Ruth O'Meara-Costello 's Avatar

Ruth O'Meara-Costello

@ruthcostello.bsky.social

Solo lawyer in Cambridge, MA practicing criminal defense, Title IX, education law. Mother of 3. Enthusiastic amateur runner and baker.

819 Followers  |  486 Following  |  211 Posts  |  Joined: 29.09.2023  |  1.7343

Latest posts by ruthcostello.bsky.social on Bluesky

One book that ignores this advice very completely is Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld.

02.10.2025 16:04 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
INDICTMENT
COUNT ONE
False statements within the jurisdiction of the legislative branch of the United States Government
[18 U.S.C. Β§ 1001(a)(2)]
1. On or about September 30, 2020, in the Eastern District of Virginia, the defendant, JAMES
B. COMEY JR., did willfully and knowingly make a materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statement in a matter within the jurisdiction of the legislative branch of the
Government of the United States, by falsely stating to a U.S. Senator during a Senate
Judiciary Committee hearing that he, JAMES B. COMEY JR., had not "authorized
someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports" regarding an FBI
investigation concerning PERSON 1.
2. That statement was false, because, as JAMES B. COMEY JR. then and there knew, he in fact had authorized PERSON 3 to serve as an anonymous source in news reports regarding
an FBI investigation concerning PERSON 1.
3. All in violation of 18 U.S.C. Β§ 1001(a)(2).

INDICTMENT COUNT ONE False statements within the jurisdiction of the legislative branch of the United States Government [18 U.S.C. Β§ 1001(a)(2)] 1. On or about September 30, 2020, in the Eastern District of Virginia, the defendant, JAMES B. COMEY JR., did willfully and knowingly make a materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statement in a matter within the jurisdiction of the legislative branch of the Government of the United States, by falsely stating to a U.S. Senator during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that he, JAMES B. COMEY JR., had not "authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports" regarding an FBI investigation concerning PERSON 1. 2. That statement was false, because, as JAMES B. COMEY JR. then and there knew, he in fact had authorized PERSON 3 to serve as an anonymous source in news reports regarding an FBI investigation concerning PERSON 1. 3. All in violation of 18 U.S.C. Β§ 1001(a)(2).

1. Lack of Candor with Then-Director Comey on or around
October 31, 2016
We concluded that McCabe lacked candor during his conversation with then-Director Comey on or about October 31, 2016, when they discussed the October 30
WSJ article. As detailed above, Comey and McCabe gave starkly conflicting accounts of this conversation. Comey said that McCabe "definitely" did not tell Comey that he had authorized the disclosure about the PADAG call. To the contrary, Comey told the OIG that, on or about October 31, McCabe led him to believe "in form or fashion" that McCabe did not authorize the disclosure about the
PADAG call to the WSJ. Comey described how McCabe gave Comey the impression that McCabe had not authorized the disclosure about the PADAG call, was not involved in the disclosure, and did not know how it happened. By contrast, McCabe asserted that he explicitly told Comey during that conversation that he authorized the disclosure and that Comey agreed it was a "good" idea.
While the only direct evidence regarding this McCabe-Comey conversation were the recollections of the two participants, there is considerable circumstantial evidence and we concluded that the overwhelming weight of that evidence supported Comey's version of the conversation. Indeed, none of the circumstantial evidence provided support for McCabe's account of the discussion; rather, we found that much of the available evidence undercut McCabe's claim.

1. Lack of Candor with Then-Director Comey on or around October 31, 2016 We concluded that McCabe lacked candor during his conversation with then-Director Comey on or about October 31, 2016, when they discussed the October 30 WSJ article. As detailed above, Comey and McCabe gave starkly conflicting accounts of this conversation. Comey said that McCabe "definitely" did not tell Comey that he had authorized the disclosure about the PADAG call. To the contrary, Comey told the OIG that, on or about October 31, McCabe led him to believe "in form or fashion" that McCabe did not authorize the disclosure about the PADAG call to the WSJ. Comey described how McCabe gave Comey the impression that McCabe had not authorized the disclosure about the PADAG call, was not involved in the disclosure, and did not know how it happened. By contrast, McCabe asserted that he explicitly told Comey during that conversation that he authorized the disclosure and that Comey agreed it was a "good" idea. While the only direct evidence regarding this McCabe-Comey conversation were the recollections of the two participants, there is considerable circumstantial evidence and we concluded that the overwhelming weight of that evidence supported Comey's version of the conversation. Indeed, none of the circumstantial evidence provided support for McCabe's account of the discussion; rather, we found that much of the available evidence undercut McCabe's claim.

