"may interfere with the federal government's ability to carry out it's official duties"
If the federal government did their fucking job, Texas wouldn't have to stop illegal aliens from entering their state. 8 million migrants since Biden took office. That is fucking insane and unsustainable!!!
Has an immigrant taken your job? Or jobs of Americans last time I checked I haven’t seen milky white kids cutting lawns or waiting on tables or picking fucking cucumbers! And if an immigrant has taken you job you’ve done a shitty job at what your doing for income!
How many migrants in America are sleeping on the streets because they have nowhere to go? We aren't ready to take care of millions of migrants. Many of these migrants are suffering here and none of you seem concerned. You only want to be correct with your talking points.
Less likely to be homeless than native born.
Abstract
Objectives: This study examines rates of lifetime adult homelessness among foreign-born adults in the United States and how they differ from native-born adults.
Study design: Cross-sectional data from a nationally representative US sample were analyzed.
Methods: A sample of 29,896 native-born (weighted 84.1%) and 6404 foreign-born (weighted 16.0%) US adults participating in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III were compared on rates of homelessness, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, mental and substance-use disorders, health insurance, and use of welfare.
Results: There was no significant difference in rates of lifetime adult homelessness between foreign-born adults and native-born adults (1.0% vs 1.7%). Foreign-born participants were less likely to have various mental and substance-use disorders, less likely to receive welfare, and less likely to have any lifetime incarceration. The number of years foreign-born adults lived in the United States was significantly associated with risk for homelessness.
Conclusions: These findings suggest the 'healthy immigrant effect' applies to the mental health and social functioning of US immigrants but may not necessarily apply to homelessness. Long-standing immigration procedures requiring mental health and psychosocial evaluations may contribute to selection effects.
That's a cute study you have there from 2017. We've had millions more come here since then. That study is no longer relevant.
What I don’t care for is the demonization and scapegoating of a human population whose contributions to this nation are glossed over and demonized. Without them, the US economy collapses. What I care about is POOTWH reducing legal pathways for legal immigration and creating a “border crises” to scare people like you. I’m guessing that you haven’t had much exposure to immigrants? Maybe‘Muricans need to look in the mirror?
Abstract
The study found that undocumented immigrants had substantially lower crime rates than native-born citizens and legal immigrants across a range of felony offenses. Relative to undocumented immigrants, U.S.-born citizens are over 2 times more likely to be arrested for violent crimes, 2.5 times more likely to be arrested for drug crimes, and over 4 times more likely to be arrested for property crimes. In addition, the proportion of arrests involving undocumented immigrants in Texas was relatively stable or decreasing over this period. The differences between U.S.-born citizens and undocumented immigrants are robust to using alternative estimates of the broader undocumented population, alternate classifications of those counted as “undocumented” at arrest and substituting misdemeanors or convictions as measures of crime. (publisher abstract modified)
"may interfere with the federal government's ability to carry out it's official duties"
If the federal government did their fucking job, Texas wouldn't have to stop illegal aliens from entering their state. 8 million migrants since Biden took office. That is fucking insane and unsustainable!!!
Has an immigrant taken your job? Or jobs of Americans last time I checked I haven’t seen milky white kids cutting lawns or waiting on tables or picking fucking cucumbers! And if an immigrant has taken you job you’ve done a shitty job at what your doing for income!
How many migrants in America are sleeping on the streets because they have nowhere to go? We aren't ready to take care of millions of migrants. Many of these migrants are suffering here and none of you seem concerned. You only want to be correct with your talking points.
Less likely to be homeless than native born.
Abstract
Objectives: This study examines rates of lifetime adult homelessness among foreign-born adults in the United States and how they differ from native-born adults.
Study design: Cross-sectional data from a nationally representative US sample were analyzed.
Methods: A sample of 29,896 native-born (weighted 84.1%) and 6404 foreign-born (weighted 16.0%) US adults participating in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III were compared on rates of homelessness, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, mental and substance-use disorders, health insurance, and use of welfare.
Results: There was no significant difference in rates of lifetime adult homelessness between foreign-born adults and native-born adults (1.0% vs 1.7%). Foreign-born participants were less likely to have various mental and substance-use disorders, less likely to receive welfare, and less likely to have any lifetime incarceration. The number of years foreign-born adults lived in the United States was significantly associated with risk for homelessness.
Conclusions: These findings suggest the 'healthy immigrant effect' applies to the mental health and social functioning of US immigrants but may not necessarily apply to homelessness. Long-standing immigration procedures requiring mental health and psychosocial evaluations may contribute to selection effects.
The government is releasing thousands of illegal immigrant children with latent tuberculosis infections into American communities without assurances of treatment.
Nearly 2,500 children with latent infections were released into 44 states over the past year, according to a court-ordered report on how the Health and Human Services Department is treating the children.
About 126,000 total were released, indicating an infection rate of 1 in 50 migrant children.
The government says it can’t treat the children because they are in custody for a short time and treatment requires three to nine months. HHS releases infected children to sponsors and notifies local health authorities in the hope that they can arrange for treatment before the latent infection becomes active.
"may interfere with the federal government's ability to carry out it's official duties"
If the federal government did their fucking job, Texas wouldn't have to stop illegal aliens from entering their state. 8 million migrants since Biden took office. That is fucking insane and unsustainable!!!
Has an immigrant taken your job? Or jobs of Americans last time I checked I haven’t seen milky white kids cutting lawns or waiting on tables or picking fucking cucumbers! And if an immigrant has taken you job you’ve done a shitty job at what your doing for income!
How many migrants in America are sleeping on the streets because they have nowhere to go? We aren't ready to take care of millions of migrants. Many of these migrants are suffering here and none of you seem concerned. You only want to be correct with your talking points.
Less likely to be homeless than native born.
Abstract
Objectives: This study examines rates of lifetime adult homelessness among foreign-born adults in the United States and how they differ from native-born adults.
Study design: Cross-sectional data from a nationally representative US sample were analyzed.
Methods: A sample of 29,896 native-born (weighted 84.1%) and 6404 foreign-born (weighted 16.0%) US adults participating in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III were compared on rates of homelessness, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, mental and substance-use disorders, health insurance, and use of welfare.
Results: There was no significant difference in rates of lifetime adult homelessness between foreign-born adults and native-born adults (1.0% vs 1.7%). Foreign-born participants were less likely to have various mental and substance-use disorders, less likely to receive welfare, and less likely to have any lifetime incarceration. The number of years foreign-born adults lived in the United States was significantly associated with risk for homelessness.
Conclusions: These findings suggest the 'healthy immigrant effect' applies to the mental health and social functioning of US immigrants but may not necessarily apply to homelessness. Long-standing immigration procedures requiring mental health and psychosocial evaluations may contribute to selection effects.
That's a cute study you have there from 2017. We've had millions more come here since then. That study is no longer relevant.
What I don’t care for is the demonization and scapegoating of a human population whose contributions to this nation are glossed over and demonized. Without them, the US economy collapses. What I care about is POOTWH reducing legal pathways for legal immigration and creating a “border crises” to scare people like you. I’m guessing that you haven’t had much exposure to immigrants? Maybe‘Muricans need to look in the mirror?
Abstract
The study found that undocumented immigrants had substantially lower crime rates than native-born citizens and legal immigrants across a range of felony offenses. Relative to undocumented immigrants, U.S.-born citizens are over 2 times more likely to be arrested for violent crimes, 2.5 times more likely to be arrested for drug crimes, and over 4 times more likely to be arrested for property crimes. In addition, the proportion of arrests involving undocumented immigrants in Texas was relatively stable or decreasing over this period. The differences between U.S.-born citizens and undocumented immigrants are robust to using alternative estimates of the broader undocumented population, alternate classifications of those counted as “undocumented” at arrest and substituting misdemeanors or convictions as measures of crime. (publisher abstract modified)
That doesn't prove that the migrant situation is sustainable. We are having a housing crisis in America right now and under Biden, there's been 5.5+ million migrants allowed into our country. Where will these people live when we can't even house our own citizens?
"may interfere with the federal government's ability to carry out it's official duties"
If the federal government did their fucking job, Texas wouldn't have to stop illegal aliens from entering their state. 8 million migrants since Biden took office. That is fucking insane and unsustainable!!!
Has an immigrant taken your job? Or jobs of Americans last time I checked I haven’t seen milky white kids cutting lawns or waiting on tables or picking fucking cucumbers! And if an immigrant has taken you job you’ve done a shitty job at what your doing for income!
How many migrants in America are sleeping on the streets because they have nowhere to go? We aren't ready to take care of millions of migrants. Many of these migrants are suffering here and none of you seem concerned. You only want to be correct with your talking points.
Less likely to be homeless than native born.
Abstract
Objectives: This study examines rates of lifetime adult homelessness among foreign-born adults in the United States and how they differ from native-born adults.
Study design: Cross-sectional data from a nationally representative US sample were analyzed.
Methods: A sample of 29,896 native-born (weighted 84.1%) and 6404 foreign-born (weighted 16.0%) US adults participating in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III were compared on rates of homelessness, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, mental and substance-use disorders, health insurance, and use of welfare.
Results: There was no significant difference in rates of lifetime adult homelessness between foreign-born adults and native-born adults (1.0% vs 1.7%). Foreign-born participants were less likely to have various mental and substance-use disorders, less likely to receive welfare, and less likely to have any lifetime incarceration. The number of years foreign-born adults lived in the United States was significantly associated with risk for homelessness.
Conclusions: These findings suggest the 'healthy immigrant effect' applies to the mental health and social functioning of US immigrants but may not necessarily apply to homelessness. Long-standing immigration procedures requiring mental health and psychosocial evaluations may contribute to selection effects.
That's a cute study you have there from 2017. We've had millions more come here since then. That study is no longer relevant.
What I don’t care for is the demonization and scapegoating of a human population whose contributions to this nation are glossed over and demonized. Without them, the US economy collapses. What I care about is POOTWH reducing legal pathways for legal immigration and creating a “border crises” to scare people like you. I’m guessing that you haven’t had much exposure to immigrants? Maybe‘Muricans need to look in the mirror?
Abstract
The study found that undocumented immigrants had substantially lower crime rates than native-born citizens and legal immigrants across a range of felony offenses. Relative to undocumented immigrants, U.S.-born citizens are over 2 times more likely to be arrested for violent crimes, 2.5 times more likely to be arrested for drug crimes, and over 4 times more likely to be arrested for property crimes. In addition, the proportion of arrests involving undocumented immigrants in Texas was relatively stable or decreasing over this period. The differences between U.S.-born citizens and undocumented immigrants are robust to using alternative estimates of the broader undocumented population, alternate classifications of those counted as “undocumented” at arrest and substituting misdemeanors or convictions as measures of crime. (publisher abstract modified)
That doesn't prove that the migrant situation is sustainable. We are having a housing crisis in America right now and under Biden, there's been 5.5+ million migrants allowed into our country. Where will these people live when we can't even house our own citizens?
You righties really love the term “crisis” don’t you? Housing crisis! Opioid crisis! Border crisis! Inflation crisis! Gas prices crisis! Education crisis! Morality crisis! Youth crisis!
“Those” people seem to be more adept at finding housing so maybe you should ask the native born why they don’t have housing. Further, who do you think is going to build the housing or a substantial portion of it? Framing, roofing, landscaping, etc. particularly in those sweltering hot states where the state gubmint doesn’t think water breaks are necessary?
Sometimes I wish folks like you could wave a magic wand and make all the “others” disappear just so I could laugh at you for not being able to buy a steak, chicken, fruits or vegetables and complain about the high prices and lack of availability of almost everything. I hope you like being self-sufficient.
Source for the 5.5 million allowed in under the Brandon crime family.
"may interfere with the federal government's ability to carry out it's official duties"
If the federal government did their fucking job, Texas wouldn't have to stop illegal aliens from entering their state. 8 million migrants since Biden took office. That is fucking insane and unsustainable!!!
Has an immigrant taken your job? Or jobs of Americans last time I checked I haven’t seen milky white kids cutting lawns or waiting on tables or picking fucking cucumbers! And if an immigrant has taken you job you’ve done a shitty job at what your doing for income!
How many migrants in America are sleeping on the streets because they have nowhere to go? We aren't ready to take care of millions of migrants. Many of these migrants are suffering here and none of you seem concerned. You only want to be correct with your talking points.
I really don’t see this surge in homeless immigrants on the streets at least here in NY! Most of the Latin Americans are hard working people they really don’t come here to beg for welfare, what I have seen is Eastern European immigrants begging for $$$ by highway exits here on Long Island I know cause I’ve given them a couple of dollars!
"may interfere with the federal government's ability to carry out it's official duties"
If the federal government did their fucking job, Texas wouldn't have to stop illegal aliens from entering their state. 8 million migrants since Biden took office. That is fucking insane and unsustainable!!!
"may interfere with the federal government's ability to carry out it's official duties"
If the federal government did their fucking job, Texas wouldn't have to stop illegal aliens from entering their state. 8 million migrants since Biden took office. That is fucking insane and unsustainable!!!
Has an immigrant taken your job? Or jobs of Americans last time I checked I haven’t seen milky white kids cutting lawns or waiting on tables or picking fucking cucumbers! And if an immigrant has taken you job you’ve done a shitty job at what your doing for income!
How many migrants in America are sleeping on the streets because they have nowhere to go? We aren't ready to take care of millions of migrants. Many of these migrants are suffering here and none of you seem concerned. You only want to be correct with your talking points.
Less likely to be homeless than native born.
Abstract
Objectives: This study examines rates of lifetime adult homelessness among foreign-born adults in the United States and how they differ from native-born adults.
Study design: Cross-sectional data from a nationally representative US sample were analyzed.
Methods: A sample of 29,896 native-born (weighted 84.1%) and 6404 foreign-born (weighted 16.0%) US adults participating in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III were compared on rates of homelessness, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, mental and substance-use disorders, health insurance, and use of welfare.
Results: There was no significant difference in rates of lifetime adult homelessness between foreign-born adults and native-born adults (1.0% vs 1.7%). Foreign-born participants were less likely to have various mental and substance-use disorders, less likely to receive welfare, and less likely to have any lifetime incarceration. The number of years foreign-born adults lived in the United States was significantly associated with risk for homelessness.
Conclusions: These findings suggest the 'healthy immigrant effect' applies to the mental health and social functioning of US immigrants but may not necessarily apply to homelessness. Long-standing immigration procedures requiring mental health and psychosocial evaluations may contribute to selection effects.
That's a cute study you have there from 2017. We've had millions more come here since then. That study is no longer relevant.
