Aaron Gulbransen, executive director of the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition, said former U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz withdrawing his nomination by president-elect Donald Trump to serve as U.S. Attorney General signals his future ambitions to run in the 2026 Florida gubernatorial election.
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Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on Thursday withdrew his name from consideration to serve as attorney general, saying he believed the confirmation fight would needlessly distract from the Trump agenda.
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In Congress, Donald Trump’s Attorney General pick Matt Gaetz was at the forefront in challenging the Justice Department and was a staunch defender of the former president, hinting at the role the firebrand could play in remaking the troubled federal agency if he is confirmed.
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National political reporter Neil W. McCabe applauded president-elect Donald Trump’s nominations of combat veteran Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense and U.S. Representative Matt Gatez (R-FL-01) as Attorney General, explaining how the men are expected to bring about a new atmosphere in their respective roles.
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Although the last few weeks have had their alarming aspects — chief among which was the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on July 13, the odds-on favorite candidate for president — they have also had their amusing moments.
In the latter category, I place the sudden queen-for-a-day-like coronation of Kamala Harris.
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Donald Trump’s former DOJ official, Jeffrey Clark, is fighting a recommendation from the D.C. Bar’s disciplinary panel to discipline him over his concerns about illegalities in the 2020 election. Last month, he filed a Post-Hearing Brief challenging a nonbinding preliminary finding of culpability for drafting a letter that was never sent to Georgia officials advising them of their options in dealing with the irregularities.
The hearing panel found that Clark engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation and conduct that seriously interferes with the administration of justice, Rules 8.4(c) and (d) of the Rules of Professional Conduct. Those ethics rules have been accused of being broad, vague, and unconstitutional. State bars frequently use them to target conservative attorneys.
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A coalition of state attorneys general sent a letter Monday to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas backing Texas in its border battle with the Biden administration.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott defied the Biden administration last week, making clear he would continue to put up concertina wire fencing at the southern border to help stop the flow of illegal immigration, which has soared since Biden took office.
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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti led a group of 18 other state attorneys general in filing a public comment letter in opposition to the Department of Commerce’s “Business Diversity Principles” proposal.
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Esteemed former Vanderbilt professor, renowned scholar, and all-star panelist Dr. Carol Swain joined The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Tuesday to discuss the growing scandal involving Harvard’s Claudine Gay and increasingly difficult-to-defend allegations of plagiarism by the Ivy League school’s president.
Swain contends that Gay failed to credit her for sections of the book Black Faces, Black Interests, accusing her of derivative work since her dissertation, which Swain claims builds upon her own groundbreaking research.
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Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti appeared in-studio on Tuesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy, to discuss the first-of-its-kind lawsuit his office filed Monday against financial services giant BlackRock over alleged violations of consumer protection laws.
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Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti appeared in-studio on Tuesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy, where he laid out the reasons why BlackRock’s alleged double standards that they are pushing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives that effectively force companies to shift their priorities are not just afoul consumer protection laws.
If left unchecked, Skrmetti argues, the opaque and unaccountable nature of corporate policymaking threatens the foundational principles of self-governance.
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Nearly two dozen state attorneys general signed onto a letter Wednesday demanding major firms that provide voting advice to corporate shareholders stop backing efforts to “debank” conservatives.
Republican Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird led 22 other state attorneys general in sending a letter to the two companies that control 97 percent of the proxy advisory services market, Institutional Shareholder Service (ISS) and Glass Lewis, whose advice they say shapes “the choices and activity of businesses and ultimately the United States’ and global economy.” The letter warns them against opposing shareholder resolutions to hold financial institutions accountable for restricting services based on clients’ religious and political beliefs, noting that viewpoint discrimination comes with “legal liabilities.”
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Long time national political reporter Neil W. McCabe connects the strategic dots he sees the candidates following into the first Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee tonight on Wednesday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy.
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Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled state Senate on Thursday rejected Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe’s nomination to serve another four-year term, a move that normally would end the controversial regulator’s tenure in office.
But liberals are already challenging the Senate’s overwhelming vote to fire Wolfe, and the bureaucrat has defiantly said she’s not going anywhere.
