Category: Justice

Court Watchers Look to Previous Term of Justice Appointments for Who Could on Trump’s New SCOTUS Shortlist

Admin
U.S. Supreme Court

While former President Donald Trump has yet to release an updated list of potential Supreme Court nominees, conservatives hope a second term would secure more originalist judges on the bench.

Trump’s appointments to both the Supreme Court and the lower courts have been frequently cited as his greatest accomplishment as president. He’s promised on multiple occasions to release a new list of possible nominees ahead of the election, but the names to be included remain up in the air, though many in the conservative legal world believe his appointees to the federal appeals courts are among the likely choices.

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TBI Busts Six Men During Human Trafficking Investigation

Peter D'Abrosca

As part of an investigation into human trafficking, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) arrested six men who were attempting to have sex with minors, while also rescuing seven underage girls who were suspected to be at risk of being trafficked. 

“Over a two-day period starting August 16th, as part of an undercover operation aimed at addressing human trafficking in the Montgomery County area, officers placed several decoy advertisements on websites known to be linked to prostitution and commercial sex,” TBI said in a release. “The focus of the operation was to identify individuals seeking to engage in commercial sex acts with minors.” 

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Freedom House Report Warns of Growing Repression Against Opponents in Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua

ADN America
Daniel Ortega

The US NGO Freedom House warned on Wednesday about the growing use of repressive measures against dissidents. On the island, where more than 50 countries are listed, Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela stand out. The document refers, among other issues, to the restriction of freedom of movement of opponents of these regimes.

According to the organization’s annual report, the coercive measures they use include the withdrawal of nationality, travel bans, withholding of identity documents and denial of consular services. The document, which focuses on “transnational repression,” also highlights that these restrictions are less visible forms of repression compared to the killings and kidnappings that also occur.

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Non-Profit Launches Investigation into Secret Service Use of DEI Policies

American Greatness
Secret Service

A non-profit organization has started its own investigation into the Secret Service’s use of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices that many have suggested has compromised the quality of the agency’s protection, following the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump last month.

According to Fox News, the investigation is being carried out by the Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF), a Colorado-based non-profit. MSLF’s probe will take a closer look at how DEI has negatively affected the agency’s hiring, retention, and promotion of agents, prioritizing race- and gender-based identity politics over competence.

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Phoenix Police Department Releases Police Reports, Other Documentation to Refute DOJ’s Report That Its Officers Violated Rights

Rachel Alexander
Phoenix Police Department

The Phoenix Police Department (PPD) released redacted documents this week that show the DOJ left out relevant information to the incidents discussed in a June DOJ report critical of the agency.

Based on the descriptions, PPD was able to discern 120 of the 132 incidents. PPD said it provided roughly 179,000 documents and 22,000 body cam videos to the DOJ during its investigation. The types of incidents covered were the use of force, homelessness, discriminatory policing, protected speech, behavioral health youth, and contributing causes.

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Wisconsin Supreme Court Agrees to Expedited Hearing on Green Party Ballot Ban

The Center Square
Jill Stein

Following the Wisconsin Election Commission’s dismissal of a complaint from a Democratic National Committee staffer, who seeks to remove Green Party candidate Jill Stein from the ballot, the plaintiff has doubled down and filed an expedited appeal with the state’s Supreme Court.

Court documents reveal it accepted the case Thursday and is requesting that the plaintiff provide additional information, actions that have caused two Supreme Court justices to dissent.

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Florida Attorney General Will Track Down Transnational Criminals and Put Them in Prison

The Center Square
Ashley Moody

From a Romanian theft ring to a notorious Big Boi drug trafficking ring, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution is continuing to prosecute transnational criminal organizations.

She’s also issued a warning to criminals: “Florida law enforcement will track you down, and my Statewide Prosecutors will ensure you end up in prison.”

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Virginia Democrat Who Sparked First Trump Impeachment Faces FEC Complaint over Response to ‘Stolen Valor’ Question

Tom Pappert
Eugene Vindman

Retired Army Col. Yevegny “Eugene” Vindman, the Democrat nominee for Virginia’s 7th Congressional district, on Thursday was confirmed to be the recipient of a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint over an alleged improper contribution from a political organization that supports his candidacy.

Vindman’s twin brother Alexander is the man who overheard the phone call between former President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that led to the first attempt to impeach Trump. Vindman reportedly took the information about the call from his brother and made a report to White House lawyers.

