The Leslie Brodie Report

 

CaliforniaALL-- Team Barack Obama (L-R) USDOJ's Tony West, Ambassador Jeffrey Bleich, HUD's Ophelia Basgal, Judy Johnson, Chris Young, Annette Carnegie, James Brosnahan, and Kamala Harris

DEVELOPING STORY .....

TLR has learned that a recent abrupt move by a politically-connected litigation boutique firm is the subject of an intense and comprehensive examination that the septet of James Brosnahan, Tony West, Chris Young, Annette Carnegie, Ophelia Basgal, Judy Johnson, and Jeff Bleich was somehow involved in improperly transferring money from Cal Bar Foundation to Barack Obama's coffers.

As matters presently stand, prima facie evidence creates the appearance of a sophisticated financial scheme executed in 2008 involving Democratic party operatives James Brosnahan of Morrison & Foerster, Jeffrey Bleich of Munger Tulles & Olson (the current U.S. Ambassador to Australasia and friend of President Obama), Assistant Attorney General Derek Anthony West (aka Tony West), and Chris Young, as well as others to misuse the $780,000 originating from the California Bar Foundation.

According to the sources, in 2007-2008:

--James Brosnahan, the self proclaimed "mastermind behind the Democratic Party" (and former prosecutor of Caspar Weinberger), while associated with  Morrison & Foerster executed from behind the scenes a scheme known as CaliforniaALL, which collected "hush-hush" sub rosa funds totaling approximately $780,000 from the Foundation of the  State Bar of California.

--Chris Young, while associated with Morrison & Foerster, served as Barack Obama's Northern California Deputy Finance Director.

--Tony West, while associated with Morrison & Foerster, served as Barack Obama's California Co-Chair of the California Finance Committee.

--Susan MacCormac, while associated with Morrison & Foerster, legally created the entity known as CaliforniaALL and served as its legal counsel.

--Annette Carnegie, while associated with Morrison & Foerster, served as a board member of the California Bar Foundation during the period of the sub rosa transfer of the above-referenced $780,000.

--Jeffrey Bleich, while associated with Munger Tolles & Olsen, served as a member of both the Board of Governors and the California Bar Foundation's board during the period of the sub rosa transfer of $780,000.  Bleich is a friend of President Obama who presently serves as the U.S. Ambassador to Australia.    Verizon Communications (which heavily contributed to CaliforniaALL) is a client of Munger Tules & Olson, where Bleich serves as partner.

 

The California Bar Foundation is maintained and controlled by the Board of Governors of the State Bar of California -- which is largely comprised of California Democratic Party operatives such as "Shakedown Artist" Gwen Moore of Shrimpscam ; Jeannine English -- the wife of controversial gambling attorney and Democratic Party operative Howard Dickstein; "Gay Godfather" Dennis Mangers; Democratic Party operative Joseph Lawrence Dunn (aka Joe Dunn) of Voice of OC; Nancy Fineman, a partner at the firm of Democratic party operative Joe Cotchett; and Jon Streeter, President of the California State Bar Board of Governors and a partner at the firm of Democratic Party operative John Keker,  former prosecutor of Oliver North.

The State Bar of California has been involved in numerous financial scandals, the most notable of which involved the prolonged embezzlement of close to $900,000 by employee Sherri Pearl (who many believed was in cahoots with Executive Director Judy Johnson) , as well as the scandal involving Geoffrey Brown (former CPUC Commissioner) and Judy Johnson, as a result of which close to $30 million in  fines and settlements the CPUC imposed on utility companies was funneled to the California Consumer Protection Foundation ("CCPF"), an entity for which Judy Johnson secretly served as its president.  From there, CCPF funneled most of the money to ACORN-like entities in South Los Angeles -- Gwen Moore's territory -- and to an entity associated with Michael Shames in San Diego which is presently under grand jury investigation.

Mr. Derek Anthony West (AKA Tony West) Acting Associate Attorney General, the third highest official at the United States Department of Justice. He joined Morrison & Foerster in 2001. While at MoFo, West represented "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh alongside partners James Brosnahan and Raj Chatterjee. West's sister-in-law -- Ms. Kamala Harris -- is the California attorney general who was part of sham non-profit entity CaliforniaALL.  Suspicious and unsettling circumstances surrounding CaliforniaALL have caused some to speculate about the possibility that West was somehow involved in improperly transferring money from Cal Bar Foundation to Barack Obama's coffers, via CaliforniaALL, while serving as Barack Obama's California Co-Chair of the California Finance Committee and concurrently working for Morrison & Foerster -- the law-firm which created CaliforniaALL

Per the sources, and in addition to the above, other suspicious and unsettling circumstances surrounding CaliforniaALL have caused some to speculate about the possibility that the quintet of Brosnahan/West/Young/Carnegie/Bleich was somehow involved in improperly transferring money from Cal Bar Foundation to Barack Obama's coffers, via CaliforniaALL.

