The case involved two Black defendants and a White alleged victim, who told the all-White jury, “If my gun had not stuck, those two [n-word] wouldn’t be here in court today.”

“I can still hear him saying that,” Howard told CNN.

Howard said that incident spurred him to become a prosecutor.

Today, as district attorney for Fulton County, Georgia’s most populous county, Howard is no stranger to high-profile cases. Lately, however, Howard himself has been the center of national attention after he swiftly charged two White Atlanta police officers in the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks, a Black man.

Brooks’s death has reignited nationwide protests over race and policing that were sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

But the charges have also drawn accusations that Howard — whose ongoing campaign for another term in office is already dogged by controversy — charged the officers for political benefit.

Howard denies these allegations.

As he dodges criticism amid a run for a 7th term, here are five things to know about Howard.

He is Georgia’s first Black elected district attorney

Howard was elected to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office in 1996, becoming Georgia’s first elected African American district attorney.

When Howard took office in January 1997, he said the county and Atlanta were “beset with crime.” He vowed to reduce it.

Today Howard touts a higher conviction rate, which he says is 92%. His office has created several prosecution units, including those focused on crimes against women and children, white collar crime and cold cases.

Howard has established programs to prevent crime and reduce recidivism rates. The latest is Project Level Up, a program with the public defender’s office and the juvenile court system that focuses on repeat juvenile offenders.

Another Howard initiative includes the Conviction Integrity Unit, which reviews cases and overturns wrongful convictions. This year, an inmate serving a life sentence on a drug offense was released after two decades in prison.

Howard said the rates of violent crime and overall crime in Atlanta have dropped significantly since he took office. Howard also said he has reduced the Fulton County jail population by half since taking office, saving taxpayers millions of dollars.

He’s prosecuted high-profile cases, including Ray Lewis’ murder trial

One well known case from early in his 23-year tenure was the trial of NFL player Ray Lewis, who was charged with murder along with two companions in connection with the deaths of two men following a post-Super Bowl celebration in early 2000.

By many accounts, the trial did not go well for Howard. His office eventually dropped the murder charges against Lewis, who pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and agreed to testify against his two co-defendants. In the end, both were acquitted.

“The story of that case is a great example of what happens when a prosecutor rushes to judgment without having all the facts,” said Page Pate, a Georgia criminal defense attorney.

Howard dismissed claims he rushed the case. “It could be 10 years down the road, and that’s what a defense attorney will say: ‘You rushed to judgment,'” Howard said.

The Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal, one of US public education’s largest ever, represents another prominent case for Howard. Eleven of 12 defendants — including executive administrators, a principal and four teachers — were convicted of racketeering and other charges.

“He got a lot of criticism about bringing that case, about prosecuting those teachers,” said Pate, who represented one of the teachers. But Pate also credits Howard for how he allowed his prosecutors to handle the case, including then-prosecutor Fani Willis, who is now running to unseat her former boss.

He’s in a runoff election for his 7th term

Howard is fighting to keep his office.

He’s in a run-off election against Willis after he came in second in the Democratic primary earlier this month — he obtained 35% of the vote to Willis’s 42%. In Georgia, elections go into a run-off if no candidate collects 50% of the vote in a primary.

Howard’s performance, coupled with the speedy charges against Atlanta police officers, has resulted in accusations he charged the officers in the Brooks case because it could benefit him politically.

In a statement last week, the Georgia Sheriff’s Association called the charges a “grandstanding vote-seeking tactic,” and said they were “more about (Howard’s) re-election than justice for the officers involved, the Atlanta Police Department and the citizens of our state.”

Pate likened the case to a “political gift” for Howard. “He is running as fast as he can to make prosecutorial decisions that may at the end of the day be the correct decisions,” Pate said, “But make no mistake, the timing is driven by the politics.”

