{"id":2221545,"date":"2024-04-15T16:27:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-15T20:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-biden-administrations-top-criminal-prosecutor-helped-lead-a-group-that-defended-cop-killers\/"},"modified":"2024-04-15T16:29:57","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15T20:29:57","slug":"the-biden-administrations-top-criminal-prosecutor-helped-lead-a-group-that-defended-cop-killers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-biden-administrations-top-criminal-prosecutor-helped-lead-a-group-that-defended-cop-killers\/","title":{"rendered":"The leading criminal prosecutor in the Biden administration was involved in a group that defended individuals charged with killing police officers"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">42<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-biden-administrations-top-criminal-prosecutor-helped-lead-a-group-that-defended-cop-killers%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2221545&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Nicole \u200dArgentieri, the top criminal prosecutor in the Biden administration, served on the board of the Legal Aid Society,\u2063 known for advocating\u200b to \u200bdefund police departments and representing cop killers. Despite concerns \u200babout her ties to \u200banti-police organizations, her potential permanent appointment remains\u200b uncertain, rousing controversy among lawmakers. Her association with the society overlapped with that of Adeel Mangi, a Biden judicial pick under scrutiny for his affiliations with similarly controversial groups.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<h2>Nicole Argentieri served on the Legal Aid Society&#8217;s board alongside embattled Biden judicial pick Adeel Mangi<\/h2>\n<figure><figcaption> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\tNicole Argentieri and Attorney General Merrick Garland. (Samuel Corum\/Getty Images)\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The Biden administration\u2019s top criminal prosecutor served on the board of directors of a &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/embattled-biden-judicial-nominee-adeel-mangi-served-on-legal-aid-society-board-as-it-defended-notorious-cop-killers\/\" title=\"Controversial Biden judicial pick Adeel Mangi sat on Legal Aid Society board during defense of infamous cop killers\">social justice law firm<\/a>&#8221; that during her tenure called to defund police departments and free cop killers from prison, records show.<\/p>\n<p>Nicole M. Argentieri, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-announces-actions-against-bogus-covid-19-cures\/\" title=\"DOJ Announces Actions Against Bogus COVID-19 Cures\">acting assistant attorney general<\/a> for the Justice Department\u2019s criminal division, served on the board of the Legal Aid Society of New York from January 2019 to May 2022, according to the nonprofit\u2019s tax filings. During her tenure on the board, the Legal Aid Society of New York <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thelegalaidsociety\/posts\/2735492823338975\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">endorsed<\/a> &#8220;the movement to #DefundNYPD&#8221; and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thelegalaidsociety\/photos\/a.1517109205177349\/3003550716533183\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">promoted<\/a> a &#8220;March to Defund the NYPD&#8221; rally.<\/p>\n<p>The Legal Aid Society also represented some of New York City\u2019s most notorious cop killers when Argentieri served on the board. In 2019 and 2020, lawyers for the nonprofit represented Black Liberation Army members Herman Bell and Jalil Muntaqim in their parole cases. The pair were convicted of assassinating two New York City police officers in May 1971 and murdered a San Francisco police officer inside a patrol station in August 1971. They were granted parole over the objections of their victims\u2019 families and then-New York City mayor Bill de Blasio.<\/p>\n<p>Lawmakers say Argentieri\u2019s ties to the anti-police organization raise concerns about her ability to serve as the nation\u2019s top criminal prosecutor, a role in which she works closely with the FBI and other federal and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/country-celebrates-natl-law-enforcement-appreciation-day\/\" title=\"Country celebrates Nat\u2019l Law Enforcement Appreciation Day\">local law enforcement officers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Argentieri being selected to run the Criminal Division in an acting capacity is a slap in the face to every <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/maryland-judge-bans-thin-blue-line-clothing-for-court-employees\/\" title=\"Maryland Judge Bans \u2018Thin Blue Line\u2019 Clothing For Court Employees\">brave law enforcement officer<\/a>,&#8221; Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told the <em>Washington Free Beacon. <\/em>Argentieri\u2019s ascent to the assistant attorney general post highlights &#8220;the Biden administration\u2019s policies putting criminals ahead of law-abiding citizens,&#8221; Cruz said.<\/p>\n<p>It is unclear whether Argentieri was aware of the Legal Aid Society\u2019s controversial clients or the organization\u2019s anti-cop rhetoric, though the group <a href=\"https:\/\/legalaidnyc.org\/annual-reports\/2021\/our-leadership\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">says<\/a> its board members provide &#8220;crucial guidance that strengthens our work.&#8221; A spokesman for the Legal Aid Society declined to comment. The Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Argentieri, who oversees more than 1,400 federal prosecutors and employees, took over as acting assistant general of the criminal division last year after the departure of Kenneth Polite. The position, which served as a springboard for FBI directors James Comey and Robert Mueller, requires Senate confirmation. President Joe Biden has not nominated a person for the role, and it is unclear whether Argentieri is under consideration for the permanent position.