In particular, sources have referenced as examples of suspicious circumstances the false and misleading claim by CaliforniaALL that it was the force behind the creation of the Saturday Academy of Law at UC Irvine known as SAL UCI.  (This claim has been refuted by The Leslie Brodie Report.  Please see "The Make Believe Launching of SAL," HERE).

Moreover, the source alluded to the fact that CaliforniaALL sought around 16,000 of deduction in its tax-return for "occupancy," where in fact CaliforniaALL was housed pro-bono at the Sacramento offices of DLA Piper.

 

KEKER & VAN NEST

(L-R) John Keker, Kamala Harris, Maya Harris, Tony West and Willie Brown.  John Keker is a long time mentor of Kamala Harris who is the sister of Maya Harris who is married to Tony West who is  "mentee" of Willie Brown who is Kamala Harris' former paramour. (Sources please see HERE and HERE and HERE)

According to the sources, the recent sudden departure of associate Christopher J.  Young (aka Chris Young) from San Francisco based Keker & Van Nest (formerly of Morrison & Foerster)  is viewed as an attempt by John Keker and Jon Streeter (also a fund-raiser for Barack Obama)  to "hide" Young, as well as and further attempt to conceal evidence in the mystery surrounding a sub rosa "hush-hush" transfer of $780,000 from the California Bar Foundation to the now defunct non-profit entity CaliforniaALL, and subsequent related events.

 

Mr. Chris Young of Keker & Van Nest. During the 2008 election, while employed as an associate with Morrison & Foerster,  Young served as Barack Obama's Northern California Deputy Finance Director and as National Campaign's Northern California representative. USDOJ's Tony West (also of Morrison & Foerster) served as Co-Chair, California Finance Cmt. Recently, Keker & Van Nest abruptly removed Young's name from the roll of lawyers associated with the firm

 

In 2008, KVN's Chris Young was employed (as his confederate Tony West) at San Francisco-based Morrison & Foerster , please see below:

 

Interestingly, Keker & Van Nest's recently saw fit to remove the name of Chris Young from its web-site, please see below:

 

Nevertheless,  State Bar of California membership record provides that Chris Young is still an employee of KVN, please see below:

 

 

 

Jon Streeter

Sources close to the inquiry, speaking on condition of anonymity, maintain the multi-prong inquiry into Jon Streeter and Keker & Van Nest is rapidly expanding and encompasses broader inquiries than had been acknowledged, with "major breakthroughs” the sources describe as "alarming.”

More specifically, TLR has learned that special consideration is afforded to the examination of the relationship between Jon Streeter and the campaign for Barack Obama around 2007-2008, as well as subsequent actions (and/or lack thereof)  taken by Keker & Van Nest and Jon Streeter.

 

 

 

 

 

Above (L-R) Mr. David Werdegar of IOA; State Bar of California BOG Member Jeannine English; Mr. Thomas Girardi of embattled Voice of OC; Executive Director of State Bar of California Joe Dunn of embattled Voice of OC; California Supreme Court Associate Justice Hon. Kathryn Werdegar; really special prosecutor in matter of In Re Girardi and controversial judicial aspirant Prof. Rory Little; controversial gambling attorney Howard Dickstein (spouse of Jeannine English and a client of Keker & Van Nest), MoFo's James Brosnahan of embattled Voice of OC; Keker & Van Nest partner Matthew Werdegar - son of David and Kathryn Werdegar; Keker & Van Nest partner Jan Little (spouse of Rory Little); Keker & Van Nest partner Elliot Peters -- attorney for Howard Dickstein; California Democratic Party operative and mentor to Willie Brown's former paramour -- Mr. John Keker; Keker & Van Nest partner, attorney for Howard Dickstein, controversial judicial aspirant, and President of the State Bar of California -- Mr. Jon Streeter. (Image:courtesy photo)

 

 

CaliforniaALL

CaliforniaALL -- entity created by Morrison & Foerster obtained "hush-hush" sub-rosa award of $774,247 from the Foundation of the State Bar of California (AKA California Bar Foundation)

 

(L-R) Honoring Jeffrey Bleich 2007 Dinner Chairman James Brosnahan, Mark Bostick, Honoree Jeffrey Bleich (AKA Renaissance Superman), Ninth Circuit Judge William A. Fletcher -- a FOB (friend of Bill Clinton) who served as Clinton's campaign manager in Northern-California.