‘);$vidEndSlate.removeClass(‘video__end-slate–inactive’).addClass(‘video__end-slate–active’);}};CNN.autoPlayVideoExist = (CNN.autoPlayVideoExist === true) ? true : false;var configObj = thumb: ‘none’,video: ‘us/2020/06/18/paul-howard-atlanta-brooks-police-charges-wolf-intv-sot-tsr-vpx.cnn’,width: ‘100%’,height: ‘100%’,section: ‘domestic’,profile: ‘expansion’,network: ‘cnn’,markupId: ‘body-text_39’,theoplayer: allowNativeFullscreen: true,adsection: ‘const-article-inpage’,frameWidth: ‘100%’,frameHeight: ‘100%’,posterImageOverride: “mini”:”width”:220,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/200618173238-paul-howard-tsr-small-169.jpg”,”height”:124,”xsmall”:”width”:307,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/200618173238-paul-howard-tsr-medium-plus-169.jpg”,”height”:173,”small”:”width”:460,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/200618173238-paul-howard-tsr-large-169.jpg”,”height”:259,”medium”:”width”:780,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/200618173238-paul-howard-tsr-exlarge-169.jpg”,”height”:438,”large”:”width”:1100,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/200618173238-paul-howard-tsr-super-169.jpg”,”height”:619,”full16x9″:”width”:1600,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/200618173238-paul-howard-tsr-full-169.jpg”,”height”:900,”mini1x1″:”width”:120,”type”:”jpg”,”uri”:”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/200618173238-paul-howard-tsr-small-11.jpg”,”height”:120,autoStartVideo = false,isVideoReplayClicked = false,callbackObj,containerEl,currentVideoCollection = [],currentVideoCollectionId = ”,isLivePlayer = false,mediaMetadataCallbacks,mobilePinnedView = null,moveToNextTimeout,mutePlayerEnabled = false,nextVideoId = ”,nextVideoUrl = ”,turnOnFlashMessaging = false,videoPinner,videoEndSlateImpl;if (CNN.autoPlayVideoExist === false) autoStartVideo = false;if (autoStartVideo === true) if (turnOnFlashMessaging === true) autoStartVideo = false;containerEl = jQuery(document.getElementById(configObj.markupId));CNN.VideoPlayer.showFlashSlate(containerEl); else CNN.autoPlayVideoExist = true;configObj.autostart = CNN.Features.enableAutoplayBlock ? false : autoStartVideo;CNN.VideoPlayer.setPlayerProperties(configObj.markupId, autoStartVideo, isLivePlayer, isVideoReplayClicked, mutePlayerEnabled);CNN.VideoPlayer.setFirstVideoInCollection(currentVideoCollection, configObj.markupId);videoEndSlateImpl = new CNN.VideoEndSlate(‘body-text_39’);function findNextVideo(currentVideoId) var i,vidObj;if (currentVideoId && jQuery.isArray(currentVideoCollection) && currentVideoCollection.length > 0) for (i = 0; i 0) videoEndSlateImpl.showEndSlateForContainer();if (mobilePinnedView) mobilePinnedView.disable();callbackObj = {onPlayerReady: function (containerId) {var playerInstance,containerClassId = ‘#’ + containerId;CNN.VideoPlayer.handleInitialExpandableVideoState(containerId);CNN.VideoPlayer.handleAdOnCVPVisibilityChange(containerId, CNN.pageVis.isDocumentVisible());if (CNN.Features.enableMobileWebFloatingPlayer &&Modernizr &&(Modernizr.phone || Modernizr.mobile || Modernizr.tablet) &&CNN.VideoPlayer.getLibraryName(containerId) === ‘fave’ &&jQuery(containerClassId).parents(‘.js-pg-rail-tall__head’).length > 0 &&CNN.contentModel.pageType === ‘article’) playerInstance = FAVE.player.getInstance(containerId);mobilePinnedView = new CNN.MobilePinnedView(element: jQuery(containerClassId),enabled: false,transition: CNN.MobileWebFloatingPlayer.transition,onPin: function () playerInstance.hideUI();,onUnpin: function () playerInstance.showUI();,onPlayerClick: function () if (mobilePinnedView) playerInstance.enterFullscreen();playerInstance.showUI();,onDismiss: function() CNN.Videx.mobile.pinnedPlayer.disable();playerInstance.pause(););/* Storing pinned view on CNN.Videx.mobile.pinnedPlayer So that all players can see the single pinned player */CNN.Videx = CNN.Videx if (Modernizr && !Modernizr.phone && !Modernizr.mobile && !Modernizr.tablet) if (jQuery(containerClassId).parents(‘.js-pg-rail-tall__head’).length) videoPinner = new CNN.VideoPinner(containerClassId);videoPinner.init(); else CNN.VideoPlayer.hideThumbnail(containerId);},onContentEntryLoad: function(containerId, playerId, contentid, isQueue) CNN.VideoPlayer.showSpinner(containerId);,onContentPause: function (containerId, playerId, videoId, paused) if (mobilePinnedView) CNN.VideoPlayer.handleMobilePinnedPlayerStates(containerId, paused);,onContentMetadata: function (containerId, playerId, metadata, contentId, duration, width, height) var endSlateLen = jQuery(document.getElementById(containerId)).parent().find(‘.js-video__end-slate’).eq(0).length;CNN.VideoSourceUtils.updateSource(containerId, metadata);if (endSlateLen > 0) videoEndSlateImpl.fetchAndShowRecommendedVideos(metadata);,onAdPlay: function (containerId, cvpId, token, mode, id, duration, blockId, adType) /* Dismissing the pinnedPlayer if another video players plays an Ad */CNN.VideoPlayer.dismissMobilePinnedPlayer(containerId);clearTimeout(moveToNextTimeout);CNN.VideoPlayer.hideSpinner(containerId);if (Modernizr && !Modernizr.phone && !Modernizr.mobile && !Modernizr.tablet) if (typeof videoPinner !== ‘undefined’ && videoPinner !== null) videoPinner.setIsPlaying(true);videoPinner.animateDown();,onAdPause: function (containerId, playerId, token, mode, id, duration, blockId, adType, instance, isAdPause) if (mobilePinnedView) CNN.VideoPlayer.handleMobilePinnedPlayerStates(containerId, isAdPause);,onTrackingFullscreen: function (containerId, PlayerId, dataObj) CNN.VideoPlayer.handleFullscreenChange(containerId, dataObj);if (mobilePinnedView &&typeof dataObj === ‘object’ &&FAVE.Utils.os === ‘iOS’ && !dataObj.fullscreen) jQuery(document).scrollTop(mobilePinnedView.getScrollPosition());playerInstance.hideUI();,onContentPlay: function (containerId, cvpId, event) var playerInstance,prevVideoId;if (CNN.companion && typeof CNN.companion.updateCompanionLayout === ‘function’) CNN.companion.updateCompanionLayout(‘restoreEpicAds’);clearTimeout(moveToNextTimeout);CNN.VideoPlayer.hideSpinner(containerId);if (Modernizr && !Modernizr.phone && !Modernizr.mobile && !Modernizr.tablet) if (typeof videoPinner !== ‘undefined’ && videoPinner !== null) videoPinner.setIsPlaying(true);videoPinner.animateDown();,onContentReplayRequest: function (containerId, cvpId, contentId) if (Modernizr && !Modernizr.phone && !Modernizr.mobile && !Modernizr.tablet) if (typeof videoPinner !== ‘undefined’ && videoPinner !== null) videoPinner.setIsPlaying(true);var $endSlate = jQuery(document.getElementById(containerId)).parent().find(‘.js-video__end-slate’).eq(0);if ($endSlate.length > 0) $endSlate.removeClass(‘video__end-slate–active’).addClass(‘video__end-slate–inactive’);,onContentBegin: function (containerId, cvpId, contentId) if (mobilePinnedView) mobilePinnedView.enable();/* Dismissing the pinnedPlayer if another video players plays a video. */CNN.VideoPlayer.dismissMobilePinnedPlayer(containerId);CNN.VideoPlayer.mutePlayer(containerId);if (CNN.companion && typeof CNN.companion.updateCompanionLayout === ‘function’) CNN.companion.updateCompanionLayout(‘removeEpicAds’);CNN.VideoPlayer.hideSpinner(containerId);clearTimeout(moveToNextTimeout);CNN.VideoSourceUtils.clearSource(containerId);jQuery(document).triggerVideoContentStarted();,onContentComplete: function (containerId, cvpId, contentId) if (CNN.companion && typeof CNN.companion.updateCompanionLayout === ‘function’) CNN.companion.updateCompanionLayout(‘restoreFreewheel’);navigateToNextVideo(contentId, containerId);,onContentEnd: function (containerId, cvpId, contentId) if (Modernizr && !Modernizr.phone && !Modernizr.mobile && !Modernizr.tablet) if (typeof videoPinner !== ‘undefined’ && videoPinner !== null) videoPinner.setIsPlaying(false);,onCVPVisibilityChange: function (containerId, cvpId, visible) CNN.VideoPlayer.handleAdOnCVPVisibilityChange(containerId, visible);};if (typeof configObj.context !== ‘string’ || configObj.context.length 0) configObj.adsection = window.ssid;CNN.autoPlayVideoExist = (CNN.autoPlayVideoExist === true) ? true : false;CNN.VideoPlayer.getLibrary(configObj, callbackObj, isLivePlayer);});CNN.INJECTOR.scriptComplete(‘videodemanddust’);

“I think that’s ridiculous,” Howard told CNN when asked about the claim. He said the case would be his office’s 40th case charging a police officer, nine of which involved the death of someone by police.