What I don’t care for is the demonization and scapegoating of a human population whose contributions to this nation are glossed over and demonized. Without them, the US economy collapses. What I care about is POOTWH reducing legal pathways for legal immigration and creating a “border crises” to scare people like you. I’m guessing that you haven’t had much exposure to immigrants? Maybe‘Muricans need to look in the mirror?
Abstract
The study found that undocumented immigrants had substantially lower crime rates than native-born citizens and legal immigrants across a range of felony offenses. Relative to undocumented immigrants, U.S.-born citizens are over 2 times more likely to be arrested for violent crimes, 2.5 times more likely to be arrested for drug crimes, and over 4 times more likely to be arrested for property crimes. In addition, the proportion of arrests involving undocumented immigrants in Texas was relatively stable or decreasing over this period. The differences between U.S.-born citizens and undocumented immigrants are robust to using alternative estimates of the broader undocumented population, alternate classifications of those counted as “undocumented” at arrest and substituting misdemeanors or convictions as measures of crime. (publisher abstract modified)
That doesn't prove that the migrant situation is sustainable. We are having a housing crisis in America right now and under Biden, there's been 5.5+ million migrants allowed into our country. Where will these people live when we can't even house our own citizens?
As you claim its "unsustainable," I think you should read up on the contributions of immigrants. By almost any measure, they appear to out perform native born, and thus, why you're so threatened. I think you're afraid of being "replaced." POOTWH wanted to tank the US economy and create a "crisis" with its immigration policies, all based upon fear and not facts. And you bought it, hook, line and sinker. Throwing statistics around is helpful in understanding issues of the day. Feel free to rely on mis/disinformation and outright lies and going through life with the wrong set of facts. And just being angry. I also hope you look forward to higher taxes and less benefits in your retirement years.
Immigrants Contribute Greatly to U.S. Economy, Despite Administration’s “Public Charge” Rule Rationale
The Department of Homeland Security’s recently finalized “public charge” rule directs immigration officials to reject applications from individuals who seek to remain in or enter the U.S. lawfully if they have received — or are judged more likely than not to receive in the future — any of an array of public benefits that are tied to need. The rule will have two main impacts. It will make it harder for those currently of modest means to gain lawful entry or permission to remain in the country as a permanent resident. And it will make immigrant families fear receiving benefits such as SNAP, Medicaid, and housing assistance that can help them make ends meet and access health care when their low pay is not enough. Many will forgo assistance altogether, resulting in more economic insecurity and hardship, with long-term negative consequences, particularly for children.
The Administration’s justification for the rule rests on the erroneous assumption that immigrants currently of modest means are harmful to our nation and our economy, devaluing their work and contributions and discounting the upward mobility immigrant families demonstrate.
In fact, immigrants contribute to the U.S. economy in many ways. They work at high rates and make up more than a third of the workforce in some industries. Their geographic mobility helps local economies respond to worker shortages, smoothing out bumps that could otherwise weaken the economy. Immigrant workers help support the aging native-born population, increasing the number of workers as compared to retirees and bolstering the Social Security and Medicare trust funds. And children born to immigrant families are upwardly mobile, promising future benefits not only to their families, but to the U.S. economy overall.
To be sure, immigrants contribute to our communities in ways that go far beyond their impacts on the economy. This analysis focuses on these economic impacts, and so it necessarily provides only a narrow window into the ways in which immigration has been a positive force for our nation.
Immigrants Work at High Rates in Jobs That Are Important to Our Economy and Communities
In 2018, the labor force participation rate of foreign-born adults was 65.7 percent, higher than the 62.3 percent rate for the native born, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some 27.2 million foreign-born adults, 63.4 percent of all foreign-born adults, were employed that year, compared to 59.8 percent of native-born adults.[1]
Immigrants hold jobs that are important to our economy and communities. Immigrant workers without a college degree — who appear to be a main target of the proposed rule — are found throughout the economy, but make up a sizable share of the workers in certain industries. Firms in such industries will have a harder time hiring staff if these workers can no longer come to or stay in the United States.
In March 2018, immigrants with less than a four-year college degree made up 10 percent of all persons (and 11 percent of all U.S. workers) in the United States, but they reflected a large share of all workers in many important occupations and industries, according to Census data. (See Table 1.) Fully 36 percent of workers in the farming, fishing, and forestry fields are immigrants without a college degree, as are 36 percent of building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers, 27 percent of hotel workers, and 21 percent of home health care industry workers. [2]
In these and other jobs, immigrants help fill keys gaps in the U.S. economy. Indeed, in an authoritative 2015 report, a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel of experts determined that immigrants’ economic contributions would be hard to replace:
The high employment levels for the least educated immigrants indicate that employer demand for low-skilled labor remains high. There are still many jobs in the United States for low-skilled workers (Lockard and Wolf, 2012). Among the important reasons cited for this high demand have been the substantial shrinkage since 1990 of the U.S.-born, younger, less-skilled working-age population (those who are native born, ages 25-44, and with educational attainment of a high school diploma or less), owing to the aging of Baby Boomers; higher educational attainment among the U.S.-born; and a fertility rate below the replacement rate for the U.S.-born…. In other words, immigrants appear to be taking low-skilled jobs that natives are either not available or unwilling to take.[3] (Emphasis added.)
Research has also shown that immigrants contribute to native workers’ jobs and wages in sometimes hidden ways. For example, immigrants tend to be unusually mobile workers, quicker than their native-born peers to move around the country in response to shortages that appear in local labor markets. This helps native-born workers by filling gaps that could otherwise make their jobs impossible or reduce their productivity and lower their wages. George Borjas — a Harvard economist that immigration critics often cite — has argued that “immigration improves labor market efficiency. Moreover, it turns out that part of this efficiency gain accrues to natives, suggesting that existing estimates of the benefits from immigration may be ignoring a potentially important source of these benefits.” “Back-of-the-envelope” calculations suggest efficiency gains for native-born workers of “between $5 billion and $10 billion annually,” Borjas writes, noting that “the estimates of the efficiency gain roughly double the measured benefits from immigration.”[4] Other researchers have reached similar conclusions.[5]
Immigration also helps drive growth in certain industries. In the housing industry, for example, slowing growth rates in the U.S.-born population mean that immigrant households make up a rising share of total growth in U.S. occupied housing. Immigrants accounted for 8.7 percent of total growth in households in the 1970s, 15.7 percent in the 1980s, and 31.9 percent in the 1990s.[6] More recently, analysis of Census Bureau data shows, immigrant-headed households made up 39.5 percent of household growth.[7]
Immigrants Who Receive Assistance Have High Employment Rates
Families with immigrant workers in lower-paying jobs sometimes need help from programs like SNAP and Medicaid to make ends meet and access health care, just like millions of U.S. citizen families. The Administration’s focus on benefit receipt in its defense of the new rule gives short shrift to the economic benefits immigrants bring to the country, including their hard work in important jobs, their value to the overall labor market, the demand they generate for goods and services, and — as discussed below — the contributions of their children.
Most immigrants who receive benefits like SNAP or Medicaid are employed or are married to someone who works — a sign that they are working in low-paid jobs. Our analysis of Census data shows that 77 percent of working-age immigrants (18 to 64) who received one or more of six benefits during 2017 also worked during the year or were married to a worker. For more than 60 percent of working-age immigrants who received benefits, the work was year round, that is, 50 weeks of the year or more.[8]
Moreover, longitudinal data show that immigrants who receive benefits like SNAP or Medicaid typically have even higher rates of employment over time. To assess long-term patterns of assistance and employment, CBPP analyzed a sample of longitudinal survey data collected in 1999 through 2015 from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID).[9] This analysis focused on individuals in the survey’s immigrant sample (that is, individuals in immigrant families added to the PSID in 1997 and 1999). For this analysis, we looked at young adults aged 18 to 44 in 1999, who received any of the five programs that are both covered by the public charge rule and recorded in the PSID: Medicaid, SNAP, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or housing assistance.
We find that the large majority of those who ever used benefits were also employed a majority of the time, and even more were either employed or had an employed spouse:[10]
At least 93 percent were either employed in the majority of the observed years (five or more of the nine years observed in our PSID sample) or were married to someone who was.
77 percent of such immigrant program participants were themselves employed in a majority of the observed years.
At least 87 percent were either employed themselves at the time of the final interview in 2015 or were married to someone who was. The first finding bears repeating. Looking at young adults in immigrant families in 1999, at least 93 percent of those who received benefits were also employed most of the time or married to someone who is. This finding, that over a period of several years most immigrants who receive the listed forms of assistance are usually working or are married to a worker, reflects both the frequently temporary nature of program participation and the common overlap between assistance and work within any given year.
Immigrants bolster our national birth rate, which has recently dropped to historically low levels among the native-born population.[11] A low birth rate can lead to a decline in the labor force, reduced demand in certain industries such as housing (and reduced home prices due to weaker demand), and a slowing and less dynamic economy. Immigrants, however, can counteract these effects.
Moreover, a low birth rate combined with the aging of the baby boom generation means that immigrants are vital to helping us improve our ratio of workers to retirees and support the baby boom generation in their retirement years. As the 2017 NAS report notes, “The vast majority of current and future net workforce growth — which, at less than 1 percent annually, is very slow by historical standards — will be accounted for by immigrants and their U.S.-born descendants.”[12]
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
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you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
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another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira pleads guilty under a deal that calls for at least 11 years in prison
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
Today
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira pleaded guilty on Monday to leaking highly classified military documents about the war in Ukraine and other national security secrets under a deal with prosecutors that calls for him to serve at least 11 years in prison.
Teixeira, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act nearly a year after he was arrested in the most consequential national security leak in years.
The 22-year-old admitted illegally collecting some of the nation's most sensitive secrets and sharing them with other users on Discord, a social media platform popular with people playing online games.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for September in Boston's federal court and said she would decide then whether to formally accept the agreement, which calls for a prison sentence between 11 and nearly 17 years. Prosecutors said they plan to seek the high end of that range.
“Mr. Teixeira callously disregarded the national security of the United States and he betrayed his solemn oath to defend the country and the trust of the American people he swore to protect,” Matt Olsen, assistant attorney general for national security, told reporters after the hearing.
The stunning security breach raised alarm over America’s ability to protect its most closely guarded secrets and forced the Biden administration to scramble to try to contain diplomatic and military fallout. The leaks embarrassed the Pentagon, which tightened controls to safeguard classified information and disciplined members found to have intentionally failed to take required action about Teixeira’s suspicious behavior.
Teixeira smiled at his father before being led out of the courtroom with his hands and legs shackled, wearing orange jail garb and black rosary beads around his neck. He stood flanked by defense attorneys through much of the hearing and occasionally leaned down to speak into the microphone to answer questions from the judge.
Michael Bachrach, an attorney for Teixeira, told reporters they will push for a sentence of 11 years. Bachrach described Teixeira as a “kid,” adding that the defense will show at sentencing that his youth played a significant role in his conduct.
“He is significantly remorseful for his conduct. He has accepted full responsibility for his conduct," Bachrach said.
In an emailed statement, Teixeira's family said: “It is unfathomable to think your child would ever be involved in something so serious, but he has taken responsibility for his part in this, and here we are.”
“Our focus now remains on Jack – his protection, health, and well-being, and taking care of whatever is in his best interest,” they said.
Teixeira, who was part of the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, worked as a cyber transport systems specialist, essentially an information technology specialist responsible for military communications networks. He remains in the Air National Guard in an unpaid status, an Air Force official said.
Authorities said he first typed out classified documents he accessed and then began sharing photographs of files that bore SECRET and TOP SECRET markings. Prosecutors also said he tried to cover his tracks before his arrest, and authorities found a smashed tablet, laptop and Xbox gaming console in a dumpster at his house.
The leak exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine, including information about troop movements in Ukraine and the provision of supplies and equipment to Ukrainian troops. Teixeira also admitted posting information about a U.S. adversary's plans to harm U.S. forces serving overseas.
Acting Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Josh Levy told reporters Monday he would not speculate on Teixeira's motive. But members of the Discord group described Teixeira as someone looking to show off, rather than being motivated by a desire to inform the public about U.S. military operations or to influence American policy.
In exchange for Teixeira's guilty plea, prosecutors agreed not to charge him with further Espionage Act violations. As part of the deal, Teixeira must participate in a debrief with members of the intelligence community, the Defense Department and the Justice Department about the leaks.
Teixeira has been behind bars since his April arrest. The judge denied his request for release from jail last year after prosecutors revealed he had a history of violent rhetoric and warned that U.S. adversaries who might be interested in mining Teixeira for information could facilitate his escape.
Prosecutors have said Teixeira continued to leak government secrets even after he was warned by superiors about mishandling and improper viewing of classified information. In one instance, Teixeira was seen taking notes on intelligence information and putting them in his pocket.
The Air Force inspector general found that members “intentionally failed to report the full details” of Teixeira’s unauthorized intelligence-seeking because they thought security officials might overreact. For example, while Teixeira was confronted about the notes, there was no follow-up to ensure the notes had been shredded and the incident was not reported to security officers.
It was not until a January 2023 incident that the appropriate security officials were notified, but even then security officials were not briefed on the full scope of the violations.
___
Associated Press reporter Tara Copp in Washington contributed to this report.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira pleads guilty under a deal that calls for at least 11 years in prison
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
Today
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira pleaded guilty on Monday to leaking highly classified military documents about the war in Ukraine and other national security secrets under a deal with prosecutors that calls for him to serve at least 11 years in prison.
Teixeira, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act nearly a year after he was arrested in the most consequential national security leak in years.
The 22-year-old admitted illegally collecting some of the nation's most sensitive secrets and sharing them with other users on Discord, a social media platform popular with people playing online games.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for September in Boston's federal court and said she would decide then whether to formally accept the agreement, which calls for a prison sentence between 11 and nearly 17 years. Prosecutors said they plan to seek the high end of that range.
“Mr. Teixeira callously disregarded the national security of the United States and he betrayed his solemn oath to defend the country and the trust of the American people he swore to protect,” Matt Olsen, assistant attorney general for national security, told reporters after the hearing.
The stunning security breach raised alarm over America’s ability to protect its most closely guarded secrets and forced the Biden administration to scramble to try to contain diplomatic and military fallout. The leaks embarrassed the Pentagon, which tightened controls to safeguard classified information and disciplined members found to have intentionally failed to take required action about Teixeira’s suspicious behavior.
Teixeira smiled at his father before being led out of the courtroom with his hands and legs shackled, wearing orange jail garb and black rosary beads around his neck. He stood flanked by defense attorneys through much of the hearing and occasionally leaned down to speak into the microphone to answer questions from the judge.
