednesday for allegedly withholding evidence from the defense connecting the legal scion to the mysterious murders of his wife and son following a 13-month investigation. 

At a press conference he organized, Dick Harpootlian, a Democratic state senator, made a weak comparison to the unprecedented FBI raid on former President Donald Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago, and calls since then to have the warrant unsealed to understand the grounds for the search. 

In a motion of his own Wednesday, the state’s lead prosecutor on the Murdaugh case, Creighton Waters, dismissed Harpootlian’s press event as "manufactured drama" delaying the case. 

Harpootlian accused South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson’s office of failing to produce discovery before the 30-day maximum period allotted by law since Murdaugh’s murder indictment. 

ALEX MURDAUGH SCHEMES RESULT IN FIRST FEDERAL INDICTMENT TARGETING SOUTH CAROLINA BANK SCION RUSSELL LAFFITTE 

Alex Murdaugh is escorted out of the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, S.C., on Wednesday, July 20, 2022. Murdaugh pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife and son 13 months ago.  (Tracy Glantz/The State via AP)

"There was no reason, as I point out, that they couldn’t turn almost all of this over to us 32 days ago," Harpootlian told reporters Wednesday. "A number of search warrants have sealed affidavits – now sealed affidavits I shouldn’t have to explain to any of you because you turn on the news right now, they’re talking about sealed affidavits on a certain search warrant in Florida. The question is – after the indictment is brought, should they still be sealed? The answer is no."

Murdaugh, 54, was indicted on July 14 by a Colleton County grand jury on two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime in connection to the double homicide of his college sweetheart wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and their 22-year-old son, Paul. 

The bare-bones indictment accuses Murdaugh of shooting his 52-year-old wife with a rifle and his younger son with a shotgun on June 7, 2021. He has pleaded not guilty.

"This is again ‘gotcha’ prosecution. Trial by ambush. Give us the stuff," Harpootlian said Wednesday.  "You went to a grand jury and said you have enough evidence to convict Alex Murdaugh and convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. Where is it? I don’t have a shred of paper! I don’t have an email, I don’t have an exhibit, I don’t have any evidence." 

"Somebody wants to know about blood spatter. All I know about blood spatter is what I read in some blog. I’ve never seen any blood spatter evidence," he said, referencing local media citing unnamed sources. "They want to obscure this by saying, ‘well, you know, we need to get this sealed, this needs to be protected, we don’t want crime scene photos left out on tables.’ That is hooey!"

Murdaugh’s lawyer also seemed to defend his own reputation for working the case. 

"This case needs to be resolved. Not just for Alex Murdaugh, but for the judicial system, for the state of South Carolina. We need to put this behind us and move on," Harpootlian said. "People say to me – How could you represent this guy? John Adams, the second President of the United States, represented the British soldiers who massacred the colonial protesters on the Boston Common, 4 were acquitted, two were hung. It is my duty to do that. It’s what keeps this country free. Abraham Lincoln defended 22 murder cases… Don’t they teach civics in high school anymore?

ALEX MURDAUGH: TIMELINE OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA ATTORNEY'S FALL FROM GRACE 

Dick Harpootlian, Alex Murdaugh's defense lawyer, hosts a press conference criticizing prosecutors for delaying discovery in the murder case.  (Fox News)

In a 27-page motion provided to Fox News Digital, Waters defended his team’s handling of discovery. 

"Defendant Murdaugh’s motion is unfortunately a not unexpected but completely blatant attempt to create drama where formerly there was none. It is clearly aimed at generating content for the press conference defense counsel has called on this matter rather than actually doing anything meaningful to move forward litigation of the case," the motion outlining prosecutors’ stance says. 

"As with the rest of their motion, their claims of prosecutorial ‘coercion’ may make for exciting reading or content for a press conference, but they are detached from reality," Waters adds. 

The motion included emails between Waters to Judge Clifton Newton explaining that he agrees with the defense that an order must be issued unsealing the search warrants sealed by other judges early in the murder investigation. However, prosecutors – in disagreement with the defense – are proposing a protective order for some murder evidence, citing pre-trial publicity and the sensitive nature of the crime scene photos.  

"There is simply no last-minute effort to delay discovery," Waters wrote in one email. 

Alex Murdaugh, right, is shown here with his family.  (Fox News)

"This manufactured drama is just a well-known part of defense counsel’s playbook," the motion says. "The State has no desire to preclude the defense from any discovery and has every intent of moving this case to a public trial as soon as practicable. As soon as these two discovery issues are addressed and the Court green lights it, discovery will be sent."  

At the time of the bombshell murder charges, Murdaugh already was facing 81 financial and related criminal charges alleging he misappropriated $8.1 million from friends, former legal clients and the prominent personal injury law firm founded by his great-grandfather nearly a century ago. 

Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were found shot to death next to dog kennels on the family’s sprawling hunting in South Carolina’s rural Low Country when authorities responded to a frantic 911 call from Murdaugh himself. 

The double homicide prompted a slew of investigations into Murdaugh and his financial dealings, and law enforcement has since reopened criminal probes into the mysterious deaths of Murdaugh’s former housekeeper Gloria Satterfield, as well as 19-year-old Stephen Smith, a former high school classmate of the Murdaugh’s surviving elder son, Buster Murdaugh. 