Some have complained Howard did not wait for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to complete its investigation in the Brooks shooting. Howard said his office has no obligation to wait.

“The DA’s office is an independent office. We’ve got our own investigators, our own lawyers. So when we get cases, we don’t make decisions based upon what somebody else says,” he told CNN.

One criticism of Howard is he is a micromanager, forcing prosecutors to run decisions through him for his approval, according to Atlanta criminal defense attorney Bruce Harvey, who has represented clients charged by Howard’s office, including one of the defendants in the Ray Lewis case.

Harvey said Howard’s management style is dysfunctional and inefficient, particularly for a DA’s office in a major metropolitan area.

“It affects the community, it affects families and it affects the perception of whether or not justice is being done in the courts and in this community,” said Harvey, who supports Willis and has contributed to her campaign.

Senior Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter, who presided over the cheating trial, said in an email that Howard’s “leadership style” has resulted in lawyers quitting and going to work for other DA’s offices, calling it a “real shame” for the county.

Howard, calling the critique “strange,” said the office changed so a line attorney cannot dismiss a case without a supervisor’s permission. Before, he said, cases got dismissed that shouldn’t have.

“It is the district attorney who has to answer for those cases, and not the line attorneys,” he said.

He’s under investigation by the GBI and has been accused of ethics violations

Complicating his chances of re-election is the fact that Howard is under criminal investigation by the GBI.

GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles told CNN the agency began a criminal investigation of Howard following an April request by the state Attorney General’s office. The GBI would not confirm why it is investigating and declined to comment further.

Howard said he “didn’t have anything to hide.”

Howard has been accused of 14 ethics violations by the state ethics commission after he failed to disclose his roles in non-profit organizations in financial disclosure reports.

According to a complaint by the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, between 2015 and 2019 Howard did not disclose that he was the CEO of two nonprofit organizations, including one called People Partnering for Progress.

Citing tax filings, the ethics commission complaint says over several years Howard paid himself at least $165,000 — supplemental income he never reported in his financial disclosure reports.

In response to the GBI investigation and the ethics complaint, Howard told CNN he believes he will be “totally exonerated.”

Howard said he did not make the disclosures in the financial report because he didn’t know it was necessary and said he has since amended those filings.

Howard confirmed he received the “salary supplements” from the city, and he sent then-Mayor Kasim Reed a letter indicating the money would be “administered by the non-profit.”

“I have not done anything wrong,” he said.

He’s been accused of sexual misconduct and gender discrimination

Howard faces another set of allegations. Three women who work for him, or previously did so, have filed lawsuits accusing Howard of sexual misconduct and harassment and gender discrimination.

In a lawsuit filed in February, Jasmine Younge, Howard’s deputy chief of staff and director of policy and programs, accused Howard of discriminating against her after she told him that she was pregnant and that it was considered high risk.

The lawsuit claims Howard immediately began looking to replace Younge. He excluded her from meetings and reassigned her duties, according to the lawsuit.

Two weeks after Younge notified Howard that she was pregnant, Howard asked for her resignation, the lawsuit says. When she refused, she says she was terminated.

Another lawsuit filed in April alleges Howard used his authority to pressure another employee, Cathy Carter, for sex, including by helping her son “resolve multiple criminal issues.” When Carter relented, she was promoted, the lawsuit says.

This went on because Carter, the lawsuit says, feared retaliation, but when she refused Howard’s alleged advances she was moved to a different office building with a different job.

Another suit, filed in May by human resources director Tisa Grimes, accuses Howard of sexual harassment, alleging he repeatedly made uninvited sexual comments and groped her.

Howard allegedly threatened to remove Grimes from her position while continuing the alleged harassment, the lawsuit says. After Grimes filed an equal employment opportunity complaint against Howard, he sent her to another office building and stripped her of her title and duties as retaliation, according to the lawsuit.

Howard did not address the specifics of each of the lawsuits but said they were politically motivated. Howard pointed out the lawsuits were all filed “within weeks of the general election,” referring to them as “campaign suits.”

“I think people can see through it,” he said. “Guy’s been in office for 23 years and then a month or two before the election these harassment suits are filed.”

“I believe that Atlanta is probably the best place to lead the rest of the world in changing what is going on with policing in this country,” the district attorney said. “And I’m looking forward to being a part of that process.”

For more than three years, expelled University of Southern California (USC) football player Matt Boermeester – embroiled in a Title IX assault accusation case – has been fighting the state legal system just for the chance to have his side heard on a federal level.

Despite a small and rare legal victory, the one-time National Football League (NFL) hopeful says he has a long way to go in his quest for due process in a life derailed by what he deems an unjust “male bias witch hunt.”

“The truth is important because the consequences for me have been so devastating. The truth is all I am seeking here,” Boermeester told Fox News this week. “You don’t realize, you are a kid at the time, that USC is trying to protect itself and its hundreds of millions of Title IX funding, not you as the student.”

Late last month, the California Court of Appeal reversed the trial court decision and overturned Boermeester’s January 2017 expulsion, ruling that his Title IX proceeding was “unfair.”

This paves the way for Boermeester, now 26, to forge ahead with a seven-count federal lawsuit against the prominent university on the grounds of “breach of contract, infliction of emotional distress, negligence and selective enforcement of Title IX,” the federal legislation that outlaws gender-based discrimination in the education system and obliges institutions to pursue investigations around sexual misconduct.

Late last month, the California Court of Appeal reversed the trial court decision and overturned Boermeester’s January, 2017 expulsion, ruling that his Title IX proceeding was “unfair.” This paves the way for Boermeester, now 26, to forge ahead with a seven-count federal lawsuit against the prominent university on the grounds of “breach of contract, infliction of emotional distress, negligence and selective enforcement of Title IX,” the federal legislation that outlaws gender-based discrimination in the education system and obliges institutions to pursue investigations around sexual misconduct.
(Matt Boermeester (provided))

Andrew Miltenberg, an attorney for Boermeester, said it “is clear that USC used a flawed investigation method which included denying Matt the opportunity of real-time cross-examination of witnesses.”