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ACLU Struggles to Explain Why California’s Conversion Therapy Ban Doesn’t Protect Idaho’s Trans Ban

Just the News

What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

Because the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld California outlawing talk therapy for minors with unwanted same-sex attraction, it must likewise uphold Idaho’s ban on invasive and potentially irreversible medical treatments to make gender-confused minors resemble the opposite sex, the Gem State’s outside lawyer told a three-judge panel Thursday.

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New York Court Sides with Crisis Pregnancy Centers on Abortion Reversal Pill in Legal Blow to Letitia James

Admin
NY AG

A federal district court in New York ruled Thursday that pro-life pregnancy centers are allowed to promote an abortion pill reversal medication while the suit continues.

Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit in early May against 11 pregnancy centers, claiming the organizations were misleading pregnant women when talking about an abortion reversal medication. The court granted the preliminary order in favor of the National Institute for Family and Life Advocates and Gianna’s House Inc. and Options Care Center’s follow-up suit against James, stating that the First Amendment protects the right for the groups to talk about the abortion reversal pill.

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Tennessee AG Joins Lawsuit Against DHS Program to Grant ‘Parole in Place’ to Illegal Aliens

Kaitlin Housler

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti was one of the state attorneys general who joined a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) new program process to allow hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens who are the spouse or stepchild of a U.S. citizen to “parole in place.”

The 56-page complaint, filed in the Eastern District of Texas U.S. District Court on Friday, challenges DHS’ “Keeping Families Together” program, which began accepting applications on Monday.

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Man Drowns After Shootout with Tennessee County Deputies

Peter D'Abrosca
Crime Scene

A man drowned after a highway pursuit and gun fight with Chester County and other law enforcement entities, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). 

“Preliminary information indicates the incident originated in Chester County near Henderson when a Chester County Deputy initiated a traffic stop of a vehicle driving recklessly at approximately 9:15 a.m.,” according a TBI release. “The driver refused to stop, and a pursuit ensued. During the pursuit, the driver briefly stopped and presented a weapon, pointing it at deputies, and causing the deputies to fire their service weapons.”

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Judge Finds RFK Jr. Can Bring Censorship Lawsuit Against Biden Admin After Supreme Court Rejects States’ Challenge

Daily Caller News Foundation
RFK Jr. in a courtroom (composite image)

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. can continue to pursue his censorship lawsuit against the Biden administration.

The Supreme Court ruled in June that state and individual plaintiffs who alleged the Biden administration violated their First Amendment rights when it pressured social media companies to suppress speech did not have standing to sue. District Court Judge Terry Doughty found Kennedy meets the standard set by the Supreme Court because there is “ample evidence” to show he has been censored in the past at the direction of government actors and “substantial risk” that the censorship will continue.

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Supreme Court Reinstates Part of Arizona Voter Citizenship Law

Just the News

The U.S. Supreme Court revived part of Arizona’s proof of voter citizenship law on Thursday, allowing for restrictions regarding the state voter registration form.

Following a request from the Republican National Committee and Arizona Republicans, the Supreme Court reinstated a provision of the state law after federal courts blocked it, Reuters reported. Individuals filling out voter registration forms for state elections must provide proof of U.S. citizenship, unlike those filling out the federal voter registration forms.

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Georgia’s Raffensperger Announces Indictment of Alleged Double Voter in 2022 Election

Just the News
Brad Raffensperger

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) announced the indictment of a voter who cast ballots in both Georgia and Arizona in the November 2022 election.

The secretary of state’s office conducted an investigation into double-voting following the 2022 general election and referred the case to the Forsyth County district attorney’s office, according to a press releaseWednesday.

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Manhunt Underway Near Trump Border Speech Site for Sex Offender Who Threatened to Kill GOP Nominee

Daily Caller News Foundation
Ronald Lee Syrvud

Arizona authorities launched a manhunt Thursday for a sex offender who threatened to kill former President Donald Trump, believing he is on the loose near the area of a speech Trump was giving on border policy.

The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office released a press statement asking for the public’s help in locating 66-year-old Ronald Lee Syrvud, who is believed to be in Sierra Vista, Arizona, where Trump is set to speak on the border. Authorities described Syrvud as six feet tall and 220 pounds, with outstanding warrants and for failing to register as a sex offender.

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Secret Service Agents Placed on Leave After Trump Assassination Attempt

RealClearWire

Three weeks ago, Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe angrily pushed back on senators’ calls to immediately fire or discipline key agents directly responsible for the security failures that led to the assassination attempt against former President Trump at last month’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Since that time, Secret Service leaders have placed several members of the Pittsburgh Field Office on administrative leave, according to three sources in the Secret Service community.

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Department of Justice to Investigate Abuse and Violence at Trousdale Turner

The Center Square
Trousdale Turner Correctional Center

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating conditions at the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center outside of Nashville, the state’s largest prison.

