How T.S. Ellis III became the “Manafort Judge”
Name: Thomas Selby Ellis III
1940 - Born: Bogota, Columbia
1957-1961 Princeton
1961-1966 US Navy
1966-1969 Harvard Law
1970 Oxford
TIMELINE
Jan 3, 1987 – Jan 3, 1989 PRESIDENT = RONALD REAGAN
100th Congress comprised of: Senate: D55-R45 House: D258 – R177 Senate Judiciary Committee chair: CREEPY JOE BIDEN
Mar 6, 1987 Justice Edward Zorinsky dies from a heart attack while threatening to flop back to Dem Party after flipping to GOP in 1975, becoming first Jew to win State-wide election in Nebraska (Footnote: Sang, “I am the Great Pretender, GOP cat dressed as a democrat.” hours before death)
May 1987 Iran Contra Affair Hearing begins in Congress
July 1, 1987 MANAFORT JUDGE - T.S. Ellis III nominated to fill Zorinsky vacancy by Ronald Reagan
July 1, 1987 Senate “Borks” Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork
July 31, 1987 Ellis confirmed by Sen. Judiciary Comm. (THIS IS CREEPY JOE’S COMMITTEE)
Aug 5, 1987 Confirmed via Senate Voice Vote (no records, no noted opposition during Iran Contra, hmm)
2002/3 John Walker Lindh - American Taliban charged with 10 Terrorist Felonies, plea deal/guilty to 2 minor charges, Ellis give 20yrs. Due out May 2019¬¬¬
2006 – Franklin, Rosen, Weissman – Spies for Israel- Ellis gives Franklin 10mos in halfway house. Rosen and Weissman walk free after Ellis makes prosecution impossible for Justice Dept. IN ADDITION TO LETTING SPIES WALK FREE CASE LAW for SECRECY IN TRIALS was CREATED United States v. Rosen decision. [US v ROSEN] “…was a pioneering use of the silent witness rule in a courtroom. The rule allows for sensitive (CLASSIFIED, or otherwise) evidence to be hidden from the public, but available to the jury & counsel, by the use of 'substitution' such as 'key cards'. Most previous attempts by the government to use the rule had been banned by various judges or the case had been settled before trial. Judge Ellis was the first to allow it, although he limited it to 4 minutes of use at trial and devised a 'fairness test' as to whether the rule should be allowed, and to how much it would make the trial 'closed'. Critics worried about the Fifth amendment due process and Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause implications of the use of this rule. In particular, Ellis describes it as a 'partial closing' of the trial, while the sixth amendment guarantees a public trial.”
2006 - Ellis dismissed a lawsuit filed by Khalid El-Masri, a German citizen, against the C_A and three private companies allegedly involved with his kidnapping, transport, and torture in Kabul. Ellis explained his belief that a public trial would "present a grave risk of injury to national security
2007 – Ellis takes Senior Status, serves selectively
2009 - Ellis dismissed a lawsuit against the Blackwater security firm that accused them of allowing the killings of more than 20 Iraqi civilians.