Michael Bachrach, an attorney for Teixeira, told reporters they will push for a sentence of 11 years. Bachrach described Teixeira as a “kid,” adding that the defense will show at sentencing that his youth played a significant role in his conduct.
“He is significantly remorseful for his conduct. He has accepted full responsibility for his conduct," Bachrach said.
In an emailed statement, Teixeira's family said: “It is unfathomable to think your child would ever be involved in something so serious, but he has taken responsibility for his part in this, and here we are.”
“Our focus now remains on Jack – his protection, health, and well-being, and taking care of whatever is in his best interest,” they said.
Teixeira, who was part of the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, worked as a cyber transport systems specialist, essentially an information technology specialist responsible for military communications networks. He remains in the Air National Guard in an unpaid status, an Air Force official said.
Authorities said he first typed out classified documents he accessed and then began sharing photographs of files that bore SECRET and TOP SECRET markings. Prosecutors also said he tried to cover his tracks before his arrest, and authorities found a smashed tablet, laptop and Xbox gaming console in a dumpster at his house.
The leak exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine, including information about troop movements in Ukraine and the provision of supplies and equipment to Ukrainian troops. Teixeira also admitted posting information about a U.S. adversary's plans to harm U.S. forces serving overseas.
Acting Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Josh Levy told reporters Monday he would not speculate on Teixeira's motive. But members of the Discord group described Teixeira as someone looking to show off, rather than being motivated by a desire to inform the public about U.S. military operations or to influence American policy.
In exchange for Teixeira's guilty plea, prosecutors agreed not to charge him with further Espionage Act violations. As part of the deal, Teixeira must participate in a debrief with members of the intelligence community, the Defense Department and the Justice Department about the leaks.
Teixeira has been behind bars since his April arrest. The judge denied his request for release from jail last year after prosecutors revealed he had a history of violent rhetoric and warned that U.S. adversaries who might be interested in mining Teixeira for information could facilitate his escape.
Prosecutors have said Teixeira continued to leak government secrets even after he was warned by superiors about mishandling and improper viewing of classified information. In one instance, Teixeira was seen taking notes on intelligence information and putting them in his pocket.
The Air Force inspector general found that members “intentionally failed to report the full details” of Teixeira’s unauthorized intelligence-seeking because they thought security officials might overreact. For example, while Teixeira was confronted about the notes, there was no follow-up to ensure the notes had been shredded and the incident was not reported to security officers.
It was not until a January 2023 incident that the appropriate security officials were notified, but even then security officials were not briefed on the full scope of the violations.
___
Associated Press reporter Tara Copp in Washington contributed to this report.
i am wondering when the media will stop calling this the classified docs case and call it what it actually is. the espionage case.
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira pleads guilty under a deal that calls for at least 11 years in prison
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
Today
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira pleaded guilty on Monday to leaking highly classified military documents about the war in Ukraine and other national security secrets under a deal with prosecutors that calls for him to serve at least 11 years in prison.
Teixeira, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act nearly a year after he was arrested in the most consequential national security leak in years.
The 22-year-old admitted illegally collecting some of the nation's most sensitive secrets and sharing them with other users on Discord, a social media platform popular with people playing online games.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for September in Boston's federal court and said she would decide then whether to formally accept the agreement, which calls for a prison sentence between 11 and nearly 17 years. Prosecutors said they plan to seek the high end of that range.
“Mr. Teixeira callously disregarded the national security of the United States and he betrayed his solemn oath to defend the country and the trust of the American people he swore to protect,” Matt Olsen, assistant attorney general for national security, told reporters after the hearing.
The stunning security breach raised alarm over America’s ability to protect its most closely guarded secrets and forced the Biden administration to scramble to try to contain diplomatic and military fallout. The leaks embarrassed the Pentagon, which tightened controls to safeguard classified information and disciplined members found to have intentionally failed to take required action about Teixeira’s suspicious behavior.
Teixeira smiled at his father before being led out of the courtroom with his hands and legs shackled, wearing orange jail garb and black rosary beads around his neck. He stood flanked by defense attorneys through much of the hearing and occasionally leaned down to speak into the microphone to answer questions from the judge.
Michael Bachrach, an attorney for Teixeira, told reporters they will push for a sentence of 11 years. Bachrach described Teixeira as a “kid,” adding that the defense will show at sentencing that his youth played a significant role in his conduct.
“He is significantly remorseful for his conduct. He has accepted full responsibility for his conduct," Bachrach said.
In an emailed statement, Teixeira's family said: “It is unfathomable to think your child would ever be involved in something so serious, but he has taken responsibility for his part in this, and here we are.”
“Our focus now remains on Jack – his protection, health, and well-being, and taking care of whatever is in his best interest,” they said.
Teixeira, who was part of the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, worked as a cyber transport systems specialist, essentially an information technology specialist responsible for military communications networks. He remains in the Air National Guard in an unpaid status, an Air Force official said.
Authorities said he first typed out classified documents he accessed and then began sharing photographs of files that bore SECRET and TOP SECRET markings. Prosecutors also said he tried to cover his tracks before his arrest, and authorities found a smashed tablet, laptop and Xbox gaming console in a dumpster at his house.
The leak exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine, including information about troop movements in Ukraine and the provision of supplies and equipment to Ukrainian troops. Teixeira also admitted posting information about a U.S. adversary's plans to harm U.S. forces serving overseas.
Acting Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Josh Levy told reporters Monday he would not speculate on Teixeira's motive. But members of the Discord group described Teixeira as someone looking to show off, rather than being motivated by a desire to inform the public about U.S. military operations or to influence American policy.
In exchange for Teixeira's guilty plea, prosecutors agreed not to charge him with further Espionage Act violations. As part of the deal, Teixeira must participate in a debrief with members of the intelligence community, the Defense Department and the Justice Department about the leaks.
Teixeira has been behind bars since his April arrest. The judge denied his request for release from jail last year after prosecutors revealed he had a history of violent rhetoric and warned that U.S. adversaries who might be interested in mining Teixeira for information could facilitate his escape.
Prosecutors have said Teixeira continued to leak government secrets even after he was warned by superiors about mishandling and improper viewing of classified information. In one instance, Teixeira was seen taking notes on intelligence information and putting them in his pocket.
The Air Force inspector general found that members “intentionally failed to report the full details” of Teixeira’s unauthorized intelligence-seeking because they thought security officials might overreact. For example, while Teixeira was confronted about the notes, there was no follow-up to ensure the notes had been shredded and the incident was not reported to security officers.
It was not until a January 2023 incident that the appropriate security officials were notified, but even then security officials were not briefed on the full scope of the violations.
___
Associated Press reporter Tara Copp in Washington contributed to this report.
i am wondering when the media will stop calling this the classified docs case and call it what it actually is. the espionage case.
then reality winner should be treated the same as you say. so should snowden. and dig up daniel ellesberg and throw the corpse in prison too.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
The
goal of this post is to put all the facts about the investigation into
the top of the coup in one place so that you can make up you own mind
about Attorney General Merrick Garland. These facts seem to be
conspicuously missing from public discourse and the media in favor of
rage baiting for clicks and eyes. As much money as I could make by
joining in the Garland bashing, that’s never been my motive. I defend
facts and institutions, not a bottom line. If I’ve learned anything in
the past 30 years of working - the number one lesson is that in the long
run, profit should never be what drives your mission or vision. Ever.
So here’s the facts:
First,
the Department of Justice Inspector General began investigating Jeffrey
Clark and his role in the fraudulent elector scheme in January 2021 -
less than two weeks after the insurrection.
JP Cooney, who would
go on to work in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office, wanted to begin
investigating the ties between the White House and the Willard War Room
in February, 2021, before Merrick Garland even got to the Department of
Justice. He was interested in ties between the president and extremist
groups like the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys.
But two trump
allies at the FBI and DoJ, namely Mike Sherwin (the acting US Attorney
in DC) and Steven D’antuono (second in charge of the Washington DC FBI
Field Office) did not want the investigation to go forward.
Here’s
some background on Mike Sherwin. At one point, Jessie Liu was the DC US
Attorney, and Trump didn’t like her because she wasn’t playing ball
with him to indict Andrew McCabe. Trump and Barr had to trick her out of
her job - which they did by offering her a position at the Treasury,
then rescinding the offer after she resigned as US Attorney. Barr then
installed Tim Shea.
TIm Shea let Mike Flynn and Roger Stone off
the hook, which caused a bunch of DoJ career prosecutors to resign in
protest. Per the vacancy act, Tim Shea could only be in the job for 120
days. If he wanted to stay longer, he would need the DC District Court’s
approval - and after what he did with the Stone and Flynn cases -
there’s no way he would get that approval. So Trump and Barr
circumvented career prosecutors and installed Mike Sherwin. To quote
Douglas Adams - this made a lot of people very angry and has been widely
regarded as a bad move.
GOP appointee and president of the DC Bar
said Barr's "packing" of close associates into senior positions at DoJ
undermined the independence of the USAO DC. Gerson, a Barr aide and GOP
appointee said the move amounted to a "political coup". Sherwin Backed
Barr in his bid to dismiss Flynn's guilty plea. Assistant US Attorneys
complained they lost credibility and could't secure plea deals because
trump installed this ally.
Mike Sherwin was a trump installed ally as part of a political coup. Put a pin in that.
Sherwin
approved and communicated to prosecutors the decision to give Flynn’s
defense internal FBI records cited in Barr's motion to dismiss Flynn's
case. After 1/6, Sherwin went on TV and discussed potential charges in
the OPEN and ONGOING Oath Keepers case, violating DoJ policy. He was
referred to the DoJ's Office of Professional Responsibility for that
major fuck up, and Judge Mehta called an emergency conference about with
the attorneys for the Oath Keepers to tell them all he would not
tolerate Sherwin's bullshit. I’m paraphrasing.
"I called this
hearing this afternoon to make clear to everyone that this case will not
be tried in the media. If there are further public comments or stories
of the kind that we've seen in the last 48 hours, I will not hesitate to
consider a gag order. Let me just say at the outset that I was
surprised — and I'm being restrained in my terminology — surprised to
say the least to see Mr. Sherwin sitting for an interview about a
pending case about an ongoing investigation. Whether his interview
violated Justice Department policy is really not for me to say, but it
is something I hope the Justice Department is looking into."
The next day, Sherwin resigned to avoid being sanctioned for his behavior.
Let’s
talk about Steven D’antuono, who worked with Sherwin to block search
warrants for the Oath Keepers Stewart Rhodes and the Willard War Room,
among other things. According to D’antuono’s testimony to congress, the
DoJ wanted the FBI to immediately issue a search warrant for Mar-a-Lago
after the National Archives formally referred the matter to the DoJ in
the spring of 2022. D’antuono blocked Garland. “DOJ wants stuff. We were
pushing back. That’s the beauty of our system, right. It’s like, that’s
the judicial system in a sense.”
Even more interesting, D’antuono
was brought in by Jim Jordan to the House Judiciary and told them that
the FBI had plants at the Capitol on January 6th. Naturally, that was
highly misleading because these were Confidential Human Sources at the
insurrection of their own volition. Remember, CHSs are not always the
best people, but that didn’t stop Jim Jordan from running with his “FBI
was in on it” narrative - bolstered by his friend D’antuono’s testimony.
Jim Jordan is also using D’antuono testimony to make the
allegation that the FBI doesn’t think Mar-a-Lago should have been
“raided”, and Trump himself is using his testimony in his motions to
dismiss the documents case against him. So that’s D’antuono.
Sherwin
and D’antuono worked together to stop JP Cooney from pitching his trump
coup investigation ideas to Merrick Garland, and actively blocked him
from a high level meeting during Garland’s first week. We’ve known that
for a while - since Carol Loennig reported it in the Washington Post
last year. But we recently learned from sources familiar, that Garland
had another high level meeting, likely without the trump allies there,
and ordered the investigation into ties between trump and the Willard
War Room go forward. He said that he was aware this could lead to Trump,
and he was fine with that. He gave the green light to a small handful
of people to prevent the existence of the Trump investigation from
becoming public. That was March, 2021. The week Garland arrived at DoJ.
Two
months later, June 2021, Garland was growing frustrated with the slow
pace of the investigation. The FBI trump allies were refusing to execute
search warrants, so Merrick garland called a meeting and set up a task
force to investigate Trump called the “investigations unit”. But they
didn’t yet have Biden’s DC US Attorney to assist and provide resources.
The agency was still filled with Trump holdovers and Jim Jordan allies,
so the amount of people investigating was relegated to a small group of
people Garland could trust. What was taking the Senate so long to
confirm the new DC US Attorney?
Keep in mind we had a 50/50
senate, and Mitch McConnell was slow-walking the power sharing
agreement. Additionally, Senators Ted Cruz, Ron Johnson, Tommy
Tuberville, Rick Scott, and Mike Lee sent a letter to Merrick Garland
informing him that they would be blocking Biden’s DC USAO nominee unless
and until Garland started treating the Black Lives Matter protestors
the same way he was treating the insurrectionists.
Can you think
of any reason why Lee, Cruz, Johnson, Scott, and Tuberville would want
to delay the full investigation of the attack on the Capitol?
So
that all happened in June 2021. Garland stood up the “investigations”
unit in June, and traitorous senators that participated in January 6th
were blocking the new DC US Attorney’s confirmation.
November,
the US Attorney for DC was finally confirmed, and Windom - who also
works now with Cooney in the Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office. But
D’antuno was still blocking search warrants and subpoenas. He refused to
subpoena the Willard. So Windom went to the Inspector General and even
the postal cops to get his search warrents executed. Meanwhile, Garland
was trying to figure out a way to get around these trump allied
roadblocks, and eventually was able to install a friendly Chief of Staff
to Christopher Wray (since he really can’t fire the head of the FBI -
the guy who refused to investigate 1400 sexual assault tips on Kavanaugh
and somehow didn’t see January 6th coming.)
That’s when the
floodgates opened, and here’s a non-exhaustive list of what Merrick
Garland was able to get done once the trump allies were neutralized.