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It would add insult to injury if Joe Biden were to nominate [Argentieri] to fill the role permanently,&#8221; Cruz told the <em>Free Beacon<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Argentieri\u2019s tenure at the Legal Aid Society <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/embattled-biden-judicial-nominee-adeel-mangi-served-on-legal-aid-society-board-as-it-defended-notorious-cop-killers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">overlapped<\/a> with that of Adeel Mangi, Biden\u2019s nominee for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said this week Mangi\u2019s position with the Legal Aid Society and another group, the Alliance of Families for Justice, make him unfit for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/embattled-biden-judicial-nominee-helped-lead-anti-police-nonprofit\/\" title=\"Biden's nominee aided anti-police nonprofit amid controversy\">lifetime judicial appointment<\/a>. Mangi serves on the advisory board of the latter group, which has hailed six convicted cop killers as &#8220;freedom fighters.&#8221; Its founding board member is Kathy Boudin, a member of the terrorist group Weather Underground who was convicted of murdering two police officers in 1981.<\/p>\n<p>Argentieri served on the Legal Aid Society board while working at the private law firm O\u2019Melveny &#038; Myers in its white collar defense and corporate investigations practice. She contributed between $1,000 and $4,999 to the Legal Aid Society of New York in 2021, according to its <a href=\"https:\/\/legalaidnyc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/LAS-Annual-Report-2021-Web-FINAL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">annual report<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>O\u2019Melveny &#038; Myers provided <em>pro bono<\/em> services to the Legal Aid Society and also served on its &#8220;Cop Accountability Project,&#8221; which represented defendants arrested during Black Lives Matter protests in summer 2020. Though the initiative was designed to &#8220;hold police accountable,&#8221; its supervising attorney, Jennvine Wong, was a proponent of defunding police departments. In 2020, Wong <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/think\/opinion\/video-police-abuses-nypd-trampling-constitution-reveal-inefficacy-reform-ncna1235333\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">criticized<\/a> police reform proposals &#8220;that fail to defund the police and significantly reduce the size of the department.&#8221; The Legal Aid Society promoted marches in support of defunding the New York City police department in June 2020 and May 2021.<\/p>\n<p>The Legal Aid Society took on Herman Bell\u2019s parole case in January 2019, the same month Argentieri joined the board of directors. The group defended Bell in a lawsuit brought by Diane Piagentini, the widow of one of Bell\u2019s victims, who sued the state to rescind Bell\u2019s parole in 2018. Legal Aid Society lawyers <a href=\"https:\/\/appellatesquawk.wordpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/amicus-final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">asserted<\/a> Piagentini\u2019s &#8220;private wishes&#8221; regarding Bell\u2019s parole were overridden by the &#8220;public interest&#8221; in having him released from prison.<\/p>\n<p>The Legal Aid Society represented Muntaqim in his parole case in 2020, arguing he should be freed from prison because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Legal Aid Society lawyers said Muntaqim, also known as Anthony Bottom, was &#8220;being left to die&#8221; in jail. He was freed in August 2020.\t<\/p>\n<p>Bell and Muntaqim were granted parole over the wishes of police groups and then-New York City mayor Bill de Blasio, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nyc.gov\/site\/nypd\/news\/s0326\/letter-mayor-de-blasio-new-york-state-parole-board-urging-reversal-the-decision-to\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> the duo murdered police officers &#8220;for no other reason than the uniforms on their backs and the shields on their chests.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Cop-killers deserve the death penalty,&#8221; said Cruz, &#8220;but the radicals leading the Biden administration would rather let them out to kill again.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nicole Argentieri, the top criminal prosecutor in the Biden administration, previously served on the board of the Legal Aid Society with judicial pick Adeel Mangi and Attorney General Merrick Garland. During her time there, the firm advocated for defunding police departments and freeing individuals charged with crimes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":2221547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/justice-department-announces-human-rights-enforcement-actions-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2221545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/justice-department-announces-human-rights-enforcement-actions-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2221545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/155"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2221545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2221545\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2221547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2221545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2221545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2221545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}