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DOJ asks court to toss Alex Murdaugh appeal on federal financial crimes

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DOJ asks court to toss Alex Murdaugh appeal on federal financial crimes

Federal prosecutors have asked a court to toss Alex Murdaugh’s appeal on federal financial crimes as the convicted killer and fraudster seeks a sentence reduction, according to court documents.

They argued that he signed away his right to appeal the sentence as part of his plea deal, when he admitted to scamming 27 victims and his own law firm out of nearly $11 million over the course of years.

“For more than 15 years, he spun a complex web of exploitation, manipulation and deceit, preying on highly vulnerable victims in pursuit of his own financial gain,” federal prosecutors wrote in a motion to dismiss the appeal filed in federal court Thursday.

ALEX MURDAUGH’S LAWYER SAYS JURORS HEARD WEEKS OF UNRELATED EVIDENCE AS DEFENSE SEEKS NEW TRIAL

Alex Murdaugh reaction after guilty verdict.  (Fox News)

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Murdaugh stole a total of $10,901,547.32 from his own clients and legal partners, routing settlement money to his own bank accounts and later laundering more than half of it, prosecutors wrote. He pleaded guilty to 22 federal financial crimes in September 2023.

U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel handed down a sentence of 40 years in prison for multiple crimes – four sentences of 30 years and four of 20 to run concurrently, plus another 10 years on 14 money laundering counts. Prosecutors had asked for 30 years.

WATCH ‘THE FALL OF HOUSE MURDAUGH’ ON FOX NATION

In the court filings, prosecutors noted that Murdaugh’s plea deal included a partial waiver of his right to appeal – limiting him to raise only a handful of issues: prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective counsel or future changes in the law that would impact his sentence. He accepted the deal “of his own free will because he is guilty.”

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Yet his appeal, according to prosecutors, hinged on two complaints – that the court imposed a “de facto” life sentence without proper review, and that his sentence was “grossly disproportionate” to the crimes.

“Both are barred by the appeal waiver,” prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina wrote to the court.

Murdaugh family poses in formal attire

Alex Murdaugh, right, is shown here with his family in an undated family photo. Jurors found him guilty of killing his wife, Maggie, second from left, and younger son Paul, second from right. (Fox News)

As a result, they argued, the judge should dismiss his appeal.

“If the Court holds that his claims can move forward simply because he couched them in Eighth Amendment terms, every defendant discontent with his sentence could evade his binding and valid appeal waiver just by calling the sentence ‘disproportional,’” prosecutors wrote. “The exception would swallow the rule, and appeal waivers would become meaningless. Murdaugh’s appeal must be dismissed.”

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Attorney Eric Blandstanding with members of the Satterfield family, addresses the court during Alex Murdaugh's sentencing

Attorney Eric Bland, right, standing with members of the Satterfield family, addresses the court during Alex Murdaugh’s sentencing for stealing from 18 clients, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, at the Beaufort County Courthouse in Beaufort, S.C. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool)

Murdaugh is serving a life sentence for killing his wife Maggie, 52, and 22-year-old son, Paul Murdaugh, in June 2021 at the family’s former Moselle estate in Colleton County. He is appealing that conviction and has denied harming his wife or son.

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He pleaded guilty to dozens of financial crimes, however. He also received a 27-year sentence on state charges relating to the fraud and theft.

More than $4 million in Murdaugh’s stolen funds was owed to the family of Gloria Satterfield, a former housekeeper for the disgraced lawyer. He urged her sons to sue his own homeowner’s insurance after she died in his house in February 2018.

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He helped negotiate the settlement and then kept it for himself – never telling her sons the matter had been resolved.



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Fani Willis' disqualification from Trump case has 'overwhelming' impact, legal expert says

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Fani Willis' disqualification from Trump case has 'overwhelming' impact, legal expert says

George Washington University law professor Jonthan Turley said Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was “wrong” to bring the Georgia election interference case against President-elect Trump after a Georgia court disqualified Willis and her team from prosecuting the case on Thursday.

