SC - Paul Murdaugh, 22 and mom Margaret, 52, found shot to death, Islandton, 7 June 2021 #12

[swedeheart]

https://www.fitsnews.com/2022/02/25...tors-grand-jurors-focus-on-law-firm-finances/

Agents investigating the public corruption angle of the ‘Murdaugh Murders’ true crime saga conducted interviews this week with a pair of former interns at the once-prestigious Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth and Detrick (PMPED) law firm – now known as the Parker Law Group.

According to my sources, agents with the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) interviewed two “runners” (one current and one former) for the firm this week as part of the various ongoing investigations into 53-year-old attorney Alex Murdaugh and his network of alleged criminal accomplices.

<snip>

Of interest? Tuten’s name appeared in a deposition tied to the high-profile Mallory Beach civil suit – which was filed in the aftermath of a February 2019 boat crash (and which features Alex Murdaugh as a prominent defendant).

<snip>

What were Harter and Tuten asked? And how did they respond? My sources did not provide much in the way of specific information about their interrogations – although I am informed the two young men took vastly different tacks in responding to investigators.

**********
One particular question posed to both runners involved the delivery of payments – including checks and cash – to various recipients, one of whom is said to be a sitting state lawmaker. My sources declined to identify the lawmaker in question, however the handoff was reportedly described as a “campaign contribution.”

Another payout which raised red flags was reportedly made to a law enforcement officer, although this handoff was reportedly described as a “legitimate settlement” payout.

 

[swedeheart]

All of the phone calls:

 

[LetsSolvIt]

All of the phone calls:

@swedeheart — thanks for these. Seem easier to hear than first time I listened on podcast.

Want to post these on our media thread, too?

 

[LetsSolvIt]

Matt and Seton offer a very interesting dialog with a SC corner in their most recent podcast episode — IMO lots goodies but probably most relevant to us are topics: determining TOD and who is allowed to enter a crime scene. Get my drift?

The Murdaugh Family Murders: Impact of Influence | Episode 44. Crime Scene Discussion With SC Coroner, 25 Feb. 2022

‎The Murdaugh Family Murders: Impact of Influence: Episode 44: Crime Scene Discussion With SC Coroner on Apple Podcasts

 

[girlhasnoname]

Oh what I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall when Alex realized his recorded phone calls were being made public!

If there was any doubt that he, and the entire Murdaugh enterprise IMO, are beyond stupid and entitled, this really did move all doubt.

Let's hope SLED is ready to slap a murder charge on him and anyone else involved soon.

JMO

 

[MoeInVA]

https://www.fitsnews.com/2022/02/23...VIl18AxA2OifrLYJlrgpTxSQ-veXmBvAk2bBH0GXocZqc

Buster and Alex have a disturbing conversation about law school
In the phone calls, it is evident that Alex is determined to get Buster back into law school.

According to multiple sources close to the situation, Buster was asked to leave The University Of South Carolina School of Law after a cheating scandal in 2019.

During several phone calls, Alex asks Buster about his law school

“Did you hear back from the dean?” Alex asked Buster on November 30.

“And, if I don’t hear from him, I might get Butch to see if he can call him and say that I’ve been trying to get in touch with him,” Buster said.

According to our sources, Buster is referring to Butch Bowers here — a high-profile attorney who temporarily represented Donald Trump last year.

“Is Butch paid all the money he was owed?” Buster asked Alex.

<snip>

From the conversation, it seems like Alex has paid Butch Bowers $60,000 to do something in connection with Buster’s readmittance to law school, but it’s not clear what.

Alex encourages Buster to write an email to Dean William Hubbard, a former colleague of Bowers at the politically powerful Nelson Mullins Riley Scarborough law firm.

SMH.

I am a Mandy Matney fan, but I really felt like it was an incorrect and inappropriate LEAP to suggest the Butch payments were related to Buster's re-admittance to law school.

The recording that I heard on the podcast did not support that assertion. To me it sounded like AM just wanted to make sure prior bills/debts with Butch were settled before Buster went to him asking a FAVOR. The money Butch (or his firm) was owed could have been a payment to advocate for Buster's re-admittance, but I think it is much more likely it was for something else entirely. Such as:

1. Retainer for representing Buster in all SLED investigations, including the reopened Stephen Smith case
   
2. Fees for fighting Buster's initial suspension/honor code case/expulsion
   
3. Fees for assisting Buster's girlfriend in addressing bar inquiry
4. Fees for representing/advising Buster in boat lawsuits and/or managing Murdaugh estate
5. Or all of the above.

IMO - If the fees were paid to advocate specifically for Buster's readmittance, then it wouldn't be a favor like they are treating it. It would be in the normal course of his paid duties to his client.