“The next step is to push forward with the federal lawsuit, which has been filed, but we had to put it on hold while the California State Court gave us the right to move forward, which it just did. That suit will go into a discovery which will allow us to depose various witnesses and get to see what was in their (USC) records, which will help us prove this was unfounded, and expose the larger biases in the system,” he continued. “There is a long way to go; we have fought for four years just to get this far. The ruling was an important beginning, but it is not the end.”

Boermeester, then 22, was a member of the USC football team, who kicked the game-winning field goal for USC at the 2017 Rose Bowl.

But just days after the victory, and his first night off crutches after a post-season surgery, Boermeester’s life unraveled.

BRIAN BANKS BIOPIC PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON FALSE RAPE ALLEGATIONS AND THE LIVES IT DESTROYS

According to court documents, in the early hours of Jan. 21, 2017, two USC students heard some commotion and allegedly observed – from a window – Boermeester put his hand on his then-girlfriend Zoe Katz’s neck and push her against a wall near her apartment. One of the students reported this incident to the USC men’s tennis coach – their father – which sparked an investigation, as required by law.

Five days later, Boermeester was charged with “intimate partner violence” – despite the fact that the alleged victim stated on multiple occasions that such conduct never occurred. The honors student was handed a letter informing him of the charges and immediately escorted off campus, ejected with just two classes to go before graduation, suddenly slapped with F’s for other subjects, dropped from the football team, and instantly deemed persona non grata.

“I wasn’t allowed to go to class, I wasn’t allowed to talk to my coaches or teammates, and my eligibility to play had expired. I was completely cut off from everything,” he said. “The school quickly sent me a bill for the two classes I had left; they had already made up their mind that I was guilty.”

The descriptions of the incident from eyewitnesses painted a picture of a rough physical altercation, yet Boermeester contended that he and his then-girlfriend were merely “playing around” and “roughhousing” by throwing McDonald’s fries at one another.

But those few moments have proven to be life-altering.

As a result of the expulsion, Boermeester was unable to complete the two classes needed to receive his degree from USC and unable to resume his role on the USC football team, resulting in irreparable damage to his academic career and derailing aspirations to play in the NFL.

“Based on nothing more than a third-party report by a non-witness–essentially a rumor that was easily and repeatedly disputed–a star athlete lost his education and his future career in the NFL,” Miltenberg continued. “That window of opportunity is very small for an athlete, and now it is gone. Professional sports is absolutely shut down for anyone with a sexual assault mark on their transcript. It doesn’t matter how good they are.”

(USC football game Matt Boermeester, wearing #39 (provided))

Not only could Boermeester not get a look in from other NFL teams, but he was made to forgo a scholarship to another school because of the F grades and the financial hold from the two remaining classes.

“I couldn’t even get a try-out or go to a camp because of the stigma on my name,” the once prominent kicker asserted. “And I couldn’t even graduate.”

Moreover, Katz maintained that she was never abused or mistreated by her partner, but was informed the Title IX office was obligated to investigate and could proceed without her consent. In Boermeester’s words, his then-girlfriend tried to “speak up” on his behalf but was “threatened with tampering with an investigation” and treated as something of a battered victim.

Miltenberg also emphasized that the case against his client was “predicated on unlawful gender stereotypes and motivated by a desire to demonstrate publicly the University’s harsh stance against male perpetrators of sexual misconduct, based on nothing more than a third-party report by a non-witness.”

CALIFORNIA PROFESSOR WHO ASKED STUDENT TO ‘ANGLICIZE’ NAME PUT ON LEAVE

As part of a court filing in the initial lawsuit, USC asserted that its investigation found Boermeester put his hands around Katz’s neck, “causing her to cough, and shoved her into a cinder block wall in the alley near her apartment at least twice” in the early hours of Jan. 21, 2017, and has staunchly maintained its position, citing surveillance video, in the case against Boermeester.

A representative for USC told Fox News in a statement that the school “disagree(s) with the appellate court’s decision and plan to appeal the case to the California Supreme Court.”

According to multiple attorneys interviewed by Fox News on the subject nationwide, more and more cases in a similar vein to Boermeester’s are now gaining traction in the justice system at a time when the Education Department is making sweeping changes to the way such investigations take place.

“The procedures at college campuses still stand out. Appeals like those in the recent Matt Boermeester case in California are becoming more common, as disturbingly deficient records reach appeals courts,” observed David Katz, a former assistant U.S. Attorney. “New rules encourage hearings by such standard, not a mere preponderance. New initiatives sent to campuses are a step in the right direction to try to get away from some colleges’ fawning acceptance and knee-jerk pursuit of accusations.”

Enacted in 1972, Title IX was initially designed to ensure that students have fair access to education without being discriminated against on the basis of sex. But decades later, the Department of Education started to clarify the law’s implications for on-campus sexual harassment and in 2011 – under the Obama administration – further defined that it is the responsibility of institutions of higher education “to take immediate and effective steps to end sexual harassment and sexual violence,” and threatened mass fines and the withholding of critical federal funding should schools fail to adequately fulfill Title IX responsibilities.

However, the controversy surrounding Boermeester’s case is just one of many being brought into the public limelight in the era of “Me Too,” contrasted with the notion of due process remains ripe for contentious debate.

In this Feb. 27, 2020, file photo, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos pauses as she testifies during a hearing of a House Appropriations Sub-Committee on the fiscal year 2021 budget on Capitol Hill in Washington.  
(AP)

Current Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who cited the Boermeester case in her argument for revising federal guidance on campus sexual assault verdicts, recently imposed a number of changes intended to restore due process protections to students accused of wrongdoing. One of the new mandates will also put a stop to the practice of universities launching Title IX investigations without the permission of alleged victims. The department advocated that the changes will “balance the scales of justice on campuses across America.”

“Aside from the increased protections for legitimate victims of sexual misconduct, there were sorely needed protections implemented for those accused to ensure all people are afforded proper access to education,” explained California-based criminal defense attorney, Troy Slaten. “Much like prosecutors around the country, universities understand that students – most of whom are already straddled with staggering debt – don’t have the ability to fight a protracted court battle to vindicate their rights. Universities have nearly limitless resources to take cases through several layers of appeal. As we see in the Boermeester case, he’s been fighting since before 2017 when he was expelled. At that rate, even a win is a loss for him and makes other students feel that they may have rights but with no remedies.”

GET THE FOX NEWS APP

While slated to go into effect for the fall semester, the changes have also garnered significant opposition and steep concerns that the reforms will take campuses back to a time when rape and sexual harassment was carried out with impunity, and subsequently, democratic attorneys from 17 states and the District of Columbia have filed a lawsuit against DeVos in a bid to halt regulations passed last month restricting sexual misconduct cases falling under Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination. The state of New York also submitted its own complaint to the Supreme Court earlier this month, and Democratic Presidential hopeful Joe Biden has pledged to reverse the amendments if elected to the top job in November.