Seized John Eastman's phone
Seized Jeffrey Clark's phone
Seized Scott Perry's emails
Seized Eastman's emails
Seized Epshteyn's phone
Seized Mike Lindell's phone
Seized Mike Roman's phone
Seized Scott Perry's phone
Got Kash Patel's testimony
Appointed Windom
Appointed Cooney
Subpoenaed the fraudulent electors
Subpoenaed 7 state's election officials
Subpoenaed Sidney's PAC
Subpoenaed Rudy
Opened IG probe into Clark
Opened IG probe into DoJ response to 1/6
Negotiated subpoena for Meadows
Battled the 11th circuit for classified docs
Subpoenaed trump for classified docs
Subpoenaed trump for surveillance video
Executed a search warrant on trump
Convicted Bannon of contempt
Indicted Navarro for contempt
Subpoenaed the speakers from 1/6
Subpoenaed the organizers of 1/6
Secured seditious conspiracy convictions
Subpoenaed records for any member of congress involved in 1/6
Subpoenaed info on Jenna Ellis
Secured testimony from Mark Short
Secured testimony from Jacob Engel
Secured testimony from Philbin
Secured testimony from Cippollone
Subpoenaed info on trump's PACs
Won privilege battles for Short, Engel, and the Pats
Negotiated for Pence's subpoena
Seized the phone records of Meadows
Secured the 1/6 committee transcripts
Subpoenaed 7 secretaries of state
D’antuono
would not resign until December, 2022 - almost a year after the new
Wray Chief of Staff was installed to overcome obstacles at the FBI.
Now,
are there things Merrick Garland has done that I disagree with?
Absolutely. But this post is about the coup investigation and the
obstacles he had to overcome. I disagree with his appointment of Robert
Hur, and Andy McCabe and I discussed that on the Jack podcast the week
he was appointed. I disagreed with Merrick Garland carrying the Barr
arguments for DoJ representing Trump in the E Jean Carroll Case. He
eventually did the right thing. I disagreed with Garland fighting to
keep the Barr Mueller Obstruction memo under seal. He lost that battle,
but he also didn’t fight it very hard. He could have used new and better
arguments, but he stuck with the weak Barr arguments.
But as far
as the coup investigation goes, he did not wait two years, or 18
months, or even six months. He began investigating trump when he got
there. It’s also untrue that he wanted a bottom up investigation. That
was an incorrect assumption the media made. It’s also untrue that he
didn’t do anything until Jack Smith was appointed - as evidenced by my
non-exhaustive list above. That list was off the top of my head so I’m
certain there’s more. It’s also incorrect that the January 6th committee
“shamed” Garland into investigating - as evidenced by the timeline of
events. In fact, the committee delayed the DoJ investigation by refusing
to hand over their materials in a timely manner.
If knowing
these facts, you still think Merrick Garland is an ineffective Attorney
General, that’s totally fair. But I thought you should know the facts.
PS: Sally Yates would have likely recused from an investigation into Trump if she were named the Attorney General
Subscribe to The Breakdown
By MuellerSheWrote · Hundreds of paid subscribers
A breakdown of legal proceedings by Mueller, She Wrote
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
The
goal of this post is to put all the facts about the investigation into
the top of the coup in one place so that you can make up you own mind
about Attorney General Merrick Garland. These facts seem to be
conspicuously missing from public discourse and the media in favor of
rage baiting for clicks and eyes. As much money as I could make by
joining in the Garland bashing, that’s never been my motive. I defend
facts and institutions, not a bottom line. If I’ve learned anything in
the past 30 years of working - the number one lesson is that in the long
run, profit should never be what drives your mission or vision. Ever.
So here’s the facts:
First,
the Department of Justice Inspector General began investigating Jeffrey
Clark and his role in the fraudulent elector scheme in January 2021 -
less than two weeks after the insurrection.
JP Cooney, who would
go on to work in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office, wanted to begin
investigating the ties between the White House and the Willard War Room
in February, 2021, before Merrick Garland even got to the Department of
Justice. He was interested in ties between the president and extremist
groups like the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys.
But two trump
allies at the FBI and DoJ, namely Mike Sherwin (the acting US Attorney
in DC) and Steven D’antuono (second in charge of the Washington DC FBI
Field Office) did not want the investigation to go forward.
Here’s
some background on Mike Sherwin. At one point, Jessie Liu was the DC US
Attorney, and Trump didn’t like her because she wasn’t playing ball
with him to indict Andrew McCabe. Trump and Barr had to trick her out of
her job - which they did by offering her a position at the Treasury,
then rescinding the offer after she resigned as US Attorney. Barr then
installed Tim Shea.
TIm Shea let Mike Flynn and Roger Stone off
the hook, which caused a bunch of DoJ career prosecutors to resign in
protest. Per the vacancy act, Tim Shea could only be in the job for 120
days. If he wanted to stay longer, he would need the DC District Court’s
approval - and after what he did with the Stone and Flynn cases -
there’s no way he would get that approval. So Trump and Barr
circumvented career prosecutors and installed Mike Sherwin. To quote
Douglas Adams - this made a lot of people very angry and has been widely
regarded as a bad move.
GOP appointee and president of the DC Bar
said Barr's "packing" of close associates into senior positions at DoJ
undermined the independence of the USAO DC. Gerson, a Barr aide and GOP
appointee said the move amounted to a "political coup". Sherwin Backed
Barr in his bid to dismiss Flynn's guilty plea. Assistant US Attorneys
complained they lost credibility and could't secure plea deals because
trump installed this ally.
Mike Sherwin was a trump installed ally as part of a political coup. Put a pin in that.
Sherwin
approved and communicated to prosecutors the decision to give Flynn’s
defense internal FBI records cited in Barr's motion to dismiss Flynn's
case. After 1/6, Sherwin went on TV and discussed potential charges in
the OPEN and ONGOING Oath Keepers case, violating DoJ policy. He was
referred to the DoJ's Office of Professional Responsibility for that
major fuck up, and Judge Mehta called an emergency conference about with
the attorneys for the Oath Keepers to tell them all he would not
tolerate Sherwin's bullshit. I’m paraphrasing.
"I called this
hearing this afternoon to make clear to everyone that this case will not
be tried in the media. If there are further public comments or stories
of the kind that we've seen in the last 48 hours, I will not hesitate to
consider a gag order. Let me just say at the outset that I was
surprised — and I'm being restrained in my terminology — surprised to
say the least to see Mr. Sherwin sitting for an interview about a
pending case about an ongoing investigation. Whether his interview
violated Justice Department policy is really not for me to say, but it
is something I hope the Justice Department is looking into."
The next day, Sherwin resigned to avoid being sanctioned for his behavior.
Let’s
talk about Steven D’antuono, who worked with Sherwin to block search
warrants for the Oath Keepers Stewart Rhodes and the Willard War Room,
among other things. According to D’antuono’s testimony to congress, the
DoJ wanted the FBI to immediately issue a search warrant for Mar-a-Lago
after the National Archives formally referred the matter to the DoJ in
the spring of 2022. D’antuono blocked Garland. “DOJ wants stuff. We were
pushing back. That’s the beauty of our system, right. It’s like, that’s
the judicial system in a sense.”
Even more interesting, D’antuono
was brought in by Jim Jordan to the House Judiciary and told them that
the FBI had plants at the Capitol on January 6th. Naturally, that was
highly misleading because these were Confidential Human Sources at the
insurrection of their own volition. Remember, CHSs are not always the
best people, but that didn’t stop Jim Jordan from running with his “FBI
was in on it” narrative - bolstered by his friend D’antuono’s testimony.
Jim Jordan is also using D’antuono testimony to make the
allegation that the FBI doesn’t think Mar-a-Lago should have been
“raided”, and Trump himself is using his testimony in his motions to
dismiss the documents case against him. So that’s D’antuono.
Sherwin
and D’antuono worked together to stop JP Cooney from pitching his trump
coup investigation ideas to Merrick Garland, and actively blocked him
from a high level meeting during Garland’s first week. We’ve known that
for a while - since Carol Loennig reported it in the Washington Post
last year. But we recently learned from sources familiar, that Garland
had another high level meeting, likely without the trump allies there,
and ordered the investigation into ties between trump and the Willard
War Room go forward. He said that he was aware this could lead to Trump,
and he was fine with that. He gave the green light to a small handful
of people to prevent the existence of the Trump investigation from
becoming public. That was March, 2021. The week Garland arrived at DoJ.
Two
months later, June 2021, Garland was growing frustrated with the slow
pace of the investigation. The FBI trump allies were refusing to execute
search warrants, so Merrick garland called a meeting and set up a task
force to investigate Trump called the “investigations unit”. But they
didn’t yet have Biden’s DC US Attorney to assist and provide resources.
The agency was still filled with Trump holdovers and Jim Jordan allies,
so the amount of people investigating was relegated to a small group of
people Garland could trust. What was taking the Senate so long to
confirm the new DC US Attorney?
Keep in mind we had a 50/50
senate, and Mitch McConnell was slow-walking the power sharing
agreement. Additionally, Senators Ted Cruz, Ron Johnson, Tommy
Tuberville, Rick Scott, and Mike Lee sent a letter to Merrick Garland
informing him that they would be blocking Biden’s DC USAO nominee unless
and until Garland started treating the Black Lives Matter protestors
the same way he was treating the insurrectionists.
Can you think
of any reason why Lee, Cruz, Johnson, Scott, and Tuberville would want
to delay the full investigation of the attack on the Capitol?
So
that all happened in June 2021. Garland stood up the “investigations”
unit in June, and traitorous senators that participated in January 6th
were blocking the new DC US Attorney’s confirmation.
November,
the US Attorney for DC was finally confirmed, and Windom - who also
works now with Cooney in the Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office. But
D’antuno was still blocking search warrants and subpoenas. He refused to
subpoena the Willard. So Windom went to the Inspector General and even
the postal cops to get his search warrents executed. Meanwhile, Garland
was trying to figure out a way to get around these trump allied
roadblocks, and eventually was able to install a friendly Chief of Staff
to Christopher Wray (since he really can’t fire the head of the FBI -
the guy who refused to investigate 1400 sexual assault tips on Kavanaugh
and somehow didn’t see January 6th coming.)
That’s when the
floodgates opened, and here’s a non-exhaustive list of what Merrick
Garland was able to get done once the trump allies were neutralized.
Seized John Eastman's phone
Seized Jeffrey Clark's phone
Seized Scott Perry's emails
Seized Eastman's emails
Seized Epshteyn's phone
Seized Mike Lindell's phone
Seized Mike Roman's phone
Seized Scott Perry's phone
Got Kash Patel's testimony
Appointed Windom
Appointed Cooney
Subpoenaed the fraudulent electors
Subpoenaed 7 state's election officials
Subpoenaed Sidney's PAC
Subpoenaed Rudy
Opened IG probe into Clark
Opened IG probe into DoJ response to 1/6
Negotiated subpoena for Meadows
Battled the 11th circuit for classified docs
Subpoenaed trump for classified docs
Subpoenaed trump for surveillance video
Executed a search warrant on trump
Convicted Bannon of contempt
Indicted Navarro for contempt
Subpoenaed the speakers from 1/6
Subpoenaed the organizers of 1/6
Secured seditious conspiracy convictions
Subpoenaed records for any member of congress involved in 1/6
Subpoenaed info on Jenna Ellis
Secured testimony from Mark Short
Secured testimony from Jacob Engel
Secured testimony from Philbin
Secured testimony from Cippollone
Subpoenaed info on trump's PACs
Won privilege battles for Short, Engel, and the Pats
Negotiated for Pence's subpoena
Seized the phone records of Meadows
Secured the 1/6 committee transcripts
Subpoenaed 7 secretaries of state
D’antuono
would not resign until December, 2022 - almost a year after the new
Wray Chief of Staff was installed to overcome obstacles at the FBI.
Now,
are there things Merrick Garland has done that I disagree with?
Absolutely. But this post is about the coup investigation and the
obstacles he had to overcome. I disagree with his appointment of Robert
Hur, and Andy McCabe and I discussed that on the Jack podcast the week
he was appointed. I disagreed with Merrick Garland carrying the Barr
arguments for DoJ representing Trump in the E Jean Carroll Case. He
eventually did the right thing. I disagreed with Garland fighting to
keep the Barr Mueller Obstruction memo under seal. He lost that battle,
but he also didn’t fight it very hard. He could have used new and better
arguments, but he stuck with the weak Barr arguments.
But as far
as the coup investigation goes, he did not wait two years, or 18
months, or even six months. He began investigating trump when he got
there. It’s also untrue that he wanted a bottom up investigation. That
was an incorrect assumption the media made. It’s also untrue that he
didn’t do anything until Jack Smith was appointed - as evidenced by my
non-exhaustive list above. That list was off the top of my head so I’m
certain there’s more. It’s also incorrect that the January 6th committee
“shamed” Garland into investigating - as evidenced by the timeline of
events. In fact, the committee delayed the DoJ investigation by refusing
to hand over their materials in a timely manner.
If knowing
these facts, you still think Merrick Garland is an ineffective Attorney
General, that’s totally fair. But I thought you should know the facts.
PS: Sally Yates would have likely recused from an investigation into Trump if she were named the Attorney General
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By MuellerSheWrote · Hundreds of paid subscribers
A breakdown of legal proceedings by Mueller, She Wrote
Sen. Bob Menendez's corruption trial begins, his second in the last decade
By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Today
NEW YORK (AP) — Sen Bob Menendez, a Democrat, went on trial in Manhattan federal court Monday, accused of accepting bribes of gold and cash to use his influence to deliver favors that would help three New Jersey businessmen.
Menendez, 70, sat with his lawyers and listened as Judge Sidney H. Stein told two separate groups of 50 prospective jurors about the charges against Menendez and two of the businessmen.
The judge told them the “sitting U.S. senator from the state of New Jersey” had been charged in a conspiracy in which he allegedly “agreed to accept bribes and accepted bribes.”
After he warned them that the trial was expected to last up to seven weeks, Stein let jurors raise their hands if they believed they could not serve for that length of time. Then, he took them one at a time into a separate room to ask them why.
Menendez is on trial with two of the businessmen who allegedly paid him bribes — real estate developer Fred Daibes and Wael Hana. All three have pleaded not guilty. A third businessman has pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the other defendants. The senator’s wife is also charged, but her trial is delayed until at least July.
Stein had not finished questioning prospective jurors who said they could not serve when he finished for the day without yet beginning the process of asking general questions of all jurors, such as whether they know any of the parties to the case, including lawyers, the defendants and possible witnesses.
The judge gave no indication whether he thought it was likely that openings would occur Tuesday.
When Menendez left the courthouse at the end of the day, he gave a friendly wave toward reporters who asked him to speak as he walked quickly to a waiting car, but he left any meaningful comment for another day.
In the morning, Menendez, in a suit with a red tie, was dropped off in front of the courthouse at 8:15 a.m., forty minutes before former President Donald Trump's motorcade passed by on its way across the street to state court, where he is on trial for allegedly falsifying business records to hide hush money payments to a porn actor before the 2016 election.
Menendez did not speak to reporters who were kept behind barricades as he entered a security pavilion where everyone entering the courthouse is scanned.
