Indian diplomat indicted in NY, leaves US

[DonViejo]

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS

By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, January 9, 4:19 PM

NEW YORK — An Indian diplomat accused of lying about how much she paid her housekeeper was indicted Thursday on two criminal charges, though prosecutors told a judge that she had been granted diplomatic immunity and left the country earlier in the day.

Devyani Khobragade was charged by a federal grand jury in Manhattan with visa fraud and making false statements in a case that has triggered an outcry in India. She’s accused of fraudulently obtaining a work visa for her New York City housekeeper.

The indictment said Khobragade had made or multiple false representations to U.S. authorities, or caused them to be made, to obtain a visa for a personal domestic worker. She planned to bring to worker the United States in September 2012 when she worked at the Consulate General of India in New York, according to the indictment.

Khobragade, 39, India’s deputy consul general in New York, has maintained her innocence to accusations that she claimed to pay her Indian maid $4,500 per month but actually gave her far less than the U.S. minimum wage. Her arrest last month sparked outrage in India after revelations that she was strip-searched and thrown in a cell with other criminal defendants before being released on $250,000 bail.

:::snip:::

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/indian-diplomat-indicted-in-ny-leaves-us/2014/01/09/c75e0600-7970-11e3-a647-a19deaf575b3_story.html?wpisrc=al_national

[geek tragedy]

1. awww, poor princess didn't even get to keep her slave.

Good riddance to extremely bad rubbish.

[okaawhatever]

2. Hmmm...announced on the same day as the Christie press conference. If it wasn't planned it was

great luck. Most won't even notice.

[cosmicone]

3. If she had immunity, how could she be indicted?

Face saver for Preet Bharara and stupid people in the state department.

This would never have happened under Hillary Clinton.

By the way, as Ken Starr proved, a prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich via a grand jury.

[geek tragedy]

4. Her actions were criminal, but she has special status that prevents her

from being held accountable for her criminal actions.

[cosmicone]

8. People with immunity

are just declared PNG (persona non grata) and they leave -- they are never indicted.

Preet Bharara could have just dropped the charges and not appeared in court -- yet, he did and made a show of it.

[rpannier]

9. She didn't have immunity at the time

She applied for it after the arrest through the UN

[cosmicone]

12. She did, as debatable as it might be. n/t

[rpannier]

17. From the Huindustan Times in India

"At the time of arrest, Khobragade had limited immunity, covering only her actions in line of her duties as a consular officer with the Indian consulate in New York."

Her consular immunity, US government argued at the time of her arrest, did not protect her from local laws. She was arrested by the state department’s bureau of diplomatic security.

The Indian government immediately transferred her to its permanent mission to UN, whose staff are all covered by full diplomatic immunity from local laws.

"In a note sent to a New York court with the indictment on Thursday, Bharara said, “We understand that the defendant was very recently accorded diplomatic immunity status and that she departed the United States today."

She did not have full diplomatic immunity at the time.

*************
on note... To claim somehow that this never would have happened if Hillary Clinton were president is unlikely. The woman involved committed a crime and was arrested. The arresting officers did not call President Obama or Sec of State Kerry to get their permission. They acted in accordance with the law.

[cosmicone]

20. Some documents were later produced

by India's ministry that showed that she was a consultant to India's UN Mission and had immunity.

It is all debatable.

[Recursion]

34. Nope. Black-letter law.

Consular officers do not enjoy personal immunity except for official functions.

[24601]

25. My understanding is that not all immunity is the same. Diplomatic immunity covers pretty much

everything unless her country (India) waives it. But she has a more limited Consular immunity which covers only those acts directly related to her official consular duties.

I believe that the allegations are outside the scope of her immunity.

[cosmicone]

28. Besides her consular position

she was also a consultant to India's UN mission and had absolute immunity.

[Comrade Grumpy]

5. Khobragade may be gone, but the strain in US-Indian relations over this continues.

They're taking away our club in Delhi!

[JI7]

10. US India relations is largely about certain people on both sides getting rich

so nothing is going to happen there.

[cosmicone]

15. Wait till a US consular officer breaks the law in India

already the Indian government is investigating consular officers' spouses working in India and not paying income tax.

[Recursion]

35. And if they find them, they should prosecute them

The US won't behave like a bunch of 9 year olds in that case.

[JI7]

6. good fucking riddance, but i do feel bad for the ones who she will be able to mistreat

in india and get away with it there.