“While I may never get those years back, I won’t stop fighting for the truth in the court of law — or for other young men who may find themselves in my circumstances,” Boermeester added.

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government is using public and private measures to secure the release of two Canadians detained in China for 18 months, who on June 19 were formally charged with espionage in the politically charged case.

Trudeau said he was “very disappointed” with the charges Chinese prosecutors unveiled, while Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland described feeling personally angry at the news.

Former diplomat Michael Kovrig was charged in Beijing on suspicion of spying for state secrets and intelligence. Businessman Michael Spavor was charged in Dandong near the North Korean border on suspicion of spying for a foreign entity and illegally providing state secrets.

Speaking at a press conference in Chelsea, Que., just north of the national capital, Trudeau said the only reason the two are being detained is because of independent judicial proceedings involving Meng Wanzhou, a top executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei who is fighting an extradition request to the United States.

Trudeau said aside from public statements, there is “action behind the scenes in very direct and firm ways” to secure their release.

“We have developed a certain expertise in what has worked to get Canadians home in very difficult circumstances over the past years,” Trudeau said.

“In the case of the two Michaels, I can say that we are using a wide range of public and private measures to ensure that everything is being done to get these Michaels home.”

The two have been held since December 2018, shortly after Canadian authorities arrested Meng at Vancouver’s airport. U.S. authorities want her extradited over allegations she circumvented American sanction on Iran.

The daughter of Huawei’s founder and the company itself deny any wrongdoing. She remains out on bail as hearings at the B.C. Supreme Court continue in her case. A judge rejected the first set of arguments from her lawyers late last month in a bid to set her free.

“We will not, and must not, and cannot interfere in the independence of our judiciary in this country,” Trudeau said.

“The Chinese authorities have directly linked the case of the two Michaels to the judicial proceedings against Ms. Meng, which is extremely disappointing because for us … there obviously are no links except in politics.”

Wrapped up in the case is Huawei’s bid to be a player in Canada’s 5G network, which was put in doubt after Bell and Telus announced partnerships with the Chinese company’s European rivals.

The Liberals have yet to decide whether Huawei will have a role in building the network.

The United States has warned Canada and other allies that it will limit sharing intelligence with countries that have Huawei equipment in their 5G networks — citing its potential use for spying by China, an allegation Huawei denies.

The charges against Spavor and Kovrig were announced June 19 by China’s highest prosecutor’s office in brief social media posts. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said each is charged with “secretly gathering state secrets for overseas forces with particularly serious consequences.”

“The facts are clear and the evidence solid and sufficient,” Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing, without providing further details.

The International Crisis Group, where Kovrig worked at the time of his arrest, said the diplomat regularly interviewed Chinese officials to accurately reflect their views in his reports and had a constructive relationship with Chinese officials.

“This is yet another arbitrary and baseless step in a case that has been arbitrary and baseless from day one,” the group’s chief executive, Robert Malley, said in a statement. “Michael was not endangering China’s security: everything he was doing was in the open and well known to China’s authorities.”

Kovrig and Spavor have had no access to lawyers or their families as of May, with the exception of a phone call the Chinese embassy said Kovrig was allowed to make to his sick father in mid-March. Consular visits have also been suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This arbitrary detention is inhumane,” tweeted Pamela Isfeld, president of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers, which represents Canadian diplomats. She called for the two to be “freed immediately.”

Speaking at a midday press conference on Parliament Hill, Freeland said it was essential to restore consular access to the two men.

“They are a priority for Canadian foreign policy in general, they are a priority for our government in general, they are not forgotten and we are going to continue to work very, very hard for their release,” she said.

Securing their release might be more difficult after Friday because China seems “determined to hold them hostage” for the long-term, but the situation would not be dire if Canada stood firm without demonizing the Chinese, former diplomat Colin Robertson wrote in an analysis for the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

“The Chinese Communist Party does not share our values, and their agents actively engage in subversion and disinformation,” Robertson wrote. “We need to be firm in pushing back and equally firm in speaking out when China flouts its international obligations or takes aggressive action against Canadians and Canadian interests.”

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said the government’s “naive approach to Beijing” has hampered efforts to release Spavor and Kovrig.

“This case should be being dealt with at the highest levels. But Justin Trudeau has repeatedly refused to intervene,” Scheer said in a statement.

NDP foreign affairs critic Jack Harris said it wasn’t enough for the Liberals to say they are advocating for the release of the two men in what he deemed China’s “hostage diplomacy.”

“China must be told that this behaviour is unacceptable and Canada needs to rally the support of like-minded nations to pursue a common strategy to put meaningful pressure on China to end to this practice and to release Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor.”

By Jordan Press

— With files from the Associated Press

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government is using public and private measures to secure the release of two Canadians detained in China for 18 months, who on Friday were formally charged with espionage in the politically charged case.

Trudeau said he was “very disappointed” with the charges Chinese prosecutors unveiled, while Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland described feeling personally angry at the news.

Former diplomat Michael Kovrig was charged in Beijing on suspicion of spying for state secrets and intelligence. Businessman Michael Spavor was charged in Dandong near the North Korean border on suspicion of spying for a foreign entity and illegally providing state secrets.

Speaking at a press conference in Chelsea, Que., just north of the national capital, Trudeau said the only reason the two are being detained is because of independent judicial proceedings involving Meng Wanzhou, a top executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei who is fighting an extradition request to the United States.

Trudeau said aside from public statements, there is “action behind the scenes in very direct and firm ways” to secure their release.

“We have developed a certain expertise in what has worked to get Canadians home in very difficult circumstances over the past years,” Trudeau said.

“In the case of the two Michaels, I can say that we are using a wide range of public and private measures to ensure that everything is being done to get these Michaels home.”

The two have been held since December 2018, shortly after Canadian authorities arrested Meng at Vancouver’s airport. U.S. authorities want her extradited over allegations she circumvented American sanction on Iran.

The daughter of Huawei’s founder and the company itself deny any wrongdoing. She remains out on bail as hearings at the B.C. Supreme Court continue in her case. A judge rejected the first set of arguments from her lawyers late last month in a bid to set her free.

“We will not, and must not, and cannot interfere in the independence of our judiciary in this country,” Trudeau said.