Mr. James J. Bronsnahan of Morrison & Foerster: "I was suddenly elevated from an infrequent contributor to Demo­cratic politicians to being the mastermind behind the Democratic Party.”

Morrison & Foerster Team (L-R) Ms. Dian Grueneich — Former Commissioner with California Public Utilities Commission ("CPUC”); Mr. Raj Chatterjee — current board member of the Foundation of State Bar of California (DBA California Bar Foundation, entity headed by Arnold & Porter's Douglas Winthrop formerly of Howard Rice which represented PG&E ; Ms. Susan Mac Cormac — part of MoFo's legal team which created CaliforniaALL. Mr. Tony West – a "mentee” of Willie Brown and CaliforniaALL's Kamala Harris brother-in-law; Mr. James J. Brosnahan — original member of the BOD at Joe Dunn's Voice of OC. Brosnahan represented El Paso Corp during California Energy Crisis opposing Pierce O'Donnell, Joe Cotchett, and Thomas Girardi who also served as original BOD member at Joe Dunn's Voice of OC, alongside Martha Escutia. Ms. Annette Carnegie, formerly member of the board of California Bar Foundation during the Hush-Hush subrosa transfer of $780,000 to CaliforniaALL; Ms. Diane Pritchard who practiced extensively before the CPUC while at MoFo.

 

In 2008, California Bar Foundation quietly transferred $780,000.00 to CaliforniaALL. CaliforniaALL never acknowledged receipt of the $780,000.00 from the Cal Bar Foundation in any of its publications, although it did acknowledge the transfer on its IRS tax returns. Likewise, California Bar Foundation never acknowledged the largest grant it ever bestowed in its newsroom, the California Bar Journal, or similar publications; it did, however, recognize the transfer on its IRS returns, and in a 2 by 2 inch blurb in its annual report.

See below Cal Bar Foundation newsroom which makes no mention of the subrosa transfer of funds.

 

 

In 2008, serving as President of the Foundation was Mario Camara. A joint letter published and signed by Camara and Hatamiya also made no mention of the hush-hush transfer. Wasn't Mr. Camara proud of it, just like he was proud of other money which went to support "pipelines?” After all, CaliforniaALL was also intended to support "pipelines”. See below:

 

Below an image taken from CaliforniaALL own newsletter which alludes to the fact that the State Bar of California is a "Founding Partner” of CaliforniaALL. Stingy with credit and despite the transfer of close to $780,000 from the California Bar Foundation to CaliforniaALL, only utility companies are listed as "Founding Funders.” See below:

 

 

 

 

Members of CaliforniaALL board of directors and advisory council, see below:

 

 

 

It now appears that RICO defendants Alan Rothenberg and Eric George (owners of Los Angeles-based 1st Century Bank) will be represented by the law-firm of Abelson & Herron in litigation filed against them and others in Orange County Superior Court.

Abelson & Herron sells itself as "a small firm with big firm attorneys." Hence, one would expect a minimal level of professionalism and competency from Abelson & Herron and more specifically from "of counsel" Lisa Von Eschen. Not so.

Information obtained by The Leslie Brodie Report points to the following:

Eric George missed his deadline to file an answer to the suit, and only did so after a request for entry of default was submitted.

Additionally, rather then filing a verified answer to the verified complaint, Abelson & Herron filed a general denial alleging, among others, that the plaintiff is actually at fault since he had breached a residential contract with Eric George.

Later -- and despite the fact that Eric George appeared in the action by virtue of filing a general denial relating to an imaginary real estate contract between himself and the plaintiff -- Lisa Von Eschen still maintained that Eric George would not appear for an upcoming scheduled videotaped deposition because he had not been served with the complaint.

Eric George (son of Ronald George) and Alan Rothenberg, both of whom have strong ties to Bet Tzedek Legal Services of Los Angeles, stand accused (along with Holly Fujie) of masterminding a scheme by which some of the funds obtained from the California Bar Foundation and the State Bar of California totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars were embezzled.

As previously mentioned, serving along with Holly Fujie on the State Bar of California Legal Services Trust Fund Commission are Bet Tzedek board member David Lash of O’Melveny & Myers and, shockingly, Bonnie Rubin -- vice president of 1st Century Bank who sources maintain are also likely to be named as defendants in the suit.

 

DEVELOPING STORY .....