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This week, the Biden Department of (in)Justice has, once again, displayed that they will stop at nothing to try to ruin the life and reputation of Donald Trump. It’s a disgrace. It’s a spectacle that belies its purpose: the Left’s palpable fear of facing Trump in the 2024 general election.
Even the numbers bear this out. A poll from Harvard/Harris just last week had President Trump dominating the GOP primary, and beating both Biden and Harris in a head-to-head matchup. Is it any coincidence that this poll proceeded additional bogus legal action from the DOJ?
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Ohio entrepreneur and Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says his campaign has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to uncover communications between the White House, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Jack Smith, special prosecutor behind the latest indictment of former President Donald Trump.
Ramaswamy plans to hold a press conference at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Miami, where Trump is scheduled to be arraigned on 37 counts related to his handling of classified documents.
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Arizona State Senator John Kavanaugh (R-Fountain Hills) shared that several of his bills successfully passed the House and committees last week in his most recent update to constituents. This includes a Senate Bill (SB) aiming to ensure laws signed by the Governor receive legal protection from the Attorney General (AG).
“The Attorney General’s duty is to defend these laws, and this bill ensures that they can, but there are safeguards so they can back out if they so want to,” Kavanaugh said.
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S.686, the Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology Act or the appropriately titled “RESTRICT Act” could be used to censor any website in America, not just TikTok.
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Wisconsin Department of Justice field trainer Jerry Mullen wants Attorney General Josh Kaul to play by the same rules DOJ employees have been forced to follow when it comes to COVID testing and vaccination status.
It appears Mullen is asking for too much.
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Nashville’s top prosecutor now finds himself under investigation, according to reports.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has launched a criminal probe into Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk’s office in the wake of revelations of listening devices being installed around the building in downtown Nashville.
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The State of Arizona Elections Procedures Manual (EPM) for 2019 that prescribes the Secretary of State’s rules for running an election has no provision for qualifying or certifying the equipment a third-party vendor uses for ballot signature verification in Maricopa County.
According to state law A.R.S. 16-452, the secretary of state is responsible for prescribing in an official instructions and procedures manual the rules to achieve and maintain the maximum degree of correctness, impartiality, uniformity and efficiency on the procedures for early voting and voting as well as producing, distributing, collecting, county, tabulating and storing ballots.
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Abe Hamadeh, the Republican Nominee for Attorney, has said he wants to see every vote cast in the Arizona 2022 General Election and filed a lawsuit against the State of Arizona to ensure that happens.
“Errors in our elections shouldn’t be treated as trivial. I want every legal voter who showed up on Election Day to have their voice heard – regardless how they voted,” Hamadeh said.
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State lawmakers are proposing stiffer penalties in cases where an individual disrupts a religious service. The measure passed the Ohio House in April and is now progressing through the Senate.
In a hearing of the Judiciary Committee last week. Mike Rodgers, director of policy and legislation from the Attorney General’s office put forward the concept behind the “Sacred Spaces Act.”
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Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison claims to be the “People’s Lawyer.” But documents say he spoke at a lavish Hawaii retreat in June 2021 partially funded by companies he’s investigating, including Meta and Google.
A 2021 retreat agenda of the Attorney General Alliance says Ellison participated in a lunch conversation at the Grand Wailea hotel with New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas about managing high-profile criminal matters.
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Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison of Minnesota is now tied with Republican challenger Jim Schultz in his effort to be re-elected, according to a series of polls published in the race.
In a poll conducted in October, Ellison and Schultz were tied, each receiving the support of 47% of respondents, with 5% unsure of how they would vote, according to Embold Research, which conducted the survey for MinnPost. The race between both candidates has largely been tied over the last several months, with some polls suggesting that Schultz may narrowly win.
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Trafalgar Group chief strategist Robert Cahaly joined Liz Collin on her podcast to discuss the results of a new poll that found Dr. Scott Jensen narrowly leading Gov. Tim Walz in Minnesota.
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Five current or former IRS employees in the Memphis area have been charged with defrauding federal Covid-19 relief programs after spending relief money on Mercedes, Gucci, and trips to Las Vegas.