“The Chinese authorities have directly linked the case of the two Michaels to the judicial proceedings against Ms. Meng, which is extremely disappointing because for us … there obviously are no links except in politics.”

Wrapped up in the case is Huawei’s bid to be a player in Canada’s 5G network, which was put in doubt after Bell and Telus announced partnerships with the Chinese company’s European rivals.

The Liberals have yet to decide whether Huawei will have a role in building the network.

The United States has warned Canada and other allies that it will limit sharing intelligence with countries that have Huawei equipment in their 5G networks — citing its potential use for spying by China, an allegation Huawei denies.

The charges against Spavor and Kovrig were announced Friday by China’s highest prosecutor’s office in brief social media posts. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said each is charged with “secretly gathering state secrets for overseas forces with particularly serious consequences.”

“The facts are clear and the evidence solid and sufficient,” Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing, without providing further details.

The International Crisis Group, where Kovrig worked at the time of his arrest, said the diplomat regularly interviewed Chinese officials to accurately reflect their views in his reports and had a constructive relationship with Chinese officials.

“This is yet another arbitrary and baseless step in a case that has been arbitrary and baseless from day one,” the group’s chief executive, Robert Malley, said in a statement. “Michael was not endangering China’s security: everything he was doing was in the open and well known to China’s authorities.”

Kovrig and Spavor have had no access to lawyers or their families as of May, with the exception of a phone call the Chinese embassy said Kovrig was allowed to make to his sick father in mid-March. Consular visits have also been suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This arbitrary detention is inhumane,” tweeted Pamela Isfeld, president of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers, which represents Canadian diplomats. She called for the two to be “freed immediately.”

Speaking at a midday press conference on Parliament Hill, Freeland said it was essential to restore consular access to the two men.

“They are a priority for Canadian foreign policy in general, they are a priority for our government in general, they are not forgotten and we are going to continue to work very, very hard for their release,” she said.

Securing their release might be more difficult after Friday because China seems “determined to hold them hostage” for the long-term, but the situation would not be dire if Canada stood firm without demonizing the Chinese, former diplomat Colin Robertson wrote in an analysis for the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

“The Chinese Communist Party does not share our values, and their agents actively engage in subversion and disinformation,” Robertson wrote. “We need to be firm in pushing back and equally firm in speaking out when China flouts its international obligations or takes aggressive action against Canadians and Canadian interests.”

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said the government’s “naive approach to Beijing” has hampered efforts to release Spavor and Kovrig.

“This case should be being dealt with at the highest levels. But Justin Trudeau has repeatedly refused to intervene,” Scheer said in a statement.

NDP foreign affairs critic Jack Harris said it wasn’t enough for the Liberals to say they are advocating for the release of the two men in what he deemed China’s “hostage diplomacy.”

“China must be told that this behaviour is unacceptable and Canada needs to rally the support of like-minded nations to pursue a common strategy to put meaningful pressure on China to end to this practice and to release Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2020.

— With files from the Associated Press

Jordan Press, The Canadian Press

Note to readers:

China

Get local stories you won’t find anywhere else right to your inbox.
Sign up here

China has charged two detained Canadians with spying, escalating tensions between the two countries following the arrest in Vancouver 18 months ago of a senior Huawei executive wanted on U.S. charges.

Chinese prosecutors said Friday that Michael Kovrig was charged in Beijing on suspicion of spying for state secrets and intelligence.

Michael Spavor was charged in Dandong city near the North Korean border on suspicion of spying for a foreign entity and illegally providing state secrets.

The charges were announced by China’s highest prosecutor’s office in brief social media posts.

Both men have been held since December 2018 in a move seen as an apparent attempt to pressure Canada to release Meng Wanzhou, a top executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei.

China has denied any explicit link between her case and the lengthy detention of the two Canadian men, but outside experts see them as tied and Chinese diplomats have strongly implied a connection.

The daughter of Huawei’s founder was arrested at Vancouver’s airport on Dec. 1, 2018, at the request of U.S. authorities who want her on fraud charges, which she and the company have denied.

Meng is out on bail as hearings are ongoing in B.C. Supreme Court after a judge rejected the first set of arguments from her lawyers late last month in a bid to set her free.

Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes ruled Meng’s alleged offences would constitute a crime in Canada and the case should proceed.

The next round of legal arguments is set to focus on whether Meng’s arrest was unlawful and whether the U.S. records of the case contain misstatements or omissions.

The Chinese embassy in Ottawa denounced Holmes’s decision and called once more for Meng’s immediate release.

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne responded in turn by calling for the release of the two “arbitrarily detained” Canadian men.

Kovrig is an ex-diplomat who was working for the International Crisis Group and Spavor is an entrepreneur who did business in North Korea.

They have been in Chinese prisons since they were arrested nine days after Meng’s arrest.

The conditions under which the two Canadians are being held has been the subject of scrutiny.

Kovrig and Spavor had no access to lawyers or their families as of May, with the exception of a phone call the Chinese embassy said Kovrig was allowed to make to his sick father in mid-March.

At the same time, the embassy said Kovrig and Spavor were being provided with better food to strengthen their immunity against the novel coronavirus.

It said detention centres were closed due to the epidemic, so Kovrig and Spavor were receiving more frequent letters and parcels to ensure their contact with Canadian diplomats in China.

The allegations against Meng, who is Huawei’s chief financial officer, date back to 2013.

The U.S. is seeking to extradite Meng on fraud charges based on allegations she lied to HSBC about Huawei’s relationship with Skycom, a telecommunications company in Iran, putting the bank at risk of violating American sanctions against that country.

But in a case management memo dated June 12, Meng’s lawyers assert their client delivered a presentation to an HSBC banker in Hong Kong that included statements about Huawei’s business activities in Iran, but the statements were omitted from U.S. records of the case.

They argue Meng’s statements provided the bank with “the material facts it needed to know in order to assess whether there was any risk to HSBC in continuing to provide banking services to Huawei, including processing U.S. dollar transactions related to Huawei’s commerce in Iran.”

The tensions between Canada and China have spilled over into trade between the two countries including canola exports from Canadian farmers.

Earlier this month, Huawei’s ambitions to be a player in Canada’s 5G network were very much cast in doubt after two of the country’s three largest telecom companies announced partnerships with the Chinese company’s European rivals.

Bell Canada announced on June 2 that Sweden-based Ericsson will be its second supplier of the radio access network equipment — a major component in fifth-generation wireless networks — following its choice of Finland’s Nokia in February.

Later in the day, Telus Corp., which uses Huawei equipment extensively in its current network, announced that it too had selected Ericsson and Nokia for its 5G network needs.