The facility, operated by management company CoreCivic, has shown dangerous understaffing since it opened in 2016 and the investigation will look at whether it protects inmates from physical violence and sexual abuse.

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Metro Police Arrest Man Suspected of Defacing Rainbow Pride Crosswalk in East Nashville

Kaitlin Housler
Isaiah Tester

The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) announced Tuesday that it had arrested and charged a 24-year old man for the July 2 vandalism of the rainbow pride crosswalk located at the intersection of 14th St and Woodland St in East Nashville.

Isaiah Tester was arrested at his Murfreesboro home and booked into jail on Tuesday evening on a charge of vandalizing government property, according to MNPD.

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DOJ Launches Investigation into Tennessee’s Largest Prison for Alleged Sexual Abuse, Assault

Daily Caller News Foundation
DOJ Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Tuesday that it would investigate Tennessee’s largest prison for rampant assaults, sexual abuse and murders, according to a press release.

The DOJ is launching an investigation into Trousdale Turner Correctional Center, a private prison opened by CoreCivic in 2016 and the largest prison in the state, after reports of sexual and physical abuse inside the prison, according to the press release. The prison allegedly had 196 assaults, two murders and 90 cases of sexual assault reported from July 2022 to June 2023, according to The Washington Post.

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Over 220 Rounds Fired During Accused Domestic Abuser’s Shootout with Blount County Deputies, TBI Says

Peter D'Abrosca
Ronald Millsaps

According to the testimony of a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) agent, more than 220 rounds were fired during a June shootout between two Blount County Sheriff’s deputies and a man who was involved in a domestic dispute at his home. 

During a preliminary hearing for Ronald Millsaps, who was charged with aggravated assault, attempted criminal homicide, especially aggravated kidnapping and reckless endangerment after the shootout, a TBI agent revealed a bit about the aftermath of the shootout. 

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Slams Democrat Lawsuits over Ballot Access Ahead of National Address amid Trump Endorsement Rumors

Tom Pappert
RFK JR

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday blamed Democrats for the ballot access lawsuits by his independent presidential campaign faces from outside a courthouse in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he claimed a judge refused to allow him or a campaign official to testify because they were late to the courtroom.

Kennedy attributed blame for the legal challenges to his candidacy solely to Democrats, specifying Republicans have not engaged in such tactics, on the same day his vice presidential running mate suggested Kennedy could soon end the campaign and endorse former President Donald Trump.

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Border Patrol Seizes More Than $400K in Alleged Cocaine in Two Enforcement Actions

Just the News
Brownsville Cocaine

Officers of U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Brownsville Port of Entry in Texas have seized two shipments, possibly cocaine valued at more than $400,000, the agency announced Wednesday.

On Monday, CBP intercepted a 31-year-old Mexican attempting to enter the U.S. at the Veterans International Bridge in Texas. CBP referred the vehicle to secondary inspection, where a canine unit and a non-intrusive inspection system (NII) revealed nine suspicious packages concealed in the vehicle.

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Dem Senator Bob Menendez Resigns Following Bribery Conviction

Daily Caller News Foundation
Bob Menendez

Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez resigned his seat in the Senate on Tuesday, according to multiple outlets.

The Senate Democrat announced his resignation following his conviction in a bribery scheme involving three New Jersey businessmen and the Egyptian government. Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signaled that he will replace Menendez with George S. Helmy, a healthcare executive and his former chief of staff.

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10 More States Join Federal Lawsuit Led by Tennessee Against Ticketmaster’s Parent Company

Kaitlin Housler

Ten additional states have joined a lawsuit led by Tennessee and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) against Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., which owns Ticketmaster. The lawsuit alleges that the company has “illegally monopolized the live entertainment industry.”

In May, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and the DOJ filed an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation, alleging that the company holds venues “hostage” through “restrictive long-term, exclusive agreements and threats,” “forces artists to select Live Nation as a promoter instead of its rivals” through leverage of its extensive network of amphitheaters, and “harms” fans through “higher fees, lack of transparency, fewer consumer choices, and stifling innovation.”

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Judge Declines to Dismiss Hunter Biden’s Tax Case over Special Counsel Challenge

Daily Caller News Foundation

A federal judge declined Monday night to dismiss Hunter Biden’s tax case after he challenged special counsel David Weiss’ appointment.

Hunter Biden’s attorneys filed motions in July to dismiss both his tax case in California and his gun case in Delaware due to “lack of jurisdiction,” arguing Weiss’ appointment was unlawful. While Judge Mark Scarsi previously rejected their argument about Weiss, Hunter Biden’s attorneys raised it again after a judge decided to toss former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case after finding special counsel Jack Smith’s appointment unconstitutional.