The trial, the second in seven years for Menendez, has already sent the senator's political stature tumbling. After charges were announced in September, he was forced out of his powerful post as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The three-term senator has announced he will not be seeking reelection on the Democratic ticket this fall, although he has not ruled out running as an independent.
The previous corruption prosecution of Menendez on unrelated charges ended with a deadlocked jury in 2017.
In the new case, prosecutors say the senator's efforts on behalf of the businessmen led him to take actions benefitting the governments of Egypt and Qatar. Menendez has vigorously denied doing anything unusual in his dealings with foreign officials.
Besides charges including bribery, extortion, fraud and obstruction of justice, Menendez also is charged with acting as a foreign agent of Egypt.
Among evidence his lawyers will have to explain are gold bars worth over $100,000 and more than $486,000 in cash found in a raid two years ago on his New Jersey home, including money stuffed in the pockets of clothing in closets.
The Democrat's wife, Nadine Menendez, was also charged in the case, but her trial has been postponed for health reasons. She is still expected to be a major figure. Prosecutors say Nadine Menendez often served as a conduit between the men paying the bribes and Menendez.
The senator's lawyers in court papers have said they plan to explain that Menendez had no knowledge of some of what occurred because she kept him in the dark.
According to an indictment, Daibes delivered gold bars and cash to Menendez and his wife to get the senator's help with a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund, prompting Menendez to act in ways favorable to Qatar's government.
The indictment also said Menendez did things benefitting Egyptian officials in exchange for bribes from Hana as the businessman secured a valuable deal with the Egyptian government to certify that imported meat met Islamic dietary requirements.
In pleading guilty several weeks ago, businessman Jose Uribe admitted buying Menendez's wife a Mercedes-Benz to get the senator's help to influence criminal investigations involving his business associates.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Sen. Bob Menendez's corruption trial begins, his second in the last decade
By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Today
NEW YORK (AP) — Sen Bob Menendez, a Democrat, went on trial in Manhattan federal court Monday, accused of accepting bribes of gold and cash to use his influence to deliver favors that would help three New Jersey businessmen.
Menendez, 70, sat with his lawyers and listened as Judge Sidney H. Stein told two separate groups of 50 prospective jurors about the charges against Menendez and two of the businessmen.
The judge told them the “sitting U.S. senator from the state of New Jersey” had been charged in a conspiracy in which he allegedly “agreed to accept bribes and accepted bribes.”
After he warned them that the trial was expected to last up to seven weeks, Stein let jurors raise their hands if they believed they could not serve for that length of time. Then, he took them one at a time into a separate room to ask them why.
Menendez is on trial with two of the businessmen who allegedly paid him bribes — real estate developer Fred Daibes and Wael Hana. All three have pleaded not guilty. A third businessman has pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the other defendants. The senator’s wife is also charged, but her trial is delayed until at least July.
Stein had not finished questioning prospective jurors who said they could not serve when he finished for the day without yet beginning the process of asking general questions of all jurors, such as whether they know any of the parties to the case, including lawyers, the defendants and possible witnesses.
The judge gave no indication whether he thought it was likely that openings would occur Tuesday.
When Menendez left the courthouse at the end of the day, he gave a friendly wave toward reporters who asked him to speak as he walked quickly to a waiting car, but he left any meaningful comment for another day.
In the morning, Menendez, in a suit with a red tie, was dropped off in front of the courthouse at 8:15 a.m., forty minutes before former President Donald Trump's motorcade passed by on its way across the street to state court, where he is on trial for allegedly falsifying business records to hide hush money payments to a porn actor before the 2016 election.
Menendez did not speak to reporters who were kept behind barricades as he entered a security pavilion where everyone entering the courthouse is scanned.
The trial, the second in seven years for Menendez, has already sent the senator's political stature tumbling. After charges were announced in September, he was forced out of his powerful post as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The three-term senator has announced he will not be seeking reelection on the Democratic ticket this fall, although he has not ruled out running as an independent.
The previous corruption prosecution of Menendez on unrelated charges ended with a deadlocked jury in 2017.
In the new case, prosecutors say the senator's efforts on behalf of the businessmen led him to take actions benefitting the governments of Egypt and Qatar. Menendez has vigorously denied doing anything unusual in his dealings with foreign officials.
Besides charges including bribery, extortion, fraud and obstruction of justice, Menendez also is charged with acting as a foreign agent of Egypt.
Among evidence his lawyers will have to explain are gold bars worth over $100,000 and more than $486,000 in cash found in a raid two years ago on his New Jersey home, including money stuffed in the pockets of clothing in closets.
The Democrat's wife, Nadine Menendez, was also charged in the case, but her trial has been postponed for health reasons. She is still expected to be a major figure. Prosecutors say Nadine Menendez often served as a conduit between the men paying the bribes and Menendez.
The senator's lawyers in court papers have said they plan to explain that Menendez had no knowledge of some of what occurred because she kept him in the dark.
According to an indictment, Daibes delivered gold bars and cash to Menendez and his wife to get the senator's help with a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund, prompting Menendez to act in ways favorable to Qatar's government.
The indictment also said Menendez did things benefitting Egyptian officials in exchange for bribes from Hana as the businessman secured a valuable deal with the Egyptian government to certify that imported meat met Islamic dietary requirements.
In pleading guilty several weeks ago, businessman Jose Uribe admitted buying Menendez's wife a Mercedes-Benz to get the senator's help to influence criminal investigations involving his business associates.
Government sues Ticketmaster owner and asks court to break up company's monopoly on live events
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS
13 mins ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department sued Ticketmaster and its parent company Thursday, accusing them of running an illegal monopoly over live events in America and asking a court to break up the system that squelches competition and drives up prices for fans.
Filed in federal court in Manhattan, the sweeping antitrust lawsuit was brought with 30 state and district attorneys general and seeks to dismantle the monopoly they say is squeezing out smaller promoters, hurting artists and drowning ticket buyers in fees. Ticketmaster and its owner, Live Nation Entertainment, have a long history of clashes with major artists and their fans, including Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen.
“It's time for fans and artists to stop paying the price for Live Nation’s monopoly,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. “It is time to restore competition and innovation in the entertainment industry. It is time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster. The American people are ready for it.”
The government accused Live Nation of tactics — including threats and retaliation — that Garland said have allowed the entertainment giant to “suffocate the competition” by controlling virtually every aspect of the industry, from concert promotion to ticketing. The impact is seen in an “endless list of fees on fans," the attorney general said.
“Live music should not be available only to those who can afford to pay the Ticketmaster tax,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division. “We are here today to fight for competition so that we can reopen the doors to the live music industry for all.”
Live Nation, which has for years denied that it is violating antitrust laws, said the lawsuit “won’t solve the issues fans care about relating to ticket prices, service fees and access to in-demand shows.”
“Calling Ticketmaster a monopoly may be a PR win for the DOJ in the short term, but it will lose in court because it ignores the basic economics of live entertainment,” Live Nation added. It said most service fees go to venues and that outside competition has ”steadily eroded" Ticketmaster's market share. The company said it would defend itself against the “baseless allegations."
The Justice Department said Live Nation's anti-competitive practices include using long-term contracts to keep venues from choosing rivals, blocking venues from using multiple ticket sellers and threatening venues that they could lose money if they don't choose Ticketmaster.
In 2021, the concert giant threatened to financially retaliate against a firm if one of its portfolio companies didn't stop competing with Live Nation for artist promotion contracts, the Justice Department alleged.
Live Nation has also scooped up smaller promoters it viewed as a threats, officials said. Live Nation's chief strategy officer told executives that one acquisition deal was not “super exciting” financially but felt like “more of a defensive move,” according to the complaint.
Michael Carrier, a professor at Rutgers Law School who specializes in antitrust litigation, said the Justice Department has a strong case. He expects Live Nation to “try to cast blame elsewhere,” such as arguing that prices are set by artists or venues, but he said those explanations are weak.
“The DOJ showed how Live Nation really has its tentacles in each element of the supply chain, which means that it has a lot more control than it is letting on,” he said. “And, in terms of justifications, there is really very little that (Live Nation) can offer in terms of how they’re helping the consumer.”
The complaint said a breakup between Live Nation and Ticketmaster is on the table. That, combined with other remedies such as preventing some exclusive deals that shackle competition, could potentially help fans see lower ticket prices, give artists more agency in choosing venues and boost smaller promoters' success in the long run, Carrier said.
Ticketmaster, which merged with Live Nation in 2010, is the world’s largest ticket seller across live music, sports, theater and more. During its annual report last month, the company said Ticketmaster distributed more than 620 million tickets through its systems in 2023.
Around 70% of tickets for major concert venues in the U.S. are sold through Ticketmaster, according to data in a federal lawsuit filed by consumers in 2022. The company owns or controls more than 265 of North America's concert venues and dozens of top amphitheaters, according to the Justice Department.
Live Nation’s footprint has grown substantially over the past 10 years, according to the company's annual financial reports. Between the end of 2014 and the end of 2023, Live Nation reported a worldwide increase of more than 136% in terms of venues the company “owned, leased, operated, had exclusive booking rights for or had an equity interest over which we had a significant influence.”
The ticket seller sparked outrage in November 2022 when its site crashed during a presale event for a Taylor Swift stadium tour. The company said the site was overwhelmed by both fans and attacks from bots, which were posing as consumers to scoop up tickets and sell them on secondary sites. The debacle prompted congressional hearings and bills in state legislatures aimed at better protecting consumers.
The Justice Department allowed Live Nation and Ticketmaster to merge as long as Live Nation agreed not to retaliate against concert venues for using other ticket companies for 10 years. In 2019, the department investigated and found that Live Nation had repeatedly violated that agreement. The government then extended the prohibition on retaliating against concert venues to 2025.
“It’s a failure of past antitrust. And it’s something that rips customers off every day,” said John Kwoka, a professor of economics at Northeastern University who was also a consultant for the states that ran a 2009 investigation in parallel with the Justice Department into Live Nation and Ticketmaster's original merger.
Kwoka, who is among those who have long advocated for a breakup, notes that Live Nation and Ticketmaster have remained “largely unchecked” over the last 15 years. He points to complaints that have continued to pile up.
Ticketmaster's clashes with artists and fans date back three decades. Pearl Jam took aim at the company in 1994, years before the Live Nation merger, although the Justice Department ultimately declined to bring a case. More recently, Bruce Springsteen fans were enraged over high ticket costs because of the platform’s dynamic pricing system.
Live Nation has maintained that artists and teams set prices and decide how tickets are sold. The company's executive vice president of corporate and regulatory affairs, Dan Wall, said in a statement Thursday that factors such as increasing production costs, artist popularity and online ticket scalping are “actually responsible for higher ticket prices.”
The Justice Department lawsuit filed Thursday is the latest example of the Biden administration’s aggressive antitrust enforcement. The effort has targeted companies accused of engaging in illegal monopolies that box out competitors and drive up prices. In March, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Apple alleging that the tech giant has monopoly power in the smartphone market. The Democratic administration has also taken on Google, Amazon and other tech giants.
__________
Grantham-Philips reported from New York. Associated Press reporters Michelle Chapman and Maria Sherman in New York and Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico, also contributed to this report.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Garland slams attacks on the Justice Department, telling lawmakers: 'I will not be intimidated'
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ERIC TUCKER
1 hour ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland rebuked Republicans Tuesday for what he described as unprecedented attacks on the Justice Department, telling lawmakers who have sought to hold him in contempt that he will “not be intimidated.”
Appearing before a House panel led by allies of Donald Trump, Garland condemned as a “conspiracy theory” the claim that the department was behind the New York state court prosecution that led to the former Republican president's conviction last week on 34 felony charges. And Garland slammed other “baseless and extremely dangerous falsehoods" being spread about law enforcement.
His unusually fiery testimony amounted to a forceful defense of the independence and integrity of the Justice Department at an unprecedented moment in which it is prosecuting both Trump and President Joe Biden’s son. Amid an onslaught by Trump and his Republican allies, Garland said his agency will not be deterred in its commitment to uphold the rule of law.
Garland described a Republican effort to hold him in contempt as the latest in “a long line of attacks" on the Justice Department." Those attacks “have not, and they will not” influence the department's decision making, Garland told lawmakers.
“I will not be intimidated,” Garland said. “And the Justice Department will not be intimidated. We will continue to do our jobs free from political influence. And we will not back down from defending our democracy.”
Republicans used the House Judiciary Committee hearing to push the claim that Biden has weaponized the department to go after Trump, even as the Democratic president's son Hunter stands trial on federal firearms charges in Delaware. Trump — who is charged in two criminal cases brought by the Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith — has cast himself as the victim of a politically motivated legal system as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee vies to reclaim the White House in November.
Since his conviction in the New York trial last week, Trump and his supporters have escalated their attacks on the criminal justice system, slamming prosecutors, the judge and the jury. Trump and his allies have suggested the case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a state-level prosecutor, was orchestrated by Biden.
Garland described that unsupported assertion as an "attack on the judicial process itself."
The attorney general also slammed as dangerous Trump's distorted claim that the FBI agents who searched his Mar-a-Lago estate in August 2022 were “authorized to shoot" him and were “locked & loaded ready" to take him out. The former president was referring to the disclosure in a court document that the FBI, during the search, followed a standard use-of-force policy that is actually meant to limit the use of deadly force.
Garland appeared nearly overcome by emotion at one point when asked about the department’s role in upholding the rule of law, pausing with his hands clasped on the table in front of him.
“I have devoted my entire career to ensuring that the rule of law is the rule that the Justice Department applies and the courts apply — that we follow the precedents, that we treat like cases alike, that we do not have enemies or friends, that we do not pay attention to the political parties or the wealth, or the power, or the influence that we are investigating,” the attorney general said.
His appearance came as Republicans have moved to hold him in contempt for the administration's refusal to hand over audio of President Biden's interview with special counsel Robert Hur, which focused on the president's handling of classified documents.
A transcript of Biden's interview has been made public, but the president asserted executive privilege over the audio last month to block its release. The White House has said Republican lawmakers only want the audio so they can chop it up and use it for political purposes.
Republicans, meanwhile, have accused Biden of trying to suppress the audio because he doesn't want the public to hear it before the election. In his report concluding that Biden should not face charges for his handling of classified documents, Hur wrote that the 81-year-old president would likely present himself to a jury “as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
The Justice Department has argued witnesses might be less likely to cooperate if they know their interviews might be heard by the public. And in recent court filing, it raised concerns that releasing the audio could spur deepfakes and disinformation that trick Americans.
“I view contempt as a serious matter,” Garland told lawmakers. “But I will not jeopardize the ability of our prosecutors and agents to do their jobs effectively in future investigations.”