Murdaugh, also a former assistant prosecutor at the office his family previously controlled for generations, is also charged with orchestrating a botched suicide for hire plot for his distant cousin, former legal client and recently accused conspirator in an alleged opioid trafficking ring, Curtis "Eddie" Smith, to shoot on the side of a rural road so that Buster could collect a $10 million life insurance policy. 

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Recently, Russell Laffitte, the fired CEO of Palmetto State Bank, which was founded by his family in the early 20th century, was federally indicted for allegedly helping Murdaugh steal and launder money from legal clients. A lawyer and Murdaugh’s former college roommate, Cory Fleming, has also faced state charges in connection to Murdaugh’s long-spiraling fall from grace. 

Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on Twitter: @danimwallace. 

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Britney Spears' lawyer in response to Kevin Federline​: 'We will not tolerate bullying'

On Wednesday, Federline posted to Instagram multiple videos that he said were filmed by Spears' sons several years ago in which she appears to have verbal disagreements and uses harsh language with her two children. The videos have since been removed from the social media platform, but they were published by TMZ. In a statement to CNN, Spears' attorney said they are "working with Instagram to ensure that Mr. Federline adheres to its rules, and we are exploring all appropriate relief against him."

"Whether he realizes it or not, Mr. Federline has not only violated the privacy and dignity of the mother of his children, he has undermined his own children, whose privacy he should protect," Mathew Rosengart, Spears' attorney said. "Mr. Federline's ill-advised decision to post an old video of his 11 and 12-year-old children was cruel, bottom of the barrel stuff."

Federline had said in his post that his family chose to share the videos to illustrate why they have more recently distanced themselves from Spears. CNN has reached out to an attorney for Federline for comment.

"It has been my honor to work with Britney, to suspend her father as conservator, to help her gain her freedom and dignity, and to help protect her from the type of bullying she endured in the past - and we will not tolerate bullying in any area," Rosengart said.

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Ammad Yousaf being kept in illegal custody, lawyer tells court

KARACHI: The lawyer of Ammad Yousaf, appeared before the court in the case of his arrest without a warrant from his residence in DHA, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

Naeem Qureshi advocate, told the court that the police has arrested his client and Head of News of ARY News from his residence last night. “His production before the court being deferred with delaying tactics,” the counsel said.

“My client being kept in illegal custody, the police has yet to submit the FIR in the court,” he said.

“The court will question the police if it is exercising delaying tactics,” the Judge said. “You are Judicial Magistrate, you are empowered to bound the police,” Naeem Qureshi said. “We will see, why the police fail to submit the FIR,” the magistrate said before a break in the hearing.

Earlier, legal experts and prominent lawyers termed the way Ammad Yousaf was arrested as unlawful.

Police officers along with plain-clothed persons had forcibly entered the house of Ammad Yousaf. The raiding team diverted the CCTV cameras of Yousaf’s house, and jumped into the house from the top of the main entrance.

Prominent lawyer Ali Zafar has said that the arrest warrant from magistrate is must before arrest of a person. The persons used to be issued notice before the arrest warrant. An arrest without warrant is a major crime, he said.

“These actions were used to be taken in dictatorships and are illegal in presence of the constitution and a democratic set up. “The Supreme Court could take suo moto notice of such incidents,” Ali Zafar said.

Faisal Chaudhry Advocate said that the government has violated the constitution and the law. The arrest is regretful and this action of the government can be challenged. “Such state actions unleash fascism, it is not an arrest it is abduction,” the lawyer said.

Azhar Siddique termed the arrest blatant terrorism and hoped that the chief justice will take suomoto notice of the arrest.

Legal expert Safdar Shaheen said that the officials have to show warrants before arrest, the police is not authorized to enter in a house without permission. An arrest sans warrant is kidnapping, ” we will challenge the arrest in the court of law.

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Greece flies Russian money launderer to US: lawyer

Greece has extradited a Russian money launderer to the US, hours after his release from a French jail, his lawyer said Friday.

Zoe Konstantopoulou said Alexander Vinnik “was loaded onto a private plane to the US” without being allowed to lodge an asylum request in Greece.

A source with knowledge of the case in France said Vinnik had been handed back to Greek authorities on Thursday afternoon, just weeks after the Court of Cassation in Paris confirmed his five-year sentence for money laundering.

Vinnik, 43, had been in French custody for the past two years following his extradition from Greece.

The father-of-two has been the subject of a long legal wrangle between Greece, France, Russia and the United States.

Vinnik’s French lawyer, Frederic Belot, said Washington appeared to have exerted significant pressure to secure his extradition.

He said his client was sent to San Francisco via Boston. He faces 55 years in prison in the US, Belot said.

“We are outraged by the Greek authorities’ unfriendly actions,” the Russian foreign ministry said, pledging to stand up for Vinnik’s interests.

“Russian diplomats will do everything possible to protect his legitimate rights and interests.”

Vinnik was originally arrested in July 2017 at the northern Greek tourist resort of Halkidiki. A long judicial procedure followed, with Greece sifting through the conflicting extradition requests before deciding in favour of France.

A French court in 2020 sentenced Vinnik to five years in prison for money laundering, but cleared him of an original charge of defrauding nearly 200 people using ransomware. His sentence was confirmed by the French Court of Cassation in June.

A US indictment accuses Vinnik of 21 charges ranging from identity theft and facilitating drug trafficking to money laundering.

In Russia he is wanted on lesser fraud charges involving just 9,500 euros.

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