Here is yesterday's opinion from the D.C.Circuit in United States v. David Safavian. The former Jack Abramoff friend and colleague was convicted upon retrial, after the appellate court threw out the original convictions on various grounds. The primary contention in the latest appeal was vindictive prosecution, as new charges were added after the remand. The Court held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding that the government added the new charges to counter Safavian's literal truth defense. Safavian's alleged felonious conduct was incredibly petty and minor in nature. The prosecution was a tremendous waste of government resources.

(wisenberg)