[cosmicone]

13. Now for all this exercise

we taxpayers are left to pay for the maid and her family who are probably on welfare and were brought here at taxpayer expense.

[JI7]

14. this isn't freerepublic

[cosmicone]

18. I'm glad you figured it out finally! Bravo. n/t

[JI7]

19. using someone getting public assistance as an attack against them is fucked up

[cosmicone]

21. I didn't attack anyone for being on welfare.

However, these people were brought here at taxpayer expense and as a taxpayer, I don't quite agree with it only to help Preet Bharara.

There are thousands of well-deserving Indians who are impoverished and wait for years to get a visa.

[JI7]

23. you used being on welfare as an attack, as if it makes someone worth less

[cosmicone]

24. Not at all. I am a big supporter of AFDC and food stamps

for people fallen on hard times who live in the US.

Importing people for some prosecutor's ego and then putting them on welfare when they were already making the 80th percentile in their home country is another story.

Sangeeta Richard's family earned about 92,000 rupees a month. An average salaried engineer or doctor in India makes about 60,000 rupees a month. Math is helpful.

[JI7]

26. it's helpful to be realistic and not believe the lies from indian govt which protects rapists and

others who commit violence against women.

[cosmicone]

27. Show me one case where Indian government

has protected rapists and violence against women.

Your hatred of India is clouding the perspective here.

On the other hand, just today, a St. Louis college student with iron clad evidence of his raping an unconscious teenage girl was let off the hook by the prosecutor.

[JI7]

29. when the fucking cops accused the girl of burning herself to death and some shit politician

said something about how she may have been a prositute or some other shit which even if she were would not excuse what was done to her.

lets not be ignorant of these things and the reality of what goes on.

and i'm not the one who is going on about either the US or india or anyting else being the best as you always try to do with india.

[cosmicone]

30. eyeroll

I never said any country was best. Your perspective is biased.

India tries rapists and it is punishable by life in prison or death. You make it sound like rape is not against the law in India.

In a country of over a billion and a quarter people, with vast rural areas, some low level local politician may spew something stupid. India also has its Gohmerts, Kings, Palins and Bachmanns.

However, your statements make it look like everyone in India supports rape and mistreatment of women which is painting with a 1 mile wide brush.

What is peculiar is that your venom is solely reserved for such atrocities in India while you give a free pass to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sudan, Congo, Nigeria and many other places, most of which are not even democracies and where mistreatment of women is the norm. Why do you single out India? (I think I know the answer to that - it is pretty obvious)

Remember, women have a vote in India and many are elected union leaders, city and district councilpersons, MPs, ministers, chief ministers and one even was elected prime minister. One woman was also president of India.

When was the last time the US had a female president? Like ... never?

[JI7]

31. so fucking what, when we talk about fucked up shit in the US i don't need to know

the history of things like the moon landing and other good things that were done. i am referring to what the thread is about.

and that's the same with this thread on this fucking idiot .

you are sensitive to any criticism of india and you sound just like the wingnuts who feel the need to talk about the US being the best anytime someone tries to discuss some issue.

it's the same with the idiots who always bring up oprah and obama anytime we want to discuss racism in the us . as if that takes away from the fact that there is a lot of racism.

[cosmicone]

32. Only one response to you

wyan wyan wyan wyan wyan wyan wyan

[JI7]

16. seriously, is this shit allowed, attacking people for being on welfare

[cosmicone]

22. Please read post #21 n/t

[dipsydoodle]

7. She won't be allowed back into the US unless diplomatic immunity is waived.

.

[cosmicone]

11. Why would she ever want to come back?

Besides, she may become foreign secretary or even foreign minister one day. The whole exercise by Preet Bharara was only to show off how Preet Bharara has become a good American boy by treating Indians worse than any other ethnicity.

Bharara never arrested the Russian consular workers who were accused of medicaid fraud of hundreds of thousands.

[davidpdx]

33. Spot on

[Recursion]

36. Not the way elections are looking

She and her Congress cronies will be looking for work in a year or so...

I'm sure she'll still keep the 11 illegally-obtained apartments in Mumbai, though.

[Recursion]

37. Bharara didn't arrest the Russians because Russia heeded his warning

Same warning he gave India, which they didn't bother to do anything about. Russia upgraded or removed everybody implicated in the Medicaid scam. India could have done the same, but couldn't be bothered.