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Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego Explains Endorsement of Ex-Husband Ruben Gallego for Senate After Emergency Move to Seal Divorce Case

Tom Pappert
Kate Gallego and Ruben Gallego

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego on Monday doubled down on her endorsement of Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03), her ex-husband, in remarks made weeks after an emergency motion was filed in a bid to seal details of their divorce case from the public.

Kate Gallego made her remarks about the endorsement of her ex-husband during an interview with KTAR News host Jim Sharpe at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.

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Biden-Harris Admin Sued Sheetz for Discrimination over Criminal Background Checks Prior to ‘Tightly Controlled’ Campaign Stop

Tom Pappert
Sheetz Store

Both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have now visited Sheetz convenience stores in Pennsylvania during their respective 2024 presidential campaigns, with the vice president stopping at one Pittsburgh location on Sunday.

Not mentioned in either campaign appearance was the lawsuit brought by the Biden-Harris Department of Justice (DOJ) against Sheetz Inc., which claims the company discriminated against minority groups in its hiring process, which excludes convicted criminals when selecting candidates.

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SCOTUS Refused to Ban Federal Censorship Pressure; It Could Make Churches Complicit in Abortion

Just the News
United States Supreme Court

When the Supreme Court reversed a preliminary injunction against several federal agencies and officials in June for “coerc[ing] or significantly encourag[ing]” tech platforms to suppress content, Washington state saw a new way to protect its mandatory abortion coverage in maternity healthcare plans from religious freedom challenges.

Five years into a lawsuit by Cedar Park Assembly of God against SB 6219, which includes criminal penalties up to prison, the Evergreen State argues that insurers won’t necessarily offer abortion-free plans if the court permanently bars it from enforcing surgical- and chemical-abortion coverage against such religious ministries that are opposed to abortion.

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Alvin Bragg’s Office Leaves Door Open for Delaying Trump’s Sentencing

Daily Caller News Foundation
Alvin Bragg and Donald Trump in a courtroom (composite image)

Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is not taking a position on former President Donald Trump’s request to delay his sentencing date in New York, according to a filing sent Friday.

Trump’s attorneys asked Judge Juan Merchan last week to push his sentencing, currently set for Sept. 18, until after the November election. In a filing, Bragg’s office said it would “defer to the Court” on whether a delay is necessary to “allow for orderly appellate litigation,” writing they are “prepared to appear for sentencing on any future date the Court sets.”

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Arizona Court of Appeals Hears Oral Arguments over Scottsdale’s ‘Bait and Switch’ Description of ‘New’ Prop. 490 Park Sales Tax as a Tax Decrease

Rachel Alexander
Attorney Scott Day Freeman

A three-judge panel on the Arizona Court of Appeals heard oral arguments last Tuesday in the Goldwater Institute’s (GI) legal challenge to a $1.2 billion sales tax the City of Scottsdale referred to the ballot this fall. GI said the City’s description of Proposition 490 made the tax for parks out to be a tax decrease, when it really was a new tax. GI was appealing a dismissal of its lawsuit by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Michael Gordon, who was appointed to the bench by Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano.

In its executive summary about the lawsuit, GI stated, “The City of Scottsdale is attempting to trick Scottsdale residents into approving a tax increase by calling it a tax reduction.” GI cited Arizona law, Molera v. Hobbs, which prohibits bait and switch tactics with ballot measures. 

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Michigan Line 5 Case to Remain in State Court and a Setback for Enbridge Energy

The Center Square
Enbridge Energy

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denied Enbridge Energy’s request for the Line 5 lawsuit Nessel v. Enbridge to receive a rehearing in federal court, returning the case to state court.

The court Enbridge had missed the 30-day deadline after Nessel filed the lawsuit in June 2019 to appeal moving the case to federal court, and that it relied on improper arguments when doing so.

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Pennsylvania Judge Denies Effort to ‘Cure’ Mail Ballots Sent Without Security Sleeve

Tom Pappert
Mail in Ballot

A judge on Friday tossed the lawsuit filed by two Pennsylvania voters against the Butler County Board of Elections, granting a victory to Republicans who intervened in the case to argue allowing the request would block “a crucial function in protecting election integrity” this November.

Petitioners requested mail-in voters be allowed to “cure” ballots that were submitted without a security envelope after their ballots were tossed during the 2024 primary elections.

