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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums"There have been sealed COMPLAINTS against Manafort and four others for several months".
From Claude Taylor
Veteran of three presidential campaigns, served on White House staff (Clinton)
I've got something....
From my longest term/ most highly placed source in the legal community....
From a reliable source in the legal community "There have been sealed COMPLAINTS against Manafort and four others for several months".
From my longest term/ most highly placed source in the legal community....
From a reliable source in the legal community "There have been sealed COMPLAINTS against Manafort and four others for several months".
Link to tweet
Link to tweet
Link to tweet
In this last tweet there is a lot of discussion about what a "sealed complaint" is.
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"There have been sealed COMPLAINTS against Manafort and four others for several months". (Original Post)
MelissaB
May 2017
OP
Is Manafort still in the US? I wonder if they are watching his airport runs
SticksnStones
May 2017
#2
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)1. A little info on a sealed complaint:
Sensitive info filed w/o becoming public record
Wikipedia
Filing under seal is a procedure allowing sensitive or confidential information to be filed with a court without becoming a matter of public record.[1] The court generally must give permission for the material to remain under seal.[2]
Filing confidential documents "under seal" separated from the public records allows litigants to navigate the judicial system without compromising their confidentiality, at least until there is an affirmative decision by consent of the information's owner or by order of the court to publicize it.[2]
When the document is filed under seal, it should have a clear indication for the court clerk to file it separately most often by stamping words "Filed Under Seal" on the bottom of each page. The person making the filing should also provide instructions to the court clerk that the document needs to be filed "under seal". Courts often have specific requirements for these filings in their Local Rules.[3]
Normally records should not be filed under seal without court permission.[3] However, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2 allows a person making a redacted filing to also file an unredacted copy under seal.[4]
What Does Under Seal Really Mean?
http://www.jameshoyer.com/what-does-under-seal-really-mean/
The federal False Claims Act provides that when a new case is filed, there are certain rules that must be followed to keep the case confidential and to prevent the defendant from finding out that the government is conducting an investigation. The procedure, known as filing under seal, requires that a complaint shall be filed in camera, shall remain under seal for at least 60 days, and shall not be served on the defendant until the court so orders. 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(2). This part of the False Claims Act seems to be a mostly procedural rule for lawyers to follow, but in reality, it puts very important obligations on the relator too.
So what does under seal really mean to a relator?
Relators Obligations
The False Claims Acts filing-under-seal requirement exists to give the government time to investigate the alleged fraud, determine whether it is already investigating the alleged fraud, and decide whether it will prosecute the suit itself before the target is tipped off. Various court interpretations make clear that the seal requirement does not impart a requirement of absolute silence about the alleged fraudulent conduct. Such a requirement would place a burden on the Relator that exceeds the language or purpose of the False Claims Act.
As a practical matter, however, prudent practice is to exercise an abundance of caution when discussing any aspect of a False Claims Act case or the underlying allegations with anyone other than the relators counsel and the government agents assigned to the case. Most importantly, a Relator should never disclose the actual filing of a qui tam case without speaking with their attorney first. Although a qui tam case is only under seal by statute for the first sixty days, the cases often remain under seal for months or even years while the government investigates, so it is important for a relator to know the exact status of a qui tam case at all times. During the period of time that a case is under seal, a relator must be prepared to exercise a level of discretion that may be difficult to maintain, but is of utmost importance to the success of a case.
http://www.jameshoyer.com/what-does-under-seal-really-mean/
The federal False Claims Act provides that when a new case is filed, there are certain rules that must be followed to keep the case confidential and to prevent the defendant from finding out that the government is conducting an investigation. The procedure, known as filing under seal, requires that a complaint shall be filed in camera, shall remain under seal for at least 60 days, and shall not be served on the defendant until the court so orders. 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(2). This part of the False Claims Act seems to be a mostly procedural rule for lawyers to follow, but in reality, it puts very important obligations on the relator too.
So what does under seal really mean to a relator?
Relators Obligations
The False Claims Acts filing-under-seal requirement exists to give the government time to investigate the alleged fraud, determine whether it is already investigating the alleged fraud, and decide whether it will prosecute the suit itself before the target is tipped off. Various court interpretations make clear that the seal requirement does not impart a requirement of absolute silence about the alleged fraudulent conduct. Such a requirement would place a burden on the Relator that exceeds the language or purpose of the False Claims Act.
As a practical matter, however, prudent practice is to exercise an abundance of caution when discussing any aspect of a False Claims Act case or the underlying allegations with anyone other than the relators counsel and the government agents assigned to the case. Most importantly, a Relator should never disclose the actual filing of a qui tam case without speaking with their attorney first. Although a qui tam case is only under seal by statute for the first sixty days, the cases often remain under seal for months or even years while the government investigates, so it is important for a relator to know the exact status of a qui tam case at all times. During the period of time that a case is under seal, a relator must be prepared to exercise a level of discretion that may be difficult to maintain, but is of utmost importance to the success of a case.
SticksnStones
(2,108 posts)2. Is Manafort still in the US? I wonder if they are watching his airport runs
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)3. That's a good question. I'll bet he's being wathced like a hawk.
Wouldn't you think?
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)4. Sealed Complaints b/c FBI/DOJ wants to round up numerous members of #TeamTraitor w/o tipping hand.
Sealed Complaints b/c FBI/DOJ wants to round up numerous members of #TeamTraitor w/o tipping hand. - Dr. Dena Grayson
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)5. With Watergate there were multiple arrests the same day.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)6. Maybe, maybe not
There seem to be four defendants total in the sealed case filed January 3 in the Eastern District of VA:
Sealed Case Log (dft) vaedce 1:2017-sc-00001 890 01/03/2017
v. Sealed Case Log
Sealed Case Log (dft) vaedce 2:2017-sc-00001 890 01/03/2017
v. Sealed Case Log
Sealed Case Log (dft) vaedce 3:2017-sc-00001 890 01/03/2017
v. Sealed Case Log
Sealed Case Log (dft) vaedce 4:2017-sc-00001 890 01/03/2017
v. Sealed Case Log
(In general, the same case will be "counted" in PACER based on the ID of the defendants, which is why you get four listings of the same case for a search of "sealed" defendants)
Interesting!
Kingofalldems
(38,496 posts)8. Kick this huge story.
Atman
(31,464 posts)9. Link to tweet. Linke to tweet. Link to tweet. Link to tweet.
I guess there is no point in reading DU. I'll just read Twitter.