Former Trump National Security Advisor and retired US. Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn is suing the U.S. government on grounds of wrongful prosecution, Rolling Stone reports.
He is seeking $50 million in damages.
Former Trump National Security Advisor and retired US. Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn is suing the U.S. government on grounds of wrongful prosecution, Rolling Stone reports.
He is seeking $50 million in damages.
“The man who has accused Matt Schlapp, the influential leader of the Conservative Political Action Conference, of sexual misconduct came forward publicly Wednesday after a judge said he must use his real name to proceed with a lawsuit,” the Washington Post reports.
“Carlton Huffman, 39, a longtime aide to Republican campaigns who lives in Raleigh, N.C., said he plans to amend the previously anonymous lawsuit, which seeks $9.4 million in damages for alleged sexual battery and defamation.”
Vice News: “The sudden disappearance of the Boogaloos fueled speculation that the slew of DOJ investigations and arrests had literally taken them off the board—perhaps destroying the movement forever…”
“While it’s true that the threat of prosecution caused the Boogaloo Bois to lower their profile, the fierce anti-government ideology underpinning the movement never went anywhere. And now, the Boogaloo Bois appear to be regrouping, plotting their public comeback to coincide with what many fear could be a tense, even violent, presidential election season.”
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A federal investigation found the Louisville Metro Police Department “engaged in systemic civil rights abuses and excessive-force misconduct in the years leading up to the 2020 police killing of Breonna Taylor,” the Washington Post reports.
A blistering new official investigation decries violent, lawless “deputy gangs” that continue to wield extraordinary power within the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, Rolling Stone reports.
The report identifies at “least a half dozen” active gangs and cliques — and names them: the Executioners, the Banditos, the Regulators, the Spartans, the Gladiators, the Cowboys, and the Reapers.
Perhaps most alarming, the investigation reveals that in recent years “tattooed deputy gang members” have risen to “the highest levels” of department leadership.
Virginia Del. Matthew Fariss (R) has been charged after state police say he struck and injured a pedestrian while driving an SUV and left the scene, the AP reports.
“The Senate is headed towards a vote on the GOP’s D.C. crime bill Wednesday. But it’s hard to overstate how much frustration there is behind the scenes from top House Democrats over the debacle,” Punchbowl News reports.
“Democratic members feel they were blindsided by the White House on the issue, particularly when President Joe Biden announced last Thursday that he’d sign a GOP-drafted resolution disapproving of changes to the D.C. criminal code if it reached his desk.”
“The FBI is searching for a Florida woman who did not show up to court in Washington, DC, on Monday, when she was set to go to trial on federal charges related to the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot,” CNN reports.
“Leaders of the Proud Boys activated a network of foot soldiers to breach the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, prosecutors argued to a federal judge on Monday, describing how more than a dozen of the group’s associates played pivotal roles in overrunning police lines, dismantling barricades and facilitating the mob’s entry into the building itself,” Politico reports.
“The Justice Department laid out its clearest evidence yet that it sees the Proud Boys — and the far-right group’s chairman, Enrique Tarrio — as uniquely responsible for the chaos that unfolded on Jan. 6. Though only five members of the group face seditious conspiracy charges over allegations of masterminding the plot, prosecutors say they deployed a much wider collection of associates to carry it out.”
D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) said he wrote to the U.S. Senate on Monday morning to withdraw the city’s criminal code revision legislation, before the Senate votes on a Republican-led disapproval resolution that could overturn the bill, the Washington Post reports.
Said Mendelson: “I don’t know if that’ll stop the Senate Republicans, but our position is the bill is not before Congress any longer.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) declined to criticize President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Congress to potentially nix reforms to the criminal code of Washington, DC, even as many in the party are breaking with the White House, CNN reports.
However, The Hill reports former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) didn’t hold back, saying Biden should have “told us first.”
New York Times: “Two of the measures under consideration would create a new state oversight board that could punish or remove prosecutors for loosely defined reasons, including ‘willful misconduct.’ A third would sharply reduce the number of signatures required to seek a recall of a district attorney.”
“The proposals are part of a broader push by conservative lawmakers around the country to rein in prosecutors whom they consider too liberal, and who in some cases are refusing to prosecute low-level drug crimes or enforce strict new anti-abortion laws.”
Paul Manafort has agreed to pay $3.2 million to settle federal charges that he failed to disclose foreign bank accounts he used to funnel “millions of dollars” to himself without paying income taxes, the Florida Bulldog reports.
“President Joe Biden’s decision Thursday on a local crime law is sending a national message to fellow Democrats about how he thinks they should address Republican criticism of the nation’s rising crime rates,” NBC News reports.
“Democrats have predominantly focused on police reform since the George Floyd protests reignited a national debate over race and law enforcement three years ago, but rising violent crime rates and growing perceptions of unease in major cities has prompted a chorus of party strategists and officials to call for a tougher approach to counter Republican attacks.”
Zachary Wolf: Why Biden flipped a 180 on DC’s ability to self-govern.
“The shocking rise in murders that began in the summer of 2020 looks as if it may have played out,” Bloomberg reports.
“In the nearly complete tally of 2022 homicide statistics from 93 US cities compiled by AH Datalytics, murder and non-negligent manslaughter was down 5% from the year before.”
Playbook: “With the veto threat off the table, expect Senate Democrats to back the resolution in big numbers when it comes to the floor as soon as next week. And expect vulnerable House Democrats who opposed the measure to face a surge of political attacks back home.”
“Meanwhile, Biden has once again made it clear that he believes criticism from the right over increases in crime is a serious vulnerability for Democrats — it drove the Dems’ House losses in New York in November — and that his party should insulate itself, even if that means violating a core principle about self-governance.”
Two Americans were arrested in Kansas City for allegedly sending U.S. aviation technology to Russia in violation of U.S. export controls, Reuters reports.
“The mayor of College Park, Maryland, was arrested on dozens of counts of alleged child pornography Thursday and resigned from his post,” NBC News reports.
“Patrick Wojahn, 47, was charged with 56 counts of alleged child pornography that included 40 counts of possession of child exploitative material and 16 counts of distribution of child exploitative material.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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