GEORGIA APPEAL COURT DISQUALIFIES DA FANI WILLIS AND HER TEAM FROM TRUMP ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE

JONATHAN TURLEY: The immediate impact of this decision is overwhelming in terms of Willis herself. I mean, this court is basically saying that these cases are not supposed to be sort of vanity projects. You know, you were told by the lower court that you created this appearance of impropriety and the question for the court is why you didn’t remove yourself. Many of us at the time said that most prosecutors would have seen that their continuation of the case was harming the case and harming the public interest. Willis simply refused to give up the ghost and insisted that she wanted to be the lead in this. 

She was wrong to bring the case against Trump. You know, there are some viable claims here. You know, she charged some people with unlawful entry or access to restricted areas. Those are not particularly serious crimes, but they are crimes. She was wrong to go after Trump on this basis. She clearly wanted to engage in lawfare, and that’s one of the reasons why she wouldn’t give up the case. You know, when this issue was first raised, many of us wrote at the time that the correct move was to remove yourself. You selected a former lover as the lead counsel. That violated, in my view, core ethical requirements. He was ultimately disqualified by the court. But Judge McAfee gave her a chance to do the right thing. He said, look, this is your conduct is wrong here and you can remove yourself. Well, he was talking to the wrong person. She had no interest in removing herself. I mean, lawfare is only valuable if you’re the lead warrior, and she was not going to give up that position. 

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Fani Willis — the district attorney for Fulton County, Georgia — previously said the allegations brought against her of having an “improper” romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade were made because she is Black. (Getty Images)

The court did not toss Trump’s indictment entirely, but Willis and the assistant DAs working in her office now have “no authority to proceed.”

“After carefully considering the trial court’s findings in its order, we conclude that it erred by failing to disqualify DA Willis and her office,” the filing states. “The remedy crafted by the trial court to prevent an ongoing appearance of impropriety did nothing to address the appearance of impropriety that existed at times when DA Willis was exercising her broad pretrial discretion about who to prosecute and what charges to bring.” 

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Trump said the “whole case has been a disgrace to justice.” 

“It was started by the Biden DOJ as an attack on his political opponent, Donald Trump,” he said, “They used anyone and anybody, and she has been disqualified, and her boyfriend has been disqualified, and they stole funds and went on trips.” 

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Trump said the case “should not be allowed to go any further.” 

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Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

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Fani Willis' reputation 'damaged' after disqualification from Trump case: Georgia reporter

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Fani Willis' reputation 'damaged' after disqualification from Trump case: Georgia reporter

Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Greg Bluestein told MSNBC on Thursday that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s reputation was “damaged” after a court disqualified her and her office from prosecuting President-elect Donald Trump in the election interference case against him.

“Her reputation is damaged, right? This was an unforced error as we said earlier, and, you know, this was all of her own doing, and now it unravels or might unravel one of the signature cases, not just of her career, but in Georgia. It leaves her damaged and it will be interesting to see what case she tries to make when she is expected to appeal this to the Georgia Supreme Court,” Bluestein told MSNBC’s Ana Caberra when asked about what was next for Willis.

The Georgia Court of Appeals on Thursday disqualified Willis and her team from prosecuting Trump and co-defendants in her election interference case. The court did not toss the indictment but declared that Willis and her team now have “no authority to proceed.” 

Bluestein noted that Willis had just won re-election in Georgia and that it wasn’t a surprise because Fulton County is a Democratic stronghold.

Reporter tells MSNBC Fani Willis’ reputation is damaged after she was disqualified from prosecuting the case against Trump. (Screenshot/MSNBC)

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 FANI WILLIS FACES NOTHING BUT SETBACKS IN CASE AGAINST TRUMP, THE LATEST PENDING WITH SUPREME COURT

“After carefully considering the trial court’s findings in its order, we conclude that it erred by failing to disqualify DA Willis and her office,” the filing states. “The remedy crafted by the trial court to prevent an ongoing appearance of impropriety did nothing to address the appearance of impropriety that existed at times when DA Willis was exercising her broad pretrial discretion about who to prosecute and what charges to bring.” 

Bluestein said, “It is expected to be appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court, but this is a really decisive order against Fani Willis being able to continue this case.”

Willis, who was spearheading the sweeping prosection case against Trump, came under fire after she was accused in February of having an “improper” affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she had hired to help prosecute the case.