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Mentally Ill Woman Prosecuted by Kamala Harris After Surviving Police Shooting Lived in ‘Squalor’ Despite $1 Million Settlement

Tom Pappert
Teresa Sheehan and Kamala Harris in front of San Francisco skyline (composite image)

Teresa Sheehan was shot by two officers at a group home during a mental health crisis with the San Francisco Police Department in 2008, when Vice President Kamala Harris was serving as the District Attorney of San Francisco.

Police officers were called to a group home for people with mental illnesses after it was claimed Sheehan, a Japanese Americna woman who was then 56 and reportedly suffering from a schizophrenic episode, locked herself in a room with a knife. When police eventually opened the door using a key, Sheehan reportedly greeted them with the knife and ordered them to leave.

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Tennessee AG Joins Coalition Seeking Answers About Online Retailer Temu’s Business Practices, Connections to the Chinese Communist Party

Kaitlin Housler
A.G. Jonathan Skrmetti

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti was one of 21 state attorneys general who sent a letter to the online retailer Temu and the CEO of its parent company, PPD Holdings Inc., seeking information regarding the company’s alleged ties with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), data collection and sharing practices, and possible violations of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA).

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Trump-Aligned Lawyer Who Exposed Fani Willis Affair and Stalled Georgia Election Case Says D.A. Caused Downfall: ‘She’s the One to Blame’

Tom Pappert
Ashleigh Merchant and Fani Willis in a courtroom (composite image)

The Georgia election case against former President Donald Trump and those who helped him contest the 2020 election results in the Peach State is almost certain to remain ongoing on Election Day, and the attorney who first surfaced evidence Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was engaged in a romantic affair with her special counsel said on Sunday that Willis is “the one to blame” for the current state of the case.

Willis’ case against Trump is currently before the Georgia Court of Appeals, which will determine whether Judge Scott McAfee erred when he ruled that Willis’ relationship with Wade, a private defense attorney paid more than $650,000 for his work on the case, was not sufficient reason to disqualify her as the prosecutor in the case against the former president.

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Arizona School District Launches Outside Investigation of Democratic Lawmaker, District President Accused of Sexual Harassment

Tom Pappert
AZ State Rep Elda Luna-Nájera, Tolleson School District Office

An Arizona state lawmaker and school official was reportedly accused of sexual harassment by a superintendent earlier this month, which prompted an alleged effort to oust him, culminating in the launch of a third party investigation on Wednesday.

Arizona State Representative Elda Luna-Nájera (D-District 22), who also serves as the governing board president of the Tolleson Union High School District, was accused of sexual harassment by superintendent Jeremy Calles in a legal complaint reported by 12 News on August 9.

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A.G. Jason Miyares Determines Virginia Retirement System Prohibited from Investing in ‘Unfounded ESG Fads’

Tom Pappert
Jason Miyares

Attorney General Jason Miyares determined in a Friday legal opinion the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) is prohibited by Virginia law from making investments based on controversial environment, social and governance (ESG) scores.

In a statement posted to the Virginia Attorney General website, Miyares said Virginians “spent decades working hard” for their retirement, and the commonwealth’s investments must be driven by financial data and not ESG scores as a result.

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Grandmas in Chains: Harris Legacy of Pursuing Pro-Life Activists Set Stage for Wider Legal Fight

Just the News
Heather Idoni

Defending the abortion industry helped define Vice President Kamala Harris as California attorney general, especially a controversial 2016 raid on pro-life activist David Daleiden to seize and suppress undercover videos of Planned Parenthood officials who thought they were talking to “laboratory wholesalers” in Daleiden’s sting.

Some of those videos, released years later at a congressional proceeding, show Planned Parenthood tried to preserve fetal tissue to sell for research and avoid prosecution by detaching extremities.

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Coalition of 15 States Sues Biden-Harris Regime over Plan to Force States to Provide Public Benefits to Illegals

American Greatness

A coalition of 15 states have filed suit against the Biden-Harris regime over its new rule that will require states to pay public benefits to illegal immigrants, including healthcare benefits.

The rule, which is set to go into effect on November 1, would force states “to expend limited resources on illegal immigrants,” said Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey in a press release Thursday.

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Hunter Biden’s Ex-Partner Cooperating in Bizarre Murder-for-Hire Prosecution, Court Records Show

Just the News

Devon Archer, the former Hunter Biden confidant convicted of fraud in January, whose testimony to Congress transformed the congressional impeachment probe into alleged Biden family corruption, also is a cooperating witness in an unrelated federal murder-for-hire prosecution, according to court records.

Archer’s lawyers have used their client’s cooperation in the Vermont murder-for-hire case and the impeachment inquiry in Congress to successfully delay his sentencing last month in a securities fraud case, where he was convicted back in 2018.

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