Federal prosecutors argued Tuesday that recordings of a financial adviser cannot be kept out of his bribery and money laundering case even if they violated a Florida ethics rule, but a judge said he wanted to look at the government’s internal discussions approving the secret tapings.
During a 3½-hour hearing in Miami, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman questioned whether the government’s position makes a “toothless tiger” out of the Citizens’ Protection Act. The 1999 law requires federal prosecutors to follow state bar rules, including the Florida Bar’s ban on attorneys contacting a person about a matter for which they know he is being represented by a lawyer. Read more>>
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