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Mr. Jeff Novitzky, an FDA agent better known as the government's "steroid cop.”  Novitzky is a former IRS agent who participated in the investigations of Rogers Clemens and convicted felon Barry Bonds.  During the investigation of controversial Lance Armstrong, both Novitzky and 60 Minutes' Scott Pelley were the subject of false and malicious accusations courtesy of Armstrong's legal team of Keker & Van Nest.   Despite the existence of more plausible and likely explanations regarding the source of alleged leaks (such as, arguendo, Assistant US Attorney Angela Davis and/or former Assistant US Attorney Jayne Kim  -- both confederates of Keker & Van Nest's Jon Streeter) John Keker and Elliot Peters persisted with the attack on the government and Novitzky.  John Keker vexatiously alleged: "While Armstrong has received assurances that the Assistant United States Attorneys involved in the case are not the source of the leaks, it is clear that someone within the government is responsible. There is no other reasonable explanation."   An inappropriate and reckless John Keker further alleged "we know Novitzky and plan to prove that these are his repeated, illegal leaks aimed solely at destroying a true hero."   The Leslie Brodie Report intends to familiarize Jeff Novitzky with the complex events /enmeshment of  John Keker, Tony West, Kamala Harris, and Jon Streeter in connection with sham non-profit entity CaliforniaALL / Voice of OC  for the possibility  that John Keker and Elliot Peters  may have  "blackmailed" Tony West to halt the investigation/prosecution of Lance Armstrong. See relevant background stories  HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE (Image:courtesy photo)

 

 

(L-R) Hon. Eric Holder - US Attorney General ; Tony West - Acting Associate Attorney General, the third highest official at the United States Department of Justice ; André Birotte Jr. - US Attorney for the Central District of California ; Jon Streeter of Keker & Van Nest -- President of the State Bar of California.   Streeter -- in his role as president of the State Bar of California --  is currently  in the process of 1) continuing to cover-up grave misconduct relating to the appointment of Jerome Falk -- attorney who represented Thomas Girardi in a malpractice action -- to act as "special prosecutor"  against Thomas Girardi in the matter of In Re Girardi, per an order issued by the Ninth Circuit.  2) cover-up grave misconduct relating to sham non-profit entity CaliforniaALL / Voice of OC .  As  was stated previously,  a red flag has  been raised over Tony West, James Brosnahn, and Morrison & Foerster due to the overall circumstances surrounding  the misappropriation of 780,000 from the Cal Bar Foundation, as well as  events relating to the California Energy Crisis, Pierce O'Donnell, Thomas Girardi, James Brosnahan,  Martha Escutia, Joe Dunn and Voice of OC.

 

(L-R) John Keker, Kamala Harris, Maya Harris, Tony West and Willie Brown.  John Keker is a long time mentor of Kamala Harris who is the sister of Maya Harris who is married to Tony West who is  "mentee" of Willie Brown who is Kamala Harris' former paramour. (Sources please see HERE and HERE and HERE)

 

 

BALCO TACTIC -- criminal defense team orchestrates  leaks of confidential information for the sole purpose of accusing  government agents of same i.e. attorney Troy Ellerman

 

(L-R) Keker & Van Nest partners Elliot Peters, John Keker, Jon Streeter, and client Lance Armstrong.  Keker & Van Nest in general and Peters in particular are not strangers to The Leslie  Brodie Report given a chronic and vexatious propensity to mislead and exaggerate, such as was the case with client Howard Dickstein.  In connection with the Lance Armstrong investigation, Keker and Peters, falsely and maliciously, accused  news outlet "60 Minutes”  and correspondent Scott Pelley of  "demonstrable falsehood that you recklessly presented, and then bolstered with other untrue assertions and facts taken out of context.”  Needless to say, "60 Minutes” stood by its story as "truthful, accurate and fair." Similarly, and continuing to act with impunity, Duo Keker/Peters accused Federal investigator Jeff Novitzky of leaking documents. Despite the existence of more plausible explanations to the source of the leaks (such as, arguendo, Assistant US Attorney Angela Davis --an ally and confederate of Keker & Van Nest's Jon Streeter) John Keker stated falsely "we know Novitzky and plan to prove that these are his repeated, illegal leaks aimed solely at destroying a true hero." (image:courtesy)

 