 

[Bekind89]

‘Everybody’s Implicated’: What We Learned From Alex Murdaugh’s Phone Calls To His Brothers

https://www.fitsnews.com/2022/02/24...m-alex-murdaughs-phone-calls-to-his-brothers/

On the same phone call with Randy Murdaugh, who is an attorney at Parker Law Group/ PMPED, Alex discusses a strategy his lawyers are using to help get him out of jail.

“Dick (Harpootlian) came to see me yesterday and told me that they filed a … you know I’ve heard of this too but I didn’t know what it is … do you know what a writ of habeas corpus is?” Alex Murdaugh asked Randy.

“I know it’s something directly to the Supreme Court, but other than that, no idea man,” Randy said.

…

‍

I literally gasped at this.

 

[Luna20]

I literally gasped at this.

Oh what I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall when Alex realized his recorded phone calls were being made public!

If there was any doubt that he, and the entire Murdaugh enterprise IMO, are beyond stupid and entitled, this really did move all doubt.

Let's hope SLED is ready to slap a murder charge on him and anyone else involved soon.

JMO

How could he possibly be so dumb about jail calls? The majority of society knows that. He must have some sort of dissociative disorder. It makes no sense but I’m so glad he didn’t know.

 

[sds71]

@AveryGWilks
Attorneys for Alex Murdaugh are suing the Richland County jail to block the facility from releasing any more of their client's jailhouse calls with his relatives. Filing comes after
@fitsnews
and
@MandyMatney
obtained nearly a dozen calls via FOIA

 

[Diddian]

@AveryGWilks
Attorneys for Alex Murdaugh are suing the Richland County jail to block the facility from releasing any more of their client's jailhouse calls with his relatives. Filing comes after
@fitsnews
and
@MandyMatney
obtained nearly a dozen calls via FOIA

I read that action as "ouch!" - which invites closer scrutiny of what was said and by whom in those calls.

 

[MassGuy]

https://www.fitsnews.com/2022/02/28/attorneys-sue-to-stop-release-of-alex-murdaughs-jailhouse-calls/

Days after FITSNews and the Murdaugh Murders Podcastpublished excerpts from 11 recorded phone calls that Alex Murdaugh made from Richland County Detention Center, Murdaugh’s “Bulldog attorneys” are suing to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

The calls — which were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request from Richland County — give the public a closer look at Murdaugh’s machinations from behind bars and, as it turns out, directly contradict many of the claims that have been made by his attorneys, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, in an effort to gain his release from jail.

Harpootlian and Griffin filed their lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in South Carolina to prevent Richland County from releasing additional jailhouse calls under the Freedom of Information Act, citing the federal wiretapping statue.

Will Folks, founding editor of FITSNews, said Monday evening, ”We believe these are public records — as did the public entity which supplied them to us. We at FITSNews will continue to push for the release of all government records that are not protected under attorney-client privilege.”

 

[Luna20]

https://www.fitsnews.com/2022/02/28/attorneys-sue-to-stop-release-of-alex-murdaughs-jailhouse-calls/

Days after FITSNews and the Murdaugh Murders Podcastpublished excerpts from 11 recorded phone calls that Alex Murdaugh made from Richland County Detention Center, Murdaugh’s “Bulldog attorneys” are suing to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

The calls — which were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request from Richland County — give the public a closer look at Murdaugh’s machinations from behind bars and, as it turns out, directly contradict many of the claims that have been made by his attorneys, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, in an effort to gain his release from jail.

Harpootlian and Griffin filed their lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in South Carolina to prevent Richland County from releasing additional jailhouse calls under the Freedom of Information Act, citing the federal wiretapping statue.

Will Folks, founding editor of FITSNews, said Monday evening, ”We believe these are public records — as did the public entity which supplied them to us. We at FITSNews will continue to push for the release of all government records that are not protected under attorney-client privilege.”

Who’s side of the law is this on?

 

[MerryB]

@AveryGWilks
Attorneys for Alex Murdaugh are suing the Richland County jail to block the facility from releasing any more of their client's jailhouse calls with his relatives. Filing comes after
@fitsnews
and
@MandyMatney
obtained nearly a dozen calls via FOIA

Is there another instance where jail calls have been made public prior to trial?

 

[LetsSolvIt]

Alex Murdaugh’s lawyers seek to block release of jail tapes by Richland County | The Post & Courier, 28 Feb. 2022

<snipped>
Columbia attorneys Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian filed a federal lawsuit Feb. 28 seeking to prevent the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center from releasing any more of Murdaugh’s calls. They argue the facility and its interim director, D. Shane Kitchens, violated a federal wiretapping law that forbids the release of inmate phone calls in response to an open-records request.

