Chuck Otey’s Pro Bono Barrister for May 18

May 18, 2017 By Charles F. Otey, Esq. Brooklyn Daily Eagle

U.S. President Donald Trump. AP photo

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Donovan Voted Against Trumpcare, But a Bigger Problem Looms: The Inevitable Impeachment of a Renegade President

Brooklyn’s Only GOP Congressman May Have to Decide Trump’s Fate

When U.S. President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey this week, he sent out his loyal staff to misdirect the public by exclaiming, “We did it for Hillary!” and, “Comey was unfair to Hillary!”

Only the most dedicated on the right — and those with a pathological hatred of former President Barack Obama and/or Hillary Clinton — can believe the stuff Fox News is putting out mimicking Trump’s desperate attempts to cover up the firing and his overall failure as president.

It’s clear to the rest of us that Trump fired Comey because the respected FBI director was ordering extra resources to probe the Trump campaign’s collusion with Vladimir Putin during the 2016 election.

Brooklyn has only one Republican member of Congress — Dan Donovan — and we share him with all of Staten Island.

To his credit, Bay Ridge-Staten Island U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan came out strongly against the middle class-milking Trump health care proposition. Yet, we all know the House passed the measure with only two votes to spare, and the battle will renew with vigor when it’s considered by the Senate.

But, posing even more of a problem for the Republican-Conservative lawmaker will be the possibly impeachable acts of an irascible President Trump, who seemingly forgets that he is no longer on television, where he can fire contestants at will.

Comey was the honest, though controversial, leader of the FBI. In this capacity, he was coming up with more and more evidence to prove a suspicious Trump-Putin “bromance.”

When Trump fired him, Comey had served only four years of a 10-year term. Trump’s team fabricated a package of reasons, none of which pass the smell test.

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Trump Will Be Impeached Before 2018 Election

There are millions of people in this country — many of them Trump voters, now likely composing a majority — who already sense his mendacity and his relentless, greedy use of his office for personal and family profit.

When Republican leaders in Washington, D.C. finally get in touch and sense what the voters are learning, there will be a special independent investigator and there will be an impeachment or resignation. (As of this writing, Trump’s approval poll status was a 36 percent and sinking.)

He’ll be exposed as the first presidential candidate who won the election by forging a partnership with a man who allegedly murders at will and has stolen billions from his people.

Donovan won’t ever admit it, but his chances of winning re-election in 2018 would improve significantly if the GOP ticket were headed by President Mike Pence.

Even Pence’s ascendance to the White House following a Trump impeachment could be jeopardized if he took part in the illegal and immoral Russian or Comey firing schemes.

* * *

Trump’s Offense Worse Than Acts of President Nixon

Those who doubt Trump will be impeached should remember that President Richard Nixon was impeached for covering up a third-rate burglary at the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the Democratic National Committee.

At the very least, Trump has obstructed justice by firing the man who was leading the investigation into Trump’s perfidious partnership with Putin. Few crimes are more impeachable than one wherein a president colludes with an enemy who is subverting his election.

Ultimately, Republican leaders in Congress who have been holding their noses at the stench of this presidency will have no choice but to seek his removal.

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New Acting Surrogate Ingram Is a Career Naval Officer and A Scholar in Maritime Law

Few judicial appointments have been as widely well-received as that of Justice John Ingram, who was named acting surrogate of Kings Country.

“This is a wonderful appointment,” said attorney Robert Howe, a veteran practitioner in the Surrogate Court. “Hon. Ingram has shown himself to be an excellent judge and with a lifetime of practical experience. He is eminently qualified to help the widows and orphans and estates who often seek out this particular court for assistance during their saddest moments.”

Justice Ingram has handled many challenging and noteworthy trials since he was appointed to the New York state Court of Claims by Gov. George E. Pataki on June 23, 2003.

Initially, he was assigned to the Supreme Court, Bronx County and had a Narcotics Part and Trial Part.

In June 2005, he was reassigned to Supreme Court, Kings County and presided over a trial part in the Criminal Division. On June 20, 2013, Ingram was appointed as justice of the Supreme Court by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. He presided as trial judge in the Criminal Term of the Supreme Court, dealing with major felonies.

In addition to his legal and judicial performances over the years, Hon. Ingram has distinguished himself as an outstanding naval officer as part of a maritime career spanning more than three decades.

His unique life pursuit began when he graduated from the State University of New York Maritime College (Fort Schuyler) in 1964 with a bachelor of science degree in marine transportation and sailed as third mate and second mate aboard U.S. flag freighters, containerships and passenger ships.

In 1964, he was commissioned Ensign, U.S. Navy Reserve (line officer). He retired from the Navy Reserve as captain (line officer) and holds a third mate’s license (Oceans Unlimited) issued by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Justice Ingram graduated from St. John’s University School of Law with a juris doctorate degree in 1969 and practiced with Burlingham Underwood Wright White & Lord. He became a partner of the firm in 1976 with an understandable focus on maritime law. In 1995, Ingram formed the firm of Martocci & Ingram, specializing in litigation, and with the death of Michael Martocci he became a partner of Healy & Baillie, LLP in April 1996 until he went on the bench in June 2003.

In recognition of his unique status in the courts and on the high seas, in September/October 2010 Ingram attended the Sir Richard May Seminar on International Law and International Courts in The Hague, Netherlands, sponsored by the International Judicial Academy.

Ingram served on the Board of Commissioners of Pilots of the State of New York from 1989 to 1995 and conducted hearings and investigated casualties involving state-licensed pilots. He recently retired from the New York Naval Militia with the rank of rear admiral. He was deputy commander, responsible for homeland security missions on the New York state waterways.

His honors and leadership in various professional organizations would fill this column, so we’ll just mention that Justice Ingram has served as member of the boards of the Maritime College Foundation at Fort Schuyler, the Alumni Association of the New York State Maritime College, the Cathedral Club of Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Benevolent Society, the Emerald Association of Long Island, the New York City Brehon Law Society and the St. Patrick’s Society of Brooklyn.

He is an honorary usher at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. He is a member of the Association of the U.S. Navy, the Militia Officers Association, the Bayforts, New York State Association of Fire Chiefs, the Marine Society of the City of New York and the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of the City of New York.

Justice Ingram is an active volunteer firefighter and member of the Point Breeze Volunteer Fire Department since 1958. He served as volunteer counsel from 1969 to June 2003 and served as commissioner of the department until 2004.

Justice Ingram and his wife life in Bay Ridge and have four children and eight grandchildren.