Shortly after the hearing began, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced a “three-pronged” plan to address what he described as the “weaponization” of the justice system against Trump. The approach, according to the Louisiana Republican, will look to circumvent the authority of the Justice Department and local prosecutors in the Trump case through legislation, funding and oversight.
Rep. Jim Jordan, the committee’s top Republican, criticized Garland in his opening statement for a broad array of what he depicted as politically motivated decisions by federal law enforcement -- including the conclusions by different special counsels that Trump criminally mishandled classified documents while Biden did not.
“Many Americans believe there’s now a double standard in our justice system. They believe that because there is,” Jordan said.
Garland strongly pushed back on Republican questions he said were underpinned by false premises, and Republicans seemed exasperated at some points by his refusal to be drawn into extensive back-and-forth. When at one point, Garland asked for the ability to finish his answer, Rep. Andy Biggs, a conservative Arizona Republican, said no because he was being “nonresponsive.”
But the attorney general also appeared uneasy at some friendly questions from Democrats who tried to underscore the Justice Department’s independence by discussing specific cases. Garland repeatedly refused to respond to questions about specific investigations. For example, when one lawmaker asked Garland whether Trump had been interviewed by federal prosecutors before his indictments, he refused to answer, even though the answer is known to be no.
____
Associated Press reporter Farnoush Amiri in Washington contributed.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted, sources say
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted by a grand jury on federal criminal charges, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The indictment detailing the charges against Adams, a Democrat, was still sealed late Wednesday, according to the people, who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan declined to comment. The indictment was first reported by The New York Times.
“I always knew that If I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target — and a target I became,” Adams said in a statement that implied he hadn't been informed of the indictment. “If I am charged, I am innocent and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit.”
In a speech recorded at his official residence, Adams acknowledged that some New Yorkers would question his ability to manage the city while he fights the charges, but he vowed to stay in office.
“I have been facing these lies for months ... yet the city has continued to improve," Adams said. "Make no mistake. You elected me to lead this city and lead it I will.”
It was not immediately clear when the charges would be made public or when Adams might have to appear in court.
The indictment marks a stunning turn for Adams, a former police captain who won election nearly three years ago to become the second Black mayor of the nation’s largest city on a platform that promised a law-and-order approach to reducing crime.
For much of the last year, Adams has faced growing legal peril, with multiple federal investigations into top advisers producing a drumbeat of subpoenas, searches and high-level departures that has thrust City Hall into crisis. In the last two weeks alone, the police chief who oversees the country’s largest police force and the schools chancellor who is in charge of the nation’s biggest school district both announced their resignations.
He had repeatedly said he wasn’t aware of any wrongdoing and vowed as recently as Wednesday afternoon to stay in office.
Adams, who is expecting a tough primary election next year, faced immediate calls to resign from many of his declared or expected Democratic challengers.
Brad Lander, the city’s comptroller, said the indictment marked “a sad day for New Yorkers.” Sen. Zellnor Myrie also called the indictment “sad” and added that it was “especially painful for so many Black New Yorkers who put our hope and faith in this Mayor.”
continues..
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
0
curmudgeoness
Brigadoon, foodie capital Posts: 3,990
My lefty/ socialist kid is giddy over this. Me? I’m unsurprised. I still can’t figure out how Adams was elected.
The DOJ somehow managed to get (dirty AF) Bob Menendez, too, go figure.
All those who seek to destroy the liberties of a democratic nation ought to know that war is the surest and shortest means to accomplish it.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted, sources say
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted by a grand jury on federal criminal charges, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The indictment detailing the charges against Adams, a Democrat, was still sealed late Wednesday, according to the people, who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan declined to comment. The indictment was first reported by The New York Times.
“I always knew that If I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target — and a target I became,” Adams said in a statement that implied he hadn't been informed of the indictment. “If I am charged, I am innocent and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit.”
In a speech recorded at his official residence, Adams acknowledged that some New Yorkers would question his ability to manage the city while he fights the charges, but he vowed to stay in office.
“I have been facing these lies for months ... yet the city has continued to improve," Adams said. "Make no mistake. You elected me to lead this city and lead it I will.”
It was not immediately clear when the charges would be made public or when Adams might have to appear in court.
The indictment marks a stunning turn for Adams, a former police captain who won election nearly three years ago to become the second Black mayor of the nation’s largest city on a platform that promised a law-and-order approach to reducing crime.
For much of the last year, Adams has faced growing legal peril, with multiple federal investigations into top advisers producing a drumbeat of subpoenas, searches and high-level departures that has thrust City Hall into crisis. In the last two weeks alone, the police chief who oversees the country’s largest police force and the schools chancellor who is in charge of the nation’s biggest school district both announced their resignations.
He had repeatedly said he wasn’t aware of any wrongdoing and vowed as recently as Wednesday afternoon to stay in office.
Adams, who is expecting a tough primary election next year, faced immediate calls to resign from many of his declared or expected Democratic challengers.
Brad Lander, the city’s comptroller, said the indictment marked “a sad day for New Yorkers.” Sen. Zellnor Myrie also called the indictment “sad” and added that it was “especially painful for so many Black New Yorkers who put our hope and faith in this Mayor.”
continues..
False flag to cover and justify the treatment of POOTWH. All an act.
Comments
The study found that undocumented immigrants had substantially lower crime rates than native-born citizens and legal immigrants across a range of felony offenses. Relative to undocumented immigrants, U.S.-born citizens are over 2 times more likely to be arrested for violent crimes, 2.5 times more likely to be arrested for drug crimes, and over 4 times more likely to be arrested for property crimes. In addition, the proportion of arrests involving undocumented immigrants in Texas was relatively stable or decreasing over this period. The differences between U.S.-born citizens and undocumented immigrants are robust to using alternative estimates of the broader undocumented population, alternate classifications of those counted as “undocumented” at arrest and substituting misdemeanors or convictions as measures of crime. (publisher abstract modified)
https://www.ojp.gov/library/publications/comparing-crime-rates-between-undocumented-immigrants-legal-immigrants-and
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
“Those” people seem to be more adept at finding housing so maybe you should ask the native born why they don’t have housing. Further, who do you think is going to build the housing or a substantial portion of it? Framing, roofing, landscaping, etc. particularly in those sweltering hot states where the state gubmint doesn’t think water breaks are necessary?
Sometimes I wish folks like you could wave a magic wand and make all the “others” disappear just so I could laugh at you for not being able to buy a steak, chicken, fruits or vegetables and complain about the high prices and lack of availability of almost everything. I hope you like being self-sufficient.
Source for the 5.5 million allowed in under the Brandon crime family.
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
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Immigrants Contribute Greatly to U.S. Economy, Despite Administration’s “Public Charge” Rule Rationale
The Department of Homeland Security’s recently finalized “public charge” rule directs immigration officials to reject applications from individuals who seek to remain in or enter the U.S. lawfully if they have received — or are judged more likely than not to receive in the future — any of an array of public benefits that are tied to need. The rule will have two main impacts. It will make it harder for those currently of modest means to gain lawful entry or permission to remain in the country as a permanent resident. And it will make immigrant families fear receiving benefits such as SNAP, Medicaid, and housing assistance that can help them make ends meet and access health care when their low pay is not enough. Many will forgo assistance altogether, resulting in more economic insecurity and hardship, with long-term negative consequences, particularly for children.
The Administration’s justification for the rule rests on the erroneous assumption that immigrants currently of modest means are harmful to our nation and our economy, devaluing their work and contributions and discounting the upward mobility immigrant families demonstrate.
In fact, immigrants contribute to the U.S. economy in many ways. They work at high rates and make up more than a third of the workforce in some industries. Their geographic mobility helps local economies respond to worker shortages, smoothing out bumps that could otherwise weaken the economy. Immigrant workers help support the aging native-born population, increasing the number of workers as compared to retirees and bolstering the Social Security and Medicare trust funds. And children born to immigrant families are upwardly mobile, promising future benefits not only to their families, but to the U.S. economy overall.
To be sure, immigrants contribute to our communities in ways that go far beyond their impacts on the economy. This analysis focuses on these economic impacts, and so it necessarily provides only a narrow window into the ways in which immigration has been a positive force for our nation.
Immigrants Work at High Rates in Jobs That Are Important to Our Economy and CommunitiesLink to this section
In 2018, the labor force participation rate of foreign-born adults was 65.7 percent, higher than the 62.3 percent rate for the native born, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some 27.2 million foreign-born adults, 63.4 percent of all foreign-born adults, were employed that year, compared to 59.8 percent of native-born adults.[1]
Immigrants hold jobs that are important to our economy and communities. Immigrant workers without a college degree — who appear to be a main target of the proposed rule — are found throughout the economy, but make up a sizable share of the workers in certain industries. Firms in such industries will have a harder time hiring staff if these workers can no longer come to or stay in the United States.
In March 2018, immigrants with less than a four-year college degree made up 10 percent of all persons (and 11 percent of all U.S. workers) in the United States, but they reflected a large share of all workers in many important occupations and industries, according to Census data. (See Table 1.) Fully 36 percent of workers in the farming, fishing, and forestry fields are immigrants without a college degree, as are 36 percent of building and grounds cleaning and maintenance workers, 27 percent of hotel workers, and 21 percent of home health care industry workers. [2]
In these and other jobs, immigrants help fill keys gaps in the U.S. economy. Indeed, in an authoritative 2015 report, a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel of experts determined that immigrants’ economic contributions would be hard to replace:
Research has also shown that immigrants contribute to native workers’ jobs and wages in sometimes hidden ways. For example, immigrants tend to be unusually mobile workers, quicker than their native-born peers to move around the country in response to shortages that appear in local labor markets. This helps native-born workers by filling gaps that could otherwise make their jobs impossible or reduce their productivity and lower their wages. George Borjas — a Harvard economist that immigration critics often cite — has argued that “immigration improves labor market efficiency. Moreover, it turns out that part of this efficiency gain accrues to natives, suggesting that existing estimates of the benefits from immigration may be ignoring a potentially important source of these benefits.” “Back-of-the-envelope” calculations suggest efficiency gains for native-born workers of “between $5 billion and $10 billion annually,” Borjas writes, noting that “the estimates of the efficiency gain roughly double the measured benefits from immigration.”[4] Other researchers have reached similar conclusions.[5]
Immigration also helps drive growth in certain industries. In the housing industry, for example, slowing growth rates in the U.S.-born population mean that immigrant households make up a rising share of total growth in U.S. occupied housing. Immigrants accounted for 8.7 percent of total growth in households in the 1970s, 15.7 percent in the 1980s, and 31.9 percent in the 1990s.[6] More recently, analysis of Census Bureau data shows, immigrant-headed households made up 39.5 percent of household growth.[7]
Immigrants Who Receive Assistance Have High Employment RatesLink to this section
Families with immigrant workers in lower-paying jobs sometimes need help from programs like SNAP and Medicaid to make ends meet and access health care, just like millions of U.S. citizen families. The Administration’s focus on benefit receipt in its defense of the new rule gives short shrift to the economic benefits immigrants bring to the country, including their hard work in important jobs, their value to the overall labor market, the demand they generate for goods and services, and — as discussed below — the contributions of their children.
Most immigrants who receive benefits like SNAP or Medicaid are employed or are married to someone who works — a sign that they are working in low-paid jobs. Our analysis of Census data shows that 77 percent of working-age immigrants (18 to 64) who received one or more of six benefits during 2017 also worked during the year or were married to a worker. For more than 60 percent of working-age immigrants who received benefits, the work was year round, that is, 50 weeks of the year or more.[8]
Moreover, longitudinal data show that immigrants who receive benefits like SNAP or Medicaid typically have even higher rates of employment over time. To assess long-term patterns of assistance and employment, CBPP analyzed a sample of longitudinal survey data collected in 1999 through 2015 from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID).[9] This analysis focused on individuals in the survey’s immigrant sample (that is, individuals in immigrant families added to the PSID in 1997 and 1999). For this analysis, we looked at young adults aged 18 to 44 in 1999, who received any of the five programs that are both covered by the public charge rule and recorded in the PSID: Medicaid, SNAP, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or housing assistance.
We find that the large majority of those who ever used benefits were also employed a majority of the time, and even more were either employed or had an employed spouse:[10]
- At least 93 percent were either employed in the majority of the observed years (five or more of the nine years observed in our PSID sample) or were married to someone who was.
- 77 percent of such immigrant program participants were themselves employed in a majority of the observed years.
- At least 87 percent were either employed themselves at the time of the final interview in 2015 or were married to someone who was. The first finding bears repeating. Looking at young adults in immigrant families in 1999, at least 93 percent of those who received benefits were also employed most of the time or married to someone who is. This finding, that over a period of several years most immigrants who receive the listed forms of assistance are usually working or are married to a worker, reflects both the frequently temporary nature of program participation and the common overlap between assistance and work within any given year.
Continues...............Immigrants Help Support the Aging U.S. PopulationLink to this section
Immigrants bolster our national birth rate, which has recently dropped to historically low levels among the native-born population.[11] A low birth rate can lead to a decline in the labor force, reduced demand in certain industries such as housing (and reduced home prices due to weaker demand), and a slowing and less dynamic economy. Immigrants, however, can counteract these effects.
Moreover, a low birth rate combined with the aging of the baby boom generation means that immigrants are vital to helping us improve our ratio of workers to retirees and support the baby boom generation in their retirement years. As the 2017 NAS report notes, “The vast majority of current and future net workforce growth — which, at less than 1 percent annually, is very slow by historical standards — will be accounted for by immigrants and their U.S.-born descendants.”[12]Immigrants Contribute Greatly to U.S. Economy, Despite Administration’s “Public Charge” Rule Rationale | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (cbpp.org)
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https://www.denverpost.com/2016/07/01/trump-supporters-rally-outside-colorado-capitol-building/
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BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira pleaded guilty on Monday to leaking highly classified military documents about the war in Ukraine and other national security secrets under a deal with prosecutors that calls for him to serve at least 11 years in prison.
Teixeira, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act nearly a year after he was arrested in the most consequential national security leak in years.
The 22-year-old admitted illegally collecting some of the nation's most sensitive secrets and sharing them with other users on Discord, a social media platform popular with people playing online games.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for September in Boston's federal court and said she would decide then whether to formally accept the agreement, which calls for a prison sentence between 11 and nearly 17 years. Prosecutors said they plan to seek the high end of that range.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
A woman clutching an infant is found in the rubble of Ukraine building after Russian drone strike
Russian drone strike on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa kills 7
Editor of top independent Russian newspaper fined for allegedly discrediting military
US adults fracture along party lines in support for Ukraine military funding, AP-NORC poll finds
“Mr. Teixeira callously disregarded the national security of the United States and he betrayed his solemn oath to defend the country and the trust of the American people he swore to protect,” Matt Olsen, assistant attorney general for national security, told reporters after the hearing.