So James Comey has been indicted for testifying, in essence, that he didn't authorize Andrew McCabe to be an anonymous media source about the Hillary Clinton email investigationβ€”which McCabe disputes.

But a DOJ IG report examined all the circumstantial evidence and concluded McCabe was lying.

26.09.2025 01:46 β€” πŸ‘ 1194    πŸ” 289    πŸ’¬ 20    πŸ“Œ 27

Heard this report this morning on WBUR. Great journalism.

09.09.2025 17:08 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Hundreds of Alligator Alcatraz detainees drop off the grid after leaving site As of the end of August, the whereabouts of two-thirds of more than 1,800 men detained at Alligator Alcatraz during the month of July could not be determined by the Miami Herald.

More than 1800 detainees are missing after the closure of Alligator Alcatraz. Their families and lawyers can’t find them and they’ve vanished from the ICE database. Feels like this should be a much bigger story www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

23.09.2025 17:39 β€” πŸ‘ 32194    πŸ” 19532    πŸ’¬ 1228    πŸ“Œ 1799

On the plus side, a bunch of people on the left who have not yet grasped it are about to viscerally understand why some of us, despite despising bigots to our very core, keep insisting that allowing the government to prosecute "hate speech" would be a bad idea.

16.09.2025 12:04 β€” πŸ‘ 563    πŸ” 107    πŸ’¬ 29    πŸ“Œ 10

the people who mocked and made up shit about the attack on paul pelosi have thoughts about decorum and we should definitely take them very very seriously

10.09.2025 21:40 β€” πŸ‘ 16189    πŸ” 3007    πŸ’¬ 183    πŸ“Œ 60
Video thumbnail

In an address on Sunday, Pope Leo responded the the horrific shooting at a Catholic church and school in Minnesota: β€œStop the pandemic of arms”

03.09.2025 12:50 β€” πŸ‘ 572    πŸ” 118    πŸ’¬ 13    πŸ“Œ 9
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As Harvard nears deal with Trump, some on campus feel left in the dark - The Boston Globe Harvard, some students, professors, and alumni argue, needs to be much more transparent about what exactly is on the table in its discussions with the White House.

β€œBut since June, Harvard has negotiated with the federal government behind closed doors β€” without publicly commenting on or even acknowledging the talks β€” in hopes of restoring funding...”

In the name of all that is good and democratic, do not capitulate.
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/14/m...

14.08.2025 11:16 β€” πŸ‘ 27    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
Watchdog Group Downgrades U.S. From Democracy To Whatever Political System Lobsters Have

Watchdog Group Downgrades U.S. From Democracy To Whatever Political System Lobsters Have

Watchdog Group Downgrades U.S. From Democracy To Whatever Political System Lobsters Have theonion.com/watchdo...

06.08.2025 18:00 β€” πŸ‘ 11264    πŸ” 2017    πŸ’¬ 189    πŸ“Œ 148
Preview
Search process for a superintendent stumbled onto a candidate who'd stumbled even harder - Cambridge Day Facing continued criticism even from within its own ranks for a superintendent search process that has seemed secretive and scattered, School Committee members moved Tuesday toward releasing more info...

I would like to know first why the Cambridge School Committee outsourced the superintendent search in the first place, and why to this firm. Picking the superintendent is pretty essential and seems like what we elect the Committee itself to do. www.cambridgeday.com/2025/08/06/s...