The filing comes days after FITSNews.com and the Murdaugh Murders Podcast published transcripts and audio from nearly a dozen Murdaugh calls that they obtained from the jail through a Freedom of Information Act request in January. Such tapes are rarely — if ever — released to the public before a defendant’s trial. [BBM]

The released calls feature Murdaugh discussing finances [BBM] and his ongoing legal problems with his relatives, including his brothers, sister and son Buster. The audio offers a new window into the mindset of a man at the center of an unfolding murder mystery saga …

<snipped> … He repeatedly asks Buster Murdaugh if he has enough money to cover his living expenses, pledging he can borrow money from his brother and pay him back when he is released from jail. [BBM] …

 

[LetsSolvIt]

Alex Murdaugh’s lawyers seek to block release of jail tapes by Richland County | The Post & Courier, 28 Feb. 2022

<snipped> … [Murdaugh] talks in vague terms about his finances and different pools of money. [BBM]

He pleads with relatives to send him and fellow inmates cash to spend at the facility’s canteen.

<snipped> John Marvin stresses that others in Alex Murdaugh’s orbit are being implicated as enablers and co-conspirators in his alleged schemes. John Marvin urges his brother to admit to any allegations that are accurate and clear the names of anyone who wasn’t involved. [BBM] …

 

[MemPat]

Is there another instance where jail calls have been made public prior to trial?

Casey Anthony.

 

[LetsSolvIt]

Attorneys Sue To Stop Release Of Alex Murdaugh’s Jailhouse Calls | FitsNews, 28 Feb. 2022

<snipped> …. some of the calls FITSNews requested were referenced by Creighton Waters of the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office in a memo expressing the state’s opposition to Murdaugh’s request for bond reconsideration in January.

“A review of the jail calls does NOT reveal a broken man reduced to assets of less than $10,000, but rather an experienced lawyer constantly maneuvering to protect and maximize his assets despite his alleged criminal conduct,” Waters wrote. [BBM]

To read more of Waters’ comments on Murdaugh’s calls, click here. …

 

[Colorado303]

Is there another instance where jail calls have been made public prior to trial?

Lori Vallow’s call w/Chad Daybell the day he was arrested, prior to him beong taken into custody. Granted, it was releasex because it was played in his preliminary hearing, but she hasn’t even had hers yet.

 

[Elley Mae]

MURDAUGHSSouth Carolina Judge Agreed To Let Alex Murdaugh Hide Settlement, Deposition Of Alleged Co-Conspirator Shows

https://www.fitsnews.com/2022/03/01...t-deposition-of-alleged-co-conspirator-shows/

….

Some of that transcript

….

Westendorf’s deposition is damning, to say the least.

When asked for comment on the deposition, Bland would only verify that what FITSNews had was authentic, saying “I asked the questions and Chad answered them. He never took the Fifth. If you have it, you can read it.”


Q: So the two settlement hearings that you attended on December 19th, 2018, and then May 13th, 2019, it was just you, Cory, and Alex, and then Judge Mullen?

A: And her clerk was at the first one. And then the second was just Judge Mullen, myself, and Cory Fleming.

Q: So the only difference was there was a clerk at the first one?

A: And Alex. Alex wasn’t at the second one.

Q: So at the second one, who was there?

A: Cory Fleming, me, and Judge Mullen.

Q: You didn’t consent for that caption to be changed, did you?

A: No, sir.

Q: Nobody asked you?

A: Nobody asked me.

Q: And if you were asked, would you take your name off as a plaintiff on that caption for the estate?

A: No, sir.

 

[Elley Mae]

Continued from above

Q: So did you ever find out that the reason they wanted to take the caption off was because Alec didn’t want Mark Tinsley, who was representing Mallory Beach, to find out he was settling a case and paying a lot of money? Did you ever hear that discussion?

A: Repeat your question, please.

Q: Ever hear that discussion that the reason Alec’s name was being taken off that caption was he didn’t want Mark Tinsley, who was suing him, suing his son for the Mallory Beach boating accident, he didn’t want anybody to find out in public record that this kind of money was being paid from his homeowners insurance carrier?

A: The only time I heard that was —

Q: Was in chambers?

A: — in chambers, yes.

Q: At the second settlement conference?

A: Yes. And that’s where —

Q: And Alex wasn’t even there.

A: He wasn’t there.

Q: And that was said to Judge Mullen.

A: From Cory, yes, sir.

Q: And Judge Mullen says, “I understand.”

A: “I understand.”

Q: And Judge Mullen, did you know, had recused herself a month before from the BUI lawsuit — BUI meaning boating under the influence.

A: Sure.

Q: I’m going to show you an order that a month before you had your hearing, she recused herself from hearing anything having to do with Alex Murdaugh in Mallory Beach’s death.

A: I did not.