Wade was ultimately forced to step down from the prosecution team.

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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is seen in Atlanta.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is seen in Atlanta. (Alyssa Pointer/Getty) (Alyssa Pointer)

JUDGE RULES FANI WILLIS MUST STEP ASIDE FROM TRUMP CASE OR FIRE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR NATHAN WADE

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Trump said the “whole case has been a disgrace to justice.” 

Trump additionally said that the case “should not be allowed to go any further.” 

Catherine Christian, a former assistant Manhattan district attorney, also weighed in on the disqualification on MSNBC.

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“But usually appellate courts defer to the lower court, the trial judge, who fashioned a remedy. He said Nathan Wade, the man she was having an affair with, had to leave so the office could stay, and this court has said, nope. This court said that Judge MacAfee did not really appreciate that her decision-making wasn’t just the indictment. It was who to charge, how to charge it, and that’s at the time when this alleged romantic relationship was going on, and they said that also was one of the reasons why they think it’s more than an appearance of impropriety. It’s a conflict of interest, and not just her, the entire office is disqualified,” Christian said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Fani Willis’ office for comment.

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Navy wife goes viral for surprising husband with hunting trip after his 3-year deployment

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Navy wife goes viral for surprising husband with hunting trip after his 3-year deployment

A Navy aviator was in for a surprise after returning home ahead of Christmas from his third deployment in three years.

Patrick Brennan of western Kentucky has been stationed in Japan since the spring of 2022, serving as a weapon systems officer in an F/A-18 fighter aircraft.

His wife, Cecilia Brennan, told Fox News Digital that her husband often shares with her how he misses his friends and hobbies, specifically hunting.

FLORIDA ARTIST’S PATRIOTIC ANDY WARHOL PIECE FEATURED AT POPULAR EVENT DRAWING THOUSANDS OF VISITORS

Brennan said her husband even mentioned planning a hunting trip sometime next year or in 2026 but that he never expected to take one this year.

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Patrick Brennan was surprised with a hunting trip with his friends after returning home from being stationed in Japan. (Cecilia Brennan)

“I was catching up with his best friends and keeping them in the loop. They told me they were going on their yearly duck hunting trip to Fowl Plains Outfitter. They were thinking about driving from their home in Virginia to Kansas, and I asked if they would want to stop by in Kentucky,” Brennan said.

Fowl Plains Outfitters is located in Great Bend, Kansas, offering duck and goose hunts.

“Turns out, the same time they would be driving through Kentucky happened to be the same time my husband would be back from deployment. I asked if they could make room for one more. It was God’s perfect timing,” Brennan said.

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She packed all of his clothes and hunting gear and “gifted” his belongings to him for Christmas.

Kentucky couple Patrick Brennan Navy soldier goes viral

Cecilia Brennan told her husband his friends were just stopping by before surprising him with a hunting trip. (Cecilia Brennan)

In a video posted to her Instagram, which reached 1.5 million views, Brennan captured the moment she tricked Patrick and told him his friends were stopping at their home to “drop something off.”

The serviceman’s friends are seen entering the house decked out in their hunting gear.

After catching up with the men, Cecilia Brennan takes out her husband’s suitcase to reveal that he is also going on the trip.

“Having his best friends knock on the door was a surprise enough, but to actually be going with him, he was in shock. I still can’t believe we pulled it off,” she said.

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Patrick embarked on a five-day trip with his best friends for duck hunting.

Kentucky couple Patrick Brennan Navy soldier goes viral

‘After all he has sacrificed, he more than deserves a chance to relax and recharge before he dives head-first into family life,’ said Cecilia. (Cecilia Brennan)

Cecilia and Patrick Brennan have a 6-month-old daughter, and Cecila said that for the majority of the year, she and her husband had been apart due to his service to America.

“After all he has sacrificed, he more than deserves a chance to relax and recharge before he dives head-first into family life,” she said.

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She added that she is her husband’s biggest fan, and that includes supporting his hobbies.

“Nothing brings me more joy than knowing he’s happy. And now, we will be having duck for Christmas.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Fowl Plains Outfitters for comment.

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