Mr. Chris Young of Keker & Van Nest (formerly of Morrison & Foerster).  During the 2008 election, Young served as Barack Obama's Northern California Deputy Finance Director and as National Campaign's Northern California representative.  USDOJ's Tony West (of Morrison & Foerster) served as Co-Chair, California Finance Cmt.  Recently, Keker & Van Nest abruptly removed Young's name from the roll of lawyers associated with the firm.  Both Tony West and Chris Young are under heavy scrutiny in connection with events surrounding Lance Armstrong and sham non-profit entity CaliforniaALL.  Separately, Chris Young and Jon Streeter (both of Keker & Van Nest) are under heavy scrutiny in connection with a separate scheme Keker & Van Nest had concocted to serve its own narrow interest, as well as the interests of Tony West. Please see developing story HERE

 

 

 

(L) Ms. Angela Davis -- Assistant US Attorney to André Birotte and former member of the State Bar of California Board of Governors.  Davis is loosely associated with the Girardi Syndicate which controls the State Bar of California vis-a-vis individuals such as Tom Layton, Joe Dunn of Voice of OC, Ronald George, Beth Jay, Eric George, and Holly Fujie.  In September of 2011, Davis was selected by the State Bar  of California BOG (headed by Jon Streeter of Keker & Van Nest and executive director Joe Dunn of Voice of OC -- a lackey of Thomas Girardi) to join the Judicial Council of California.  Also selected was Mark Robinson of Robinson Calcagnie Robinson -- where Joe Dunn previously served as partner.  Unfortunately, Davis is part of a growing and disturbing trend by which mediocrity is now the new norm within the US Department of Justice. (R)  Ms. Jayne Kim, who from 2008 to 2011 served as  Assistant U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles.  In September of 2011, Kim was hired by the State Bar of California (i.e. Joe Dunn, Jon Streeter of Keker & Van Nest)  to serve as interim chief trial counsel.

Betsy and Frankie Andreu.  Betsy, who with her husband and former Armstrong teammate, Frank, accused the cycling champion of doping, said she was shocked by Birotte's decision.  "Our legal system failed us," she said. "This is what happens when you have a lot of money and you can buy attorneys who have people in high places in the Department of Justice." (Image:courtesy photo)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Derek Anthony West (AKA Tony West) Acting Associate Attorney General, the third highest official at the United States Department of Justice. He joined Morrison & Foerster in 2001. While at MoFo, West represented "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh alongside partners James Brosnahan and Raj Chatterjee. West's sister-in-law -- Ms. Kamala Harris -- is the California attorney general who was part of sham non-profit entity CaliforniaALL.  As matters presently stand, it appears that Jeffrey Bleich (founding member and Chair of Barack Obama's National Finance Committee) and Tony West (formerly of Morrison & Foerster and Barack Obama's Chair of California Finance Committee) executed a sophisticated financial scheme to misuse the $780,000 originating from the Foundation of the State Bar of California by improperly transferring the money to Barack Obama's coffers via a separate foundation created ad hoc by Morrison & Foerster dubbed CaliforniaALL. Specifically, Susan Mac Cormac and Eric Tate assisted with the legal aspects of creating the entity per instruction from James Brosnahan -- the self-proclaimed "mastermind behind the Democratic Party."

 

Above (L-R) Mr. David Werdegar of IOA; State Bar of California BOG Member Jeannine English; Mr. Thomas Girardi of embattled Voice of OC; Executive Director of State Bar of California Joe Dunn of embattled Voice of OC;  California Supreme Court Associate Justice Hon. Kathryn Werdegar; really special prosecutor in matter of In Re Girardi and controversial judicial aspirant Prof. Rory Little; controversial gambling attorney Howard Dickstein (spouse of Jeannine English and a client of Keker & Van Nest), MoFo's James Brosnahan of embattled Voice of OC; Keker & Van Nest partner Matthew Werdegar - son of David and Kathryn Werdegar; Keker & Van Nest partner Jan Little (spouse of Rory Little); Keker & Van Nest partner Elliot Peters -- attorney for  Howard Dickstein; California Democratic Party operative and mentor to Willie Brown's former paramour -- Mr. John Keker; Keker & Van Nest partner, attorney for Howard Dickstein, controversial judicial aspirant, and President of the State Bar of California -- Mr. Jon Streeter.

 

A longtime champion of justice is gravely ill at a San Francisco hospital, The Leslie Brodie Report has learned.

Phil Kay, who has been clinging to life for the past month, is still on life support and is surrounded by family.

Kay, a well-known plaintiffs' attorney, gained famed for his role as the lawyer who beat Jerome Falk of Howard Rice in the case of Reena Weeks vs. Baker McKenzie.

The verdict in that case sent shock waves reverberating throughout the legal community that sexual harassment and discrimination of female lawyers and staff will not be tolerated.

Kay is married to Robina Kay, who sources describe as "the best paralegal in California."