The stunning security breach raised alarm over America’s ability to protect its most closely guarded secrets and forced the Biden administration to scramble to try to contain diplomatic and military fallout. The leaks embarrassed the Pentagon, which tightened controls to safeguard classified information and disciplined members found to have intentionally failed to take required action about Teixeira’s suspicious behavior.
Teixeira smiled at his father before being led out of the courtroom with his hands and legs shackled, wearing orange jail garb and black rosary beads around his neck. He stood flanked by defense attorneys through much of the hearing and occasionally leaned down to speak into the microphone to answer questions from the judge.
Michael Bachrach, an attorney for Teixeira, told reporters they will push for a sentence of 11 years. Bachrach described Teixeira as a “kid,” adding that the defense will show at sentencing that his youth played a significant role in his conduct.
“He is significantly remorseful for his conduct. He has accepted full responsibility for his conduct," Bachrach said.
In an emailed statement, Teixeira's family said: “It is unfathomable to think your child would ever be involved in something so serious, but he has taken responsibility for his part in this, and here we are.”
“Our focus now remains on Jack – his protection, health, and well-being, and taking care of whatever is in his best interest,” they said.
Teixeira, who was part of the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, worked as a cyber transport systems specialist, essentially an information technology specialist responsible for military communications networks. He remains in the Air National Guard in an unpaid status, an Air Force official said.
Authorities said he first typed out classified documents he accessed and then began sharing photographs of files that bore SECRET and TOP SECRET markings. Prosecutors also said he tried to cover his tracks before his arrest, and authorities found a smashed tablet, laptop and Xbox gaming console in a dumpster at his house.
The leak exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine, including information about troop movements in Ukraine and the provision of supplies and equipment to Ukrainian troops. Teixeira also admitted posting information about a U.S. adversary's plans to harm U.S. forces serving overseas.
Acting Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Josh Levy told reporters Monday he would not speculate on Teixeira's motive. But members of the Discord group described Teixeira as someone looking to show off, rather than being motivated by a desire to inform the public about U.S. military operations or to influence American policy.
In exchange for Teixeira's guilty plea, prosecutors agreed not to charge him with further Espionage Act violations. As part of the deal, Teixeira must participate in a debrief with members of the intelligence community, the Defense Department and the Justice Department about the leaks.
Teixeira has been behind bars since his April arrest. The judge denied his request for release from jail last year after prosecutors revealed he had a history of violent rhetoric and warned that U.S. adversaries who might be interested in mining Teixeira for information could facilitate his escape.
Prosecutors have said Teixeira continued to leak government secrets even after he was warned by superiors about mishandling and improper viewing of classified information. In one instance, Teixeira was seen taking notes on intelligence information and putting them in his pocket.
The Air Force inspector general found that members “intentionally failed to report the full details” of Teixeira’s unauthorized intelligence-seeking because they thought security officials might overreact. For example, while Teixeira was confronted about the notes, there was no follow-up to ensure the notes had been shredded and the incident was not reported to security officers.
It was not until a January 2023 incident that the appropriate security officials were notified, but even then security officials were not briefed on the full scope of the violations.
___
Associated Press reporter Tara Copp in Washington contributed to this report.
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"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
then reality winner should be treated the same as you say. so should snowden. and dig up daniel ellesberg and throw the corpse in prison too.
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you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
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Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
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another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
The Facts About Merrick Garland
Just the facts; free from outrage and unmotivated by profit.
The goal of this post is to put all the facts about the investigation into the top of the coup in one place so that you can make up you own mind about Attorney General Merrick Garland. These facts seem to be conspicuously missing from public discourse and the media in favor of rage baiting for clicks and eyes. As much money as I could make by joining in the Garland bashing, that’s never been my motive. I defend facts and institutions, not a bottom line. If I’ve learned anything in the past 30 years of working - the number one lesson is that in the long run, profit should never be what drives your mission or vision. Ever.
So here’s the facts:
First, the Department of Justice Inspector General began investigating Jeffrey Clark and his role in the fraudulent elector scheme in January 2021 - less than two weeks after the insurrection.
JP Cooney, who would go on to work in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office, wanted to begin investigating the ties between the White House and the Willard War Room in February, 2021, before Merrick Garland even got to the Department of Justice. He was interested in ties between the president and extremist groups like the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys.
But two trump allies at the FBI and DoJ, namely Mike Sherwin (the acting US Attorney in DC) and Steven D’antuono (second in charge of the Washington DC FBI Field Office) did not want the investigation to go forward.
Here’s some background on Mike Sherwin. At one point, Jessie Liu was the DC US Attorney, and Trump didn’t like her because she wasn’t playing ball with him to indict Andrew McCabe. Trump and Barr had to trick her out of her job - which they did by offering her a position at the Treasury, then rescinding the offer after she resigned as US Attorney. Barr then installed Tim Shea.
TIm Shea let Mike Flynn and Roger Stone off the hook, which caused a bunch of DoJ career prosecutors to resign in protest. Per the vacancy act, Tim Shea could only be in the job for 120 days. If he wanted to stay longer, he would need the DC District Court’s approval - and after what he did with the Stone and Flynn cases - there’s no way he would get that approval. So Trump and Barr circumvented career prosecutors and installed Mike Sherwin. To quote Douglas Adams - this made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.
GOP appointee and president of the DC Bar said Barr's "packing" of close associates into senior positions at DoJ undermined the independence of the USAO DC. Gerson, a Barr aide and GOP appointee said the move amounted to a "political coup". Sherwin Backed Barr in his bid to dismiss Flynn's guilty plea. Assistant US Attorneys complained they lost credibility and could't secure plea deals because trump installed this ally.
Mike Sherwin was a trump installed ally as part of a political coup. Put a pin in that.
Sherwin approved and communicated to prosecutors the decision to give Flynn’s defense internal FBI records cited in Barr's motion to dismiss Flynn's case. After 1/6, Sherwin went on TV and discussed potential charges in the OPEN and ONGOING Oath Keepers case, violating DoJ policy. He was referred to the DoJ's Office of Professional Responsibility for that major fuck up, and Judge Mehta called an emergency conference about with the attorneys for the Oath Keepers to tell them all he would not tolerate Sherwin's bullshit. I’m paraphrasing.
"I called this hearing this afternoon to make clear to everyone that this case will not be tried in the media. If there are further public comments or stories of the kind that we've seen in the last 48 hours, I will not hesitate to consider a gag order. Let me just say at the outset that I was surprised — and I'm being restrained in my terminology — surprised to say the least to see Mr. Sherwin sitting for an interview about a pending case about an ongoing investigation. Whether his interview violated Justice Department policy is really not for me to say, but it is something I hope the Justice Department is looking into."
The next day, Sherwin resigned to avoid being sanctioned for his behavior.
Let’s talk about Steven D’antuono, who worked with Sherwin to block search warrants for the Oath Keepers Stewart Rhodes and the Willard War Room, among other things. According to D’antuono’s testimony to congress, the DoJ wanted the FBI to immediately issue a search warrant for Mar-a-Lago after the National Archives formally referred the matter to the DoJ in the spring of 2022. D’antuono blocked Garland. “DOJ wants stuff. We were pushing back. That’s the beauty of our system, right. It’s like, that’s the judicial system in a sense.”
Even more interesting, D’antuono was brought in by Jim Jordan to the House Judiciary and told them that the FBI had plants at the Capitol on January 6th. Naturally, that was highly misleading because these were Confidential Human Sources at the insurrection of their own volition. Remember, CHSs are not always the best people, but that didn’t stop Jim Jordan from running with his “FBI was in on it” narrative - bolstered by his friend D’antuono’s testimony.
Jim Jordan is also using D’antuono testimony to make the allegation that the FBI doesn’t think Mar-a-Lago should have been “raided”, and Trump himself is using his testimony in his motions to dismiss the documents case against him. So that’s D’antuono.
Sherwin and D’antuono worked together to stop JP Cooney from pitching his trump coup investigation ideas to Merrick Garland, and actively blocked him from a high level meeting during Garland’s first week. We’ve known that for a while - since Carol Loennig reported it in the Washington Post last year. But we recently learned from sources familiar, that Garland had another high level meeting, likely without the trump allies there, and ordered the investigation into ties between trump and the Willard War Room go forward. He said that he was aware this could lead to Trump, and he was fine with that. He gave the green light to a small handful of people to prevent the existence of the Trump investigation from becoming public. That was March, 2021. The week Garland arrived at DoJ.
Two months later, June 2021, Garland was growing frustrated with the slow pace of the investigation. The FBI trump allies were refusing to execute search warrants, so Merrick garland called a meeting and set up a task force to investigate Trump called the “investigations unit”. But they didn’t yet have Biden’s DC US Attorney to assist and provide resources. The agency was still filled with Trump holdovers and Jim Jordan allies, so the amount of people investigating was relegated to a small group of people Garland could trust. What was taking the Senate so long to confirm the new DC US Attorney?
Keep in mind we had a 50/50 senate, and Mitch McConnell was slow-walking the power sharing agreement. Additionally, Senators Ted Cruz, Ron Johnson, Tommy Tuberville, Rick Scott, and Mike Lee sent a letter to Merrick Garland informing him that they would be blocking Biden’s DC USAO nominee unless and until Garland started treating the Black Lives Matter protestors the same way he was treating the insurrectionists.
Can you think of any reason why Lee, Cruz, Johnson, Scott, and Tuberville would want to delay the full investigation of the attack on the Capitol?
So that all happened in June 2021. Garland stood up the “investigations” unit in June, and traitorous senators that participated in January 6th were blocking the new DC US Attorney’s confirmation.
November, the US Attorney for DC was finally confirmed, and Windom - who also works now with Cooney in the Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office. But D’antuno was still blocking search warrants and subpoenas. He refused to subpoena the Willard. So Windom went to the Inspector General and even the postal cops to get his search warrents executed. Meanwhile, Garland was trying to figure out a way to get around these trump allied roadblocks, and eventually was able to install a friendly Chief of Staff to Christopher Wray (since he really can’t fire the head of the FBI - the guy who refused to investigate 1400 sexual assault tips on Kavanaugh and somehow didn’t see January 6th coming.)
That’s when the floodgates opened, and here’s a non-exhaustive list of what Merrick Garland was able to get done once the trump allies were neutralized.
Seized John Eastman's phone
Seized Jeffrey Clark's phone
Seized Scott Perry's emails
Seized Eastman's emails
Seized Epshteyn's phone
Seized Mike Lindell's phone
Seized Mike Roman's phone
Seized Scott Perry's phone
Got Kash Patel's testimony
Appointed Windom
Appointed Cooney
Subpoenaed the fraudulent electors
Subpoenaed 7 state's election officials
Subpoenaed Sidney's PAC
Subpoenaed Rudy
Opened IG probe into Clark
Opened IG probe into DoJ response to 1/6
Negotiated subpoena for Meadows
Battled the 11th circuit for classified docs
Subpoenaed trump for classified docs
Subpoenaed trump for surveillance video
Executed a search warrant on trump
Convicted Bannon of contempt
Indicted Navarro for contempt
Subpoenaed the speakers from 1/6
Subpoenaed the organizers of 1/6
Secured seditious conspiracy convictions
Subpoenaed records for any member of congress involved in 1/6
Subpoenaed info on Jenna Ellis
Secured testimony from Mark Short
Secured testimony from Jacob Engel
Secured testimony from Philbin
Secured testimony from Cippollone
Subpoenaed info on trump's PACs
Won privilege battles for Short, Engel, and the Pats
Negotiated for Pence's subpoena
Seized the phone records of Meadows
Secured the 1/6 committee transcripts
Subpoenaed 7 secretaries of state
D’antuono would not resign until December, 2022 - almost a year after the new Wray Chief of Staff was installed to overcome obstacles at the FBI.
Now, are there things Merrick Garland has done that I disagree with? Absolutely. But this post is about the coup investigation and the obstacles he had to overcome. I disagree with his appointment of Robert Hur, and Andy McCabe and I discussed that on the Jack podcast the week he was appointed. I disagreed with Merrick Garland carrying the Barr arguments for DoJ representing Trump in the E Jean Carroll Case. He eventually did the right thing. I disagreed with Garland fighting to keep the Barr Mueller Obstruction memo under seal. He lost that battle, but he also didn’t fight it very hard. He could have used new and better arguments, but he stuck with the weak Barr arguments.
But as far as the coup investigation goes, he did not wait two years, or 18 months, or even six months. He began investigating trump when he got there. It’s also untrue that he wanted a bottom up investigation. That was an incorrect assumption the media made. It’s also untrue that he didn’t do anything until Jack Smith was appointed - as evidenced by my non-exhaustive list above. That list was off the top of my head so I’m certain there’s more. It’s also incorrect that the January 6th committee “shamed” Garland into investigating - as evidenced by the timeline of events. In fact, the committee delayed the DoJ investigation by refusing to hand over their materials in a timely manner.
If knowing these facts, you still think Merrick Garland is an ineffective Attorney General, that’s totally fair. But I thought you should know the facts.
PS: Sally Yates would have likely recused from an investigation into Trump if she were named the Attorney General
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NEW YORK (AP) — Sen Bob Menendez, a Democrat, went on trial in Manhattan federal court Monday, accused of accepting bribes of gold and cash to use his influence to deliver favors that would help three New Jersey businessmen.
Menendez, 70, sat with his lawyers and listened as Judge Sidney H. Stein told two separate groups of 50 prospective jurors about the charges against Menendez and two of the businessmen.
The judge told them the “sitting U.S. senator from the state of New Jersey” had been charged in a conspiracy in which he allegedly “agreed to accept bribes and accepted bribes.”
After he warned them that the trial was expected to last up to seven weeks, Stein let jurors raise their hands if they believed they could not serve for that length of time. Then, he took them one at a time into a separate room to ask them why.
Menendez is on trial with two of the businessmen who allegedly paid him bribes — real estate developer Fred Daibes and Wael Hana. All three have pleaded not guilty. A third businessman has pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the other defendants. The senator’s wife is also charged, but her trial is delayed until at least July.
POLITICS
Star witness Michael Cohen says Trump was intimately involved in all aspects of hush money scheme
Harris utters a profanity in advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders
Republican group takes rare step of targeting GOP incumbent who voted to oust McCarthy
Ron DeSantis is planning to raise money for Donald Trump in Florida and Texas, AP sources say
Stein had not finished questioning prospective jurors who said they could not serve when he finished for the day without yet beginning the process of asking general questions of all jurors, such as whether they know any of the parties to the case, including lawyers, the defendants and possible witnesses.