Huawei is the world’s biggest supplier of network gear used by phone and internet companies.

The announcements come as Ottawa continues its review of Huawei’s role in Canada’s 5G networks over security concerns due to suspicions about the company’s relationship with China’s government.

The United States has warned Canada, the United Kingdom and other allies that it will limit intelligence sharing with countries that have Huawei equipment in their 5G networks — citing its potential use for spying by China, an allegation Huawei denies.

The Associated Press

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Want to support local journalism during the pandemic? Make a donation here.

Get local stories you won’t find anywhere else right to your inbox.
Sign up here

BEIJING — China has charged two detained Canadians with spying, escalating tensions between the two countries following the arrest in Vancouver 18 months ago of a senior Huawei executive wanted on U.S. charges.

Chinese prosecutors said Friday that Michael Kovrig was charged in Beijing on suspicion of spying for state secrets and intelligence.

Michael Spavor was charged in Dandong city near the North Korean border on suspicion of spying for a foreign entity and illegally providing state secrets.

The charges were announced by China’s highest prosecutor’s office in brief social media posts.

Asked what evidence China had against the two, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said only that each is charged with “secretly gathering state secrets for overseas forces with particularly serious consequences.”

“The facts are clear and the evidence solid and sufficient,” Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing. Zhao gave no details.

Both men have been held since December 2018 in a move seen as an apparent attempt to pressure Canada to release Meng Wanzhou, a top executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei.

China has denied any explicit link between her case and the lengthy detention of the two Canadian men, but outside experts see them as tied and Chinese diplomats have strongly implied a connection.

The daughter of Huawei’s founder was arrested at Vancouver’s airport on Dec. 1, 2018, at the request of U.S. authorities who want her on fraud charges, which she and the company have denied.

Meng is out on bail as hearings are ongoing in B.C. Supreme Court after a judge rejected the first set of arguments from her lawyers late last month in a bid to set her free.

Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes ruled Meng’s alleged offences would constitute a crime in Canada and the case should proceed.

The next round of legal arguments is set to focus on whether Meng’s arrest was unlawful and whether the U.S. records of the case contain misstatements or omissions.

The Chinese embassy in Ottawa denounced Holmes’s decision and called once more for Meng’s immediate release.

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne responded in turn by calling for the release of the two “arbitrarily detained” Canadian men.

Kovrig is an ex-diplomat who was working for the International Crisis Group and Spavor is an entrepreneur who did business in North Korea.

They have been in Chinese prisons since they were arrested nine days after Meng’s arrest.

The conditions under which the two Canadians are being held has been the subject of scrutiny.

Kovrig and Spavor had no access to lawyers or their families as of May, with the exception of a phone call the Chinese embassy said Kovrig was allowed to make to his sick father in mid-March.

At the same time, the embassy said Kovrig and Spavor were being provided with better food to strengthen their immunity against the novel coronavirus.

It said detention centres were closed due to the epidemic, so Kovrig and Spavor were receiving more frequent letters and parcels to ensure their contact with Canadian diplomats in China.

The allegations against Meng, who is Huawei’s chief financial officer, date back to 2013.

The U.S. is seeking to extradite Meng on fraud charges based on allegations she lied to HSBC about Huawei’s relationship with Skycom, a telecommunications company in Iran, putting the bank at risk of violating American sanctions against that country.

But in a case management memo dated June 12, Meng’s lawyers assert their client delivered a presentation to an HSBC banker in Hong Kong that included statements about Huawei’s business activities in Iran, and the statements were omitted from U.S. records of the case.

They argue Meng’s statements provided the bank with “the material facts it needed to know in order to assess whether there was any risk to HSBC in continuing to provide banking services to Huawei, including processing U.S. dollar transactions related to Huawei’s commerce in Iran.”

The tensions between Canada and China have spilled over into trade between the two countries as China suspended imports of Canadian canola.

Earlier this month, Huawei’s ambitions to be a player in Canada’s 5G network were very much cast in doubt after two of the country’s three largest telecom companies announced partnerships with the Chinese company’s European rivals.

Bell Canada announced on June 2 that Sweden-based Ericsson will be its second supplier of the radio access network equipment — a major component in fifth-generation wireless networks — following its choice of Finland’s Nokia in February.

Later in the day, Telus Corp., which uses Huawei equipment extensively in its current network, announced that it too had selected Ericsson and Nokia for its 5G network needs.

Huawei is the world’s biggest supplier of network gear used by phone and internet companies.

The announcements come as Ottawa continues its review of Huawei’s role in Canada’s 5G networks over security concerns due to suspicions about the company’s relationship with China’s government.

The United States has warned Canada, the United Kingdom and other allies that it will limit intelligence sharing with countries that have Huawei equipment in their 5G networks — citing its potential use for spying by China, an allegation Huawei denies.

— With files from The Canadian Press

The Associated Press

Note to readers:

State police will be making an announcement this morning in the case of Peter Manfredonia, accused of killing two men and assaulting a third, and holding a fourth man hostage in Connecticut and kidnapping a woman who he brought to New Jersey in late May.

Manfredonia has been held without bond in the Washington County Detention Center in Maryland since he surrendered May 27 to police during an extensive manhunt in the state.

State police will discuss the list of charges expected to be filed against the 23-year-old University of Connecticut student who grew up in Newtown at a press conference at 7 a.m. at Troop C in Tolland.

Manfredonia, an accomplished football player and track athlete at Newtown High School where he graduated in 2015, is a senior at the UConn, where he is a finance and mechanical engineering student.

He was living off campus prior to the crime spree that started the morning of May 22 when he allegedly killed 62-year-old Theodore DeMers in Willington and seriously injured a second Willington resident who police said tried to intervene.

Two days later, a third Willington man reported being held captive by Manfredonia, who stole his guns, food, supplies and his truck during a home invasion, according to police.

A few hours after that, police recovered the stolen truck in Derby, setting off an extensive search that led authorities to a Roosevelt Drive home about a mile away. Police said video surveillance showed Manfredonia walking “directly” toward Nicholas Eisele’s home between 5 and 6 a.m. Sunday. Eisele also graduated Newtown High in 2015 and was described by police as an “acquaintance” of Manfredonia.

By the time police arrived, Manfredonia had allegedly shot Eisele in the head and fled and kidnapped Eisele’s girlfriend in her 2016 Volkswagen Jetta. The woman and the car were recovered later Sunday in New Jersey. Police said the woman was unharmed and returned to Connecticut where she was interviewed by investigators.

