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onenote

(46,135 posts)
1. As usual, RawStory mangles the actual facts it is reporting
Sun Mar 22, 2026, 10:47 AM
Yesterday

Specifically, RawStory conflates two separate issues. First is the dismissal of charges against Heather Lewis. On Friday, the government filed a short motion and proposed order to dismiss with prejudice the charges against Lewis. Presumably, the court will grant that motion. But contrary to what RawStory would have you believe, the court hasn't yet done so and neither the motion to dismiss nor the proposed order give any reason for why the government is dismissing the charges. It is likely that the reason is the one given by Lewis' attorney in an interview -- namely that it was a case of mistaken identity. But the court hasn't commented on those reasons, let alone "slammed" the government for a "rookie mistake."

The second issue involves a discovery dispute between the government and the plaintiffs. The statement quoted in the RawStory is from the order in the discovery dispute and is unrelated to the dismissal of charges against Lewis. While the court was critical of the government's delay in providing discovery, it did not attribute the delay to any "rookie mistake" and, ultimately, gave the government a short extension -- one month, rather than the three months that the government sought -- to provide the defendants with discovery material.

One can generally assume that RawStory, in its pursuit of clicks, will overhype a story that was notable without the hype.

Link to Discovery/Scheduling Order: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.231102/gov.uscourts.mnd.231102.411.0.pdf

Link to Government motion to dismiss case against Heather Lewis https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.231102/gov.uscourts.mnd.231102.412.0.pdf

Link to government's proposed order dismissing case against Heather Lewis.
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.231102/gov.uscourts.mnd.231102.412.1.pdf

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