07.08.2025 16:11 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Yes, I have a case where the prosecutor put in the part of the defendant's statement where he acknowledged presence in the area, left out the part where he was shocked to hear the accusation and denied guilt. Defendant moved to put in more under the doctrine of verbal completeness, no dice.

06.08.2025 23:03 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Not to mention the defendant's statements come in if the prosecutor wants them to. But he can't introduce them himself. If he was interviewed and incriminated himself, it comes in. If he convincingly denied guilt, in practice it doesn't.

06.08.2025 22:45 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
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Poll: Right-Leaning Faculty Likelier to Be β€œHostile” to Jews On the other hand, non-Jewish faculty who identified as β€œextremely liberal” were more likely to be hostile to Israel, a survey found. But 90Β percent of all non-Jewish faculty were hostile to neither J...

surprising nobody, the real campus antisemites are the right-wingers www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

30.07.2025 18:38 β€” πŸ‘ 13    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

And there's absolutely no reason to think that grand jury materials would necessarily reflect the involvement of others. The point of the grand jury is to indict the individual defendant, not to show off everything investigators collected--materials about other people would likely be superfluous.

19.07.2025 11:55 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Okay, this actually made me laugh out loud.

19.07.2025 00:49 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Yeah historically POTUS would have their pick of any top 20 firm.
Trump hires a guy whose website has to announce it’s β€œprestigious”

18.07.2025 23:45 β€” πŸ‘ 265    πŸ” 26    πŸ’¬ 33    πŸ“Œ 6

I thought the press descriptions had to be at least slightly off. But they are completely accurate.

America First is literally arguing that the disparate impact of free tuition for all families making <$300K per year β€œmasks racial preferences behind income thresholds.”

18.07.2025 14:15 β€” πŸ‘ 687    πŸ” 215    πŸ’¬ 44    πŸ“Œ 50

I'm old enough to remember when the prevailing argument against affirmative action was that it failed to consider the "real" form of unfairness, which was income disparity

18.07.2025 13:44 β€” πŸ‘ 4484    πŸ” 840    πŸ’¬ 51    πŸ“Œ 19

Note also that the lawsuit alleges that because race and class are correlated, providing free tuition to lower income students is also racial preference.

They just want a pure aristocracy of inherited wealth

18.07.2025 12:58 β€” πŸ‘ 2750    πŸ” 901    πŸ’¬ 62    πŸ“Œ 88
Eugenia Schraa Huh for Cambridge School Committee Vote Eugenia Schraa Huh #1 in November. Cambridge schools need to focus on improving the achievement gap and improving the well-being of students. They need to start asking for feedback (and using it)...

Since I know at least a few Cambridge folks follow me, I want to say that I am excited that Eugenia Shraa Huh is running again for the School Committee. I met Eugenia as a fellow daycare parent. She is passionate about excellence in the schools, detail-oriented and energetic. www.voteeugenia.com

17.07.2025 13:56 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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The Manhattan Statement on Higher Education America’s colleges and universities have long been the bright lights of our civilization. For nearly four centuries, they have pioneered new fields of knowledge, brought the arts and sciences to new h...

Totalitarians, feeling power, demand to use that power it to enforce totalitarianism in academia. Never let a single one crawl back to respectability outside their grubby circle of thugs.

manhattan.institute/article/the-...

16.07.2025 15:42 β€” πŸ‘ 515    πŸ” 100    πŸ’¬ 13    πŸ“Œ 8

It should be a massive scandal that indigent criminal defendants in #Massachusetts can't get lawyers because the state won't pay them fairly even though they've been asking for raises for years and the response from top Beacon Hill Democrats is to blame the lawyers. It's shameful.

#mapoli

10.07.2025 16:37 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

It is enraging to see legislators claim that bar advocates aren't engaging directly with them. MACDL hired a lobbyist for this issue at least as early as 2021. Legislators have just been ignoring the attorneys and refusing to address the issue for years. Blame is squarely on them.