Investigators tracked his whereabouts to Pennsylvania and then Maryland where he gave up peacefully on May 27. A spokesperson for his family said that Manfredonia has mental health issues but has never been violent.

Manfredonia waived extradition to Connecticut in a Maryland court the day after his capture. He could also be facing federal charges in the kidnapping of Eisele’s girlfriend who police said Manfredonia brought across state lines.

An NCAA infractions committee on Friday announced penalties against Oklahoma State men’s basketball team stemming from the corruption case involving the team’s former assistant basketball coach, Lamont Evans.

The committee ruled that Evans violated NCAA ethical conduct rules when he accepted between $18,150 and $22,000 in bribes from two financial advisors to influence student-athletes, according to a decision released by the Division I Committee on Infractions.

Evans is one of four coaches charged across the country in 2017, accused of accepting bribes from consultants and agents in exchange for access to the best players. Ten people have been charged across the country.

KOCO 5 reported in 2019 that a lawyer said Evans would plead guilty to a conspiracy bribery charge in New York Federal court.

Click here to read the full news release from NCAA regarding the case.

The committee also announced a list of penalties against the university’s men’s basketball program, including a one-year postseason ban for the team next season. Here’s a full list of penalties:

• Three years of probation.
• A 2020-21 postseason ban for the men’s basketball team.
• A $10,000 fine plus 1% of the men’s basketball program budget (self-imposed by the university).
• A reduction of men’s basketball scholarships by a total of three during the 2020-21 through 2022-23 academic years.
• A reduction of men’s basketball official visits to 25 during the 2018-19/2019-20 rolling two-year period and to 18 during the 2019-20/2020-21 rolling two-year period (self-imposed by the university).
• A prohibition of men’s basketball unofficial visits for two weeks during the fall of 2020 and two weeks during the fall of 2021 (self-imposed by the university). The university also must prohibit unofficial visits for three additional weeks during the fall of 2020, 2021 and/or 2022.
• A prohibition of men’s basketball telephone recruiting for a one-week period during the 2020-21 academic year (self-imposed by the university). The university also must prohibit telephone recruiting for six additional weeks during the probation period.
• A reduction in the number of men’s basketball recruiting person days by 12 during the 2019-20 academic year (self-imposed by the university). The university also must reduce the number of recruiting person days by five during the 2020-21 academic year.
• A 10-year show-cause order for the former associate head coach. During that period, any NCAA member school employing him must restrict him from any athletically related duties unless it shows cause why the restrictions should not apply.
• A prohibition of the men’s basketball staff from participating in off-campus evaluations for three consecutive days during the summer evaluation periods in 2020 (self-imposed by the university).

The Oklahoma State University Department of Athletics has since released a statement, saying it will file an immediate appeal of the NCAA penalties assessed to the men’s basketball program on Friday.

The deadline for filing the appeal is June 20. It will be heard by the Infractions Appeal Committee, the final step in the NCAA infractions process, according to OSU:

“The University is stunned by the severity of the penalties and strongly disagrees with them. The penalties do not align with the facts and are unfair and unjust.

“The NCAA agreed with OSU that Lamont Evans acted alone and for his own personal gain. Evans was terminated by OSU on Sept. 28, 2017, within 72 hours of learning of allegations against him.

“The NCAA also agreed that OSU did not benefit in recruiting, commit a recruiting violation, did not play an ineligible player, and did not display a lack of institutional control. As the report documents, OSU cooperated throughout the process, which lasted two years.

“The NCAA appears to have made an arbitrary decision in the sanctions applied to the institution for the egregious actions committed by a former coach that did not result in any benefit for the University.”

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive

DeAndre Baker is still in Florida, training every day in the hopes that he’ll soon be able to rejoin the Giants.

The Giants, though, have still not welcomed him back. 

And it’s not clear when — or if — they will.

Though the 22-year-old cornerback is out on bail after being arrested in connection with an armed robbery last month, and is even free to travel to New Jersey, his status with the Giants remains unchanged, according to a source familiar with the team’s thinking. Baker was told to stay away from team meetings back on May 17 so he could “focus on his legal issues,” the source said, and he’s still not allowed to participate in any of their video meetings.

When and if that changes probably depends on what the prosecutors in Broward County, Fla. do next, according to Baker’s attorney, Patrick G. Patel. Baker was charged with four counts of armed robbery and four counts of aggravated assault stemming from an incident at a party in Miramar, Fla. on May 13. Patel previously told SNY the case against his client was “complete garbage” and that Baker was the victim of a “shakedown”.

In an interview with SNY on Wednesday, Patel reiterated his position and said he still expects the charges against Baker to be dropped – possibly by the end of this week.

“As soon this dismissal goes (through), he’s going to head back to Jersey and start practicing,” Patel told SNY. “If it becomes a charge, then the NFL will suspend him. So the Giants are really just playing it cool right now, which is the right thing to do. Just do nothing until the state makes a decision on what they’re going to do.”

Video: FNNY: Breaking down Baker, what to do with DeAndre?

Patel said the “general timeline” for prosecutors to make a decision is 30 days from when Baker turned himself in, which was on May 16. That gives them another 12 days to decide whether or not to proceed with the criminal case. Patel, though, said he expects the decision will come in the next few days. And he’s hopeful it will all be resolved before the NFL has to act.

“I think we’ve got the case won, to be honest with you. I think it’s only a matter of time,” Patel said. “But it’s the kid’s life. This kid will get suspended and lose his job, and then the case gets dismissed and what have we done? So everybody’s taking a wait and see approach.”

That does seem to be the approach the Giants are taking, keeping Baker away even though he’s free on $200,000 bail and a judge approved a motion that would allow him to return to New Jersey for work. The Giants, of course, are conducting their offseason virtually like every other team in the NFL, and it’s unlikely they will hold any in-person activities for players until training camp begins this summer. They are tentatively scheduled to open camp on July 29, though that obviously could be delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Patel believes that Baker’s case will be long over by then. He again told SNY that witnesses who identified Baker as the perpetrator of a crime have since recanted their statements to police. And he said he has evidence that Baker was logged in and playing the Madden NFL Football video game at the time the alleged crime and even the gambling that led to it took place.

Even if charges are dropped, the NFL could still punish Baker for violating the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy – and they are investigating the incident that led to his arrest, according to a source. Regardless, Patel again said he believes Baker – who had attitude and work-ethic issues with the Giants last season – has been “scared straight” by this whole experience.

“Hopefully it’s a wake-up call for the young kid,” Patel said. “That’s what he needed. He wasn’t a first-round draft choice as a player last year, you know?”