Judge's Ruling Disappoints the Media Who Wants to See Mr. Kraft's Dong
Source – All massage parlor videos from the prostitution sting that ensnared billionaire Robert Kraft must continue to remain sealed — though not indefinitely, a judge ordered Monday.
Over the objection of lawyers for numerous news media outlets — including the South Florida Sun Sentinel — Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Joseph Marx sided with the wishes of defense attorneys for Kraft and several other people charged in the case.
The video recordings, from five days in January and from secret cameras planted by Jupiter police, have been the focus of heated court battles, and even one alleged leak.
“I’m not messing around with this,” Marx said, choosing to piggyback on a “protective order” last week from County Judge Leonard Hanser in Kraft’s misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution cases.
Marx’s ruling is in the felony cases of Hua Zhang and Lei Wang, the owner and manager, of the Orchids of Asia Day Spa … Under the orders, the videos could become available once juries are sworn in, or if other events happen, such as the charges being dropped or the cases ending in plea agreements. …
But lawyers for the media outlets said the public has a right to see the evidence. …
Also Monday, Marx ordered a permanent seal be placed on videos of people who only got massages and were not charged with crimes. Lawyers representing these 31 “John Does” have filed a class-action federal civil lawsuit against Jupiter police and State Attorney Dave Aronberg for alleged privacy rights violations over the videos.
As fair and just as this ruling is, it will come as a real – pardon the expression but the sentence got away from me – blow to the people who are in desperate need of seeing a 77-year-old grandfather’s wang. Those champions of Freedom of the Press like John Henry’s Boston Globe who feel democracy will die in darkness unless they post an illegally obtained video of an elderly philanthropist busting a nut in a private room. Who truly believe the cause of liberty can only be served by the law enforcement hiding secret cameras to catch a 58-year-old licensed massage therapist giving a client a Rub & a Tug & a Hug.
Welcome to a world where the government spies on its own citizens using a law that was created to stop terrorists while the press cheers and begs for the chance to release the blackmail tapes. Welcome to Oceana. The Thought Police would like to have a word with you. Big Brother is watching. The Ministry of Truth is publishing what Ingsoc tells it to. They will destroy you if they catch you being “a rebel from the waist downwards.” And 2 + 2 = 5. George Orwell was right. He was off by 35 years. And he never envisioned we’d be putting mini hot dogs into pizza crusts. But otherwise, he nailed it.
So this is a tough development for the media jackals who are drooling at the prospect of the clickbait that will come from posting video of a famous businessman and philanthropist ejaculating behind closed doors. Starting with, though not limited to, John Henry. Mr. Kraft’s supposed friend could end his paper’s involvement in this with a phone call. But he wants that footage as much as the rest of them do. Despite the fact prosecutor David Aronberg has no right to it. Notwithstanding the crooked cops down there still have videos of 31 innocent men who have to sue to keep them from being released. And in spite of common decency and a citizen’s right to not be harassed by the government. At least Judge Joseph Marx believes in protecting the citizenry down there from this abuse of power, if nobody else does.