The judge gave no indication whether he thought it was likely that openings would occur Tuesday.
When Menendez left the courthouse at the end of the day, he gave a friendly wave toward reporters who asked him to speak as he walked quickly to a waiting car, but he left any meaningful comment for another day.
In the morning, Menendez, in a suit with a red tie, was dropped off in front of the courthouse at 8:15 a.m., forty minutes before former President Donald Trump's motorcade passed by on its way across the street to state court, where he is on trial for allegedly falsifying business records to hide hush money payments to a porn actor before the 2016 election.
Menendez did not speak to reporters who were kept behind barricades as he entered a security pavilion where everyone entering the courthouse is scanned.
The trial, the second in seven years for Menendez, has already sent the senator's political stature tumbling. After charges were announced in September, he was forced out of his powerful post as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The three-term senator has announced he will not be seeking reelection on the Democratic ticket this fall, although he has not ruled out running as an independent.
The previous corruption prosecution of Menendez on unrelated charges ended with a deadlocked jury in 2017.
In the new case, prosecutors say the senator's efforts on behalf of the businessmen led him to take actions benefitting the governments of Egypt and Qatar. Menendez has vigorously denied doing anything unusual in his dealings with foreign officials.
Besides charges including bribery, extortion, fraud and obstruction of justice, Menendez also is charged with acting as a foreign agent of Egypt.
Among evidence his lawyers will have to explain are gold bars worth over $100,000 and more than $486,000 in cash found in a raid two years ago on his New Jersey home, including money stuffed in the pockets of clothing in closets.
The Democrat's wife, Nadine Menendez, was also charged in the case, but her trial has been postponed for health reasons. She is still expected to be a major figure. Prosecutors say Nadine Menendez often served as a conduit between the men paying the bribes and Menendez.
The senator's lawyers in court papers have said they plan to explain that Menendez had no knowledge of some of what occurred because she kept him in the dark.
According to an indictment, Daibes delivered gold bars and cash to Menendez and his wife to get the senator's help with a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund, prompting Menendez to act in ways favorable to Qatar's government.
The indictment also said Menendez did things benefitting Egyptian officials in exchange for bribes from Hana as the businessman secured a valuable deal with the Egyptian government to certify that imported meat met Islamic dietary requirements.
In pleading guilty several weeks ago, businessman Jose Uribe admitted buying Menendez's wife a Mercedes-Benz to get the senator's help to influence criminal investigations involving his business associates.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department sued Ticketmaster and its parent company Thursday, accusing them of running an illegal monopoly over live events in America and asking a court to break up the system that squelches competition and drives up prices for fans.
Filed in federal court in Manhattan, the sweeping antitrust lawsuit was brought with 30 state and district attorneys general and seeks to dismantle the monopoly they say is squeezing out smaller promoters, hurting artists and drowning ticket buyers in fees. Ticketmaster and its owner, Live Nation Entertainment, have a long history of clashes with major artists and their fans, including Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen.
“It's time for fans and artists to stop paying the price for Live Nation’s monopoly,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. “It is time to restore competition and innovation in the entertainment industry. It is time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster. The American people are ready for it.”
The government accused Live Nation of tactics — including threats and retaliation — that Garland said have allowed the entertainment giant to “suffocate the competition” by controlling virtually every aspect of the industry, from concert promotion to ticketing. The impact is seen in an “endless list of fees on fans," the attorney general said.
“Live music should not be available only to those who can afford to pay the Ticketmaster tax,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division. “We are here today to fight for competition so that we can reopen the doors to the live music industry for all.”
Live Nation, which has for years denied that it is violating antitrust laws, said the lawsuit “won’t solve the issues fans care about relating to ticket prices, service fees and access to in-demand shows.”
“Calling Ticketmaster a monopoly may be a PR win for the DOJ in the short term, but it will lose in court because it ignores the basic economics of live entertainment,” Live Nation added. It said most service fees go to venues and that outside competition has ”steadily eroded" Ticketmaster's market share. The company said it would defend itself against the “baseless allegations."
The Justice Department said Live Nation's anti-competitive practices include using long-term contracts to keep venues from choosing rivals, blocking venues from using multiple ticket sellers and threatening venues that they could lose money if they don't choose Ticketmaster.
In 2021, the concert giant threatened to financially retaliate against a firm if one of its portfolio companies didn't stop competing with Live Nation for artist promotion contracts, the Justice Department alleged.
Live Nation has also scooped up smaller promoters it viewed as a threats, officials said. Live Nation's chief strategy officer told executives that one acquisition deal was not “super exciting” financially but felt like “more of a defensive move,” according to the complaint.
Michael Carrier, a professor at Rutgers Law School who specializes in antitrust litigation, said the Justice Department has a strong case. He expects Live Nation to “try to cast blame elsewhere,” such as arguing that prices are set by artists or venues, but he said those explanations are weak.
“The DOJ showed how Live Nation really has its tentacles in each element of the supply chain, which means that it has a lot more control than it is letting on,” he said. “And, in terms of justifications, there is really very little that (Live Nation) can offer in terms of how they’re helping the consumer.”
The complaint said a breakup between Live Nation and Ticketmaster is on the table. That, combined with other remedies such as preventing some exclusive deals that shackle competition, could potentially help fans see lower ticket prices, give artists more agency in choosing venues and boost smaller promoters' success in the long run, Carrier said.
Ticketmaster, which merged with Live Nation in 2010, is the world’s largest ticket seller across live music, sports, theater and more. During its annual report last month, the company said Ticketmaster distributed more than 620 million tickets through its systems in 2023.
Around 70% of tickets for major concert venues in the U.S. are sold through Ticketmaster, according to data in a federal lawsuit filed by consumers in 2022. The company owns or controls more than 265 of North America's concert venues and dozens of top amphitheaters, according to the Justice Department.
Live Nation’s footprint has grown substantially over the past 10 years, according to the company's annual financial reports. Between the end of 2014 and the end of 2023, Live Nation reported a worldwide increase of more than 136% in terms of venues the company “owned, leased, operated, had exclusive booking rights for or had an equity interest over which we had a significant influence.”
The ticket seller sparked outrage in November 2022 when its site crashed during a presale event for a Taylor Swift stadium tour. The company said the site was overwhelmed by both fans and attacks from bots, which were posing as consumers to scoop up tickets and sell them on secondary sites. The debacle prompted congressional hearings and bills in state legislatures aimed at better protecting consumers.
The Justice Department allowed Live Nation and Ticketmaster to merge as long as Live Nation agreed not to retaliate against concert venues for using other ticket companies for 10 years. In 2019, the department investigated and found that Live Nation had repeatedly violated that agreement. The government then extended the prohibition on retaliating against concert venues to 2025.
“It’s a failure of past antitrust. And it’s something that rips customers off every day,” said John Kwoka, a professor of economics at Northeastern University who was also a consultant for the states that ran a 2009 investigation in parallel with the Justice Department into Live Nation and Ticketmaster's original merger.
Kwoka, who is among those who have long advocated for a breakup, notes that Live Nation and Ticketmaster have remained “largely unchecked” over the last 15 years. He points to complaints that have continued to pile up.
Ticketmaster's clashes with artists and fans date back three decades. Pearl Jam took aim at the company in 1994, years before the Live Nation merger, although the Justice Department ultimately declined to bring a case. More recently, Bruce Springsteen fans were enraged over high ticket costs because of the platform’s dynamic pricing system.
Live Nation has maintained that artists and teams set prices and decide how tickets are sold. The company's executive vice president of corporate and regulatory affairs, Dan Wall, said in a statement Thursday that factors such as increasing production costs, artist popularity and online ticket scalping are “actually responsible for higher ticket prices.”
The Justice Department lawsuit filed Thursday is the latest example of the Biden administration’s aggressive antitrust enforcement. The effort has targeted companies accused of engaging in illegal monopolies that box out competitors and drive up prices. In March, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Apple alleging that the tech giant has monopoly power in the smartphone market. The Democratic administration has also taken on Google, Amazon and other tech giants.
__________
Grantham-Philips reported from New York. Associated Press reporters Michelle Chapman and Maria Sherman in New York and Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico, also contributed to this report.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland rebuked Republicans Tuesday for what he described as unprecedented attacks on the Justice Department, telling lawmakers who have sought to hold him in contempt that he will “not be intimidated.”
Appearing before a House panel led by allies of Donald Trump, Garland condemned as a “conspiracy theory” the claim that the department was behind the New York state court prosecution that led to the former Republican president's conviction last week on 34 felony charges. And Garland slammed other “baseless and extremely dangerous falsehoods" being spread about law enforcement.
His unusually fiery testimony amounted to a forceful defense of the independence and integrity of the Justice Department at an unprecedented moment in which it is prosecuting both Trump and President Joe Biden’s son. Amid an onslaught by Trump and his Republican allies, Garland said his agency will not be deterred in its commitment to uphold the rule of law.
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Garland described a Republican effort to hold him in contempt as the latest in “a long line of attacks" on the Justice Department." Those attacks “have not, and they will not” influence the department's decision making, Garland told lawmakers.
“I will not be intimidated,” Garland said. “And the Justice Department will not be intimidated. We will continue to do our jobs free from political influence. And we will not back down from defending our democracy.”
Republicans used the House Judiciary Committee hearing to push the claim that Biden has weaponized the department to go after Trump, even as the Democratic president's son Hunter stands trial on federal firearms charges in Delaware. Trump — who is charged in two criminal cases brought by the Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith — has cast himself as the victim of a politically motivated legal system as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee vies to reclaim the White House in November.
Since his conviction in the New York trial last week, Trump and his supporters have escalated their attacks on the criminal justice system, slamming prosecutors, the judge and the jury. Trump and his allies have suggested the case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a state-level prosecutor, was orchestrated by Biden.
Garland described that unsupported assertion as an "attack on the judicial process itself."
The attorney general also slammed as dangerous Trump's distorted claim that the FBI agents who searched his Mar-a-Lago estate in August 2022 were “authorized to shoot" him and were “locked & loaded ready" to take him out. The former president was referring to the disclosure in a court document that the FBI, during the search, followed a standard use-of-force policy that is actually meant to limit the use of deadly force.
Garland appeared nearly overcome by emotion at one point when asked about the department’s role in upholding the rule of law, pausing with his hands clasped on the table in front of him.
“I have devoted my entire career to ensuring that the rule of law is the rule that the Justice Department applies and the courts apply — that we follow the precedents, that we treat like cases alike, that we do not have enemies or friends, that we do not pay attention to the political parties or the wealth, or the power, or the influence that we are investigating,” the attorney general said.
His appearance came as Republicans have moved to hold him in contempt for the administration's refusal to hand over audio of President Biden's interview with special counsel Robert Hur, which focused on the president's handling of classified documents.
A transcript of Biden's interview has been made public, but the president asserted executive privilege over the audio last month to block its release. The White House has said Republican lawmakers only want the audio so they can chop it up and use it for political purposes.
Republicans, meanwhile, have accused Biden of trying to suppress the audio because he doesn't want the public to hear it before the election. In his report concluding that Biden should not face charges for his handling of classified documents, Hur wrote that the 81-year-old president would likely present himself to a jury “as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
The Justice Department has argued witnesses might be less likely to cooperate if they know their interviews might be heard by the public. And in recent court filing, it raised concerns that releasing the audio could spur deepfakes and disinformation that trick Americans.
“I view contempt as a serious matter,” Garland told lawmakers. “But I will not jeopardize the ability of our prosecutors and agents to do their jobs effectively in future investigations.”
Shortly after the hearing began, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced a “three-pronged” plan to address what he described as the “weaponization” of the justice system against Trump. The approach, according to the Louisiana Republican, will look to circumvent the authority of the Justice Department and local prosecutors in the Trump case through legislation, funding and oversight.
Rep. Jim Jordan, the committee’s top Republican, criticized Garland in his opening statement for a broad array of what he depicted as politically motivated decisions by federal law enforcement -- including the conclusions by different special counsels that Trump criminally mishandled classified documents while Biden did not.
“Many Americans believe there’s now a double standard in our justice system. They believe that because there is,” Jordan said.
Garland strongly pushed back on Republican questions he said were underpinned by false premises, and Republicans seemed exasperated at some points by his refusal to be drawn into extensive back-and-forth. When at one point, Garland asked for the ability to finish his answer, Rep. Andy Biggs, a conservative Arizona Republican, said no because he was being “nonresponsive.”
But the attorney general also appeared uneasy at some friendly questions from Democrats who tried to underscore the Justice Department’s independence by discussing specific cases. Garland repeatedly refused to respond to questions about specific investigations. For example, when one lawmaker asked Garland whether Trump had been interviewed by federal prosecutors before his indictments, he refused to answer, even though the answer is known to be no.
____
Associated Press reporter Farnoush Amiri in Washington contributed.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
https://www.yahoo.com/news/rep-ocasio-cortez-says-york-210801781.html
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted, sources say
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted by a grand jury on federal criminal charges, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The indictment detailing the charges against Adams, a Democrat, was still sealed late Wednesday, according to the people, who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan declined to comment. The indictment was first reported by The New York Times.
“I always knew that If I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target — and a target I became,” Adams said in a statement that implied he hadn't been informed of the indictment. “If I am charged, I am innocent and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit.”
In a speech recorded at his official residence, Adams acknowledged that some New Yorkers would question his ability to manage the city while he fights the charges, but he vowed to stay in office.
“I have been facing these lies for months ... yet the city has continued to improve," Adams said. "Make no mistake. You elected me to lead this city and lead it I will.”
It was not immediately clear when the charges would be made public or when Adams might have to appear in court.
The indictment marks a stunning turn for Adams, a former police captain who won election nearly three years ago to become the second Black mayor of the nation’s largest city on a platform that promised a law-and-order approach to reducing crime.
For much of the last year, Adams has faced growing legal peril, with multiple federal investigations into top advisers producing a drumbeat of subpoenas, searches and high-level departures that has thrust City Hall into crisis. In the last two weeks alone, the police chief who oversees the country’s largest police force and the schools chancellor who is in charge of the nation’s biggest school district both announced their resignations.
He had repeatedly said he wasn’t aware of any wrongdoing and vowed as recently as Wednesday afternoon to stay in office.
Adams, who is expecting a tough primary election next year, faced immediate calls to resign from many of his declared or expected Democratic challengers.
Brad Lander, the city’s comptroller, said the indictment marked “a sad day for New Yorkers.” Sen. Zellnor Myrie also called the indictment “sad” and added that it was “especially painful for so many Black New Yorkers who put our hope and faith in this Mayor.”
continues..
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
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