11.07.2025 13:57 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Hitler committed suicide. 
Mussolini was shot and then his corpse was attacked and hung. 
Pinochet died under house arrest, while facing criminal charges in Europe and in Chile. 
Idi Amin died in exile. 
The Shah of Iran died in exile. 
Pol Pot died under house arrest. 
Mobutu died in exile. 
Ceausescu and his wife were executed by firing squad. 
Saddam Hussein was hung. 
The Dominican Republic's Rafael Trujillo was assassinated. 
The last Somoza dictator was assassinated in exile after being overthrown. 
Paraguay's Alfredo Stroessner, Colombia's Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, and Marcos PΓ©rez JimΓ©nez all died in exile.
Argentina's Jorge Rafael Videla died while serving a fifty-year sentence. 
Ferdinand Marcos died in exile. 
Only last winter Assad fled Syria; only last summer Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh.  
That hasn't been the fate of all dictators but for many of them the chapters after their power crumbled were not what they would have written. Nor is this reassurance that justice or democracy always wins or dismissal of the damage each of them did. I was just thinking and then decided to compile a list.

Hitler committed suicide. Mussolini was shot and then his corpse was attacked and hung. Pinochet died under house arrest, while facing criminal charges in Europe and in Chile. Idi Amin died in exile. The Shah of Iran died in exile. Pol Pot died under house arrest. Mobutu died in exile. Ceausescu and his wife were executed by firing squad. Saddam Hussein was hung. The Dominican Republic's Rafael Trujillo was assassinated. The last Somoza dictator was assassinated in exile after being overthrown. Paraguay's Alfredo Stroessner, Colombia's Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, and Marcos PΓ©rez JimΓ©nez all died in exile. Argentina's Jorge Rafael Videla died while serving a fifty-year sentence. Ferdinand Marcos died in exile. Only last winter Assad fled Syria; only last summer Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh. That hasn't been the fate of all dictators but for many of them the chapters after their power crumbled were not what they would have written. Nor is this reassurance that justice or democracy always wins or dismissal of the damage each of them did. I was just thinking and then decided to compile a list.

In a handicraft moment, I made this little list for you. I hope you enjoy it.

11.07.2025 03:18 β€” πŸ‘ 1509    πŸ” 334    πŸ’¬ 69    πŸ“Œ 32
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β€˜It’s a nightmare.’ U.S. funding cuts threaten academic science jobs at all levels β€œThere is a lot of pressure to essentially leave the country or not pursue research,” one Ph.D. student says

I can't stress enough how close U.S. science is to the cliff.

"Numbers released in May by the National Science Foundation (NSF) indicate that if Congress approves the cuts to the agency proposed by the White House, the number of early-career researchers it supports could fall by 78%" (@science.org)

08.07.2025 15:36 β€” πŸ‘ 1468    πŸ” 844    πŸ’¬ 45    πŸ“Œ 74

I attended one when clerking in federal court and it was the most purely uplifting thing I saw there. Fun for my judge, too, I think.

10.07.2025 13:35 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Former Massachusetts police chief calls lawyer work stoppage "irresponsible" as more defendants could be set free More criminal defendants could be released in Massachusetts due in part to a work stoppage by private attorneys.

Former MA police chief calls bar advocates who choose not to take cases while advocating for better pay "greedy," apparently with a straight face. I mean. www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/...

09.07.2025 22:30 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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Lululemon Sues Costco For IP Infringement, Accidentally Starts Wave Of Free Costco Publicity - Above the Law If Costco wins they'll put Lulu on their butts.

"it is generally a good idea to defend your IP. but if you lose the suit & it gets out that your competitor is selling a superior product at a much lower price, you may have been better off resting on your prestige than rooting out copycats."

abovethelaw.com/2025/07/lulu...

09.07.2025 13:25 β€” πŸ‘ 114    πŸ” 28    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 2

Elite universities have too much cachet in contemporary society. That’s why I had to lie and tell people I went to Harvard.

by Christopher Rufo

08.07.2025 13:44 β€” πŸ‘ 565    πŸ” 55    πŸ’¬ 6    πŸ“Œ 1

@ruthcostello is following 19 prominent accounts