U.S. Attorney Kevin G. Ritz, for the Western District of Tennessee, said, “These individuals-acting out of pure greed- abused their positions by taking government funds meant for citizens and businesses who desperately needed it. I thank our law enforcement partners for rooting out this fraud. Our office will not hesitate to pursue and charge individuals who steal from our nation’s taxpayers.”
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Wisconsin’s highest profile voter fraud case yet is now an issue in the race for attorney general.
Democrat Josh Kaul, the attorney general, has filed voter fraud charges against a Racine County man who requested the ballots of Wisconsin’s Assembly speaker and the mayor of Racine ahead of the August primary.
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Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Southeastern Legal Foundation Director of Litigation Braden Boucek to the newsmaker line to discuss the recent Tennessee state attorney general appointment of conservative Jonathan Skrmetti.
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee – The Tennessee Supreme Court held public interviews for the six applicants in the process to select the next attorney general.
“The applicants were all remarkable, experienced, and gracious in their answers during a robust interview process,” Chief Justice Roger A. Page said. “The applicant pool is outstanding. This is an extremely important decision for our state, and the Court thanks all of the applicants for fielding our questions.”
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Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr (R) called out billionaire and Open Society founder George Soros for his financial support of progressive district attorneys, a move that has resulted in crime spikes across the nation.
“George Soros has spent tens of millions to elect prosecutors who care more about coddling criminals than about protecting families. Now the Soros family is funding my Democrat opponent because they know I’ll stand up for YOU, not criminals,” Carr wrote on Twitter Tuesday.
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The Tennessee Supreme Court announced public hearings for the six applicants for attorney general in a statement issued on Monday.
“The Tennessee Supreme Court will begin a public hearing on August 8, 2022, that will include formal interviews of the six applicants for Attorney General and Reporter. Under the state constitution, the Tennessee Attorney General and Reporter is appointed by the state Supreme Court and serves an eight-year term,” said the Court.
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The deadline for an individual to submit an application to be considered in the Tennessee Supreme Court’s process of choosing the next attorney general is on Friday, July 29.
“Interested candidates must submit an application by 12:00 p.m. CDT on Friday, July 29, 2022. The Supreme Court will hold a public hearing to interview candidates on August 8 and 9, 2022 at the Nashville Supreme Court Building. The hearings will be livestreamed to the TNCourts YouTube page,” the Court said in statement earlier in July.
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Several sources familiar with the on goings at the Tennessee Capitol told The Tennessee Star that a recruitment effort has started in an attempt to persuade former Deputy to the Governor and Chief Counsel Lang Wiseman to seek the position of attorney general. This development comes in the wake of news regarding Governor Bill Lee’s Chief Operating Officer Brandon Gibson, who is making it known that her interest in applying for the attorney general job has waned.
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Sources familiar with the political intrigue around the Tennessee Capitol tell The Tennessee Star that Governor Bill Lee’s preferred for choice for Attorney General, Tennessee COO Brandon Gibson, is letting it be known that she’s “now unlikely to even to apply for job.”
“It appears as though – based on how she is presenting this around, that the reception she received when news of her taking over the job was broken and became a topic of public discussion – it has taken the shine off of Gibson wanting to be Tennessee Attorney General and to deal with the legislature and she is no longer sure she wants the job,” said one source on the condition of background.
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Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, Leahy was joined on the newsmaker line by Tennessee State Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, to discuss his advocation for the Tennessee National Guardsmen who refused the Covid-19 vaccine to maintain on payroll, the process in which the state attorney general is picked, and his campaign efforts.
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In a press statement, the Tennessee Supreme Court announced the details of application and selection process in the search for Tennessee’s next Attorney General.
“The Tennessee Supreme Court will open the application period for the position of State Attorney General and Reporter on July 15, 2022. Under the state constitution, the Tennessee Attorney General and Reporter is appointed by the state Supreme Court and serves an eight-year term. The term for the new Attorney General will begin September 1, 2022,” said the Court in a statement.
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Former President Donald Trump endorsed Republican candidate Abraham Hamadeh for Arizona Attorney General on Wednesday through his Save America PAC. Hamadeh is an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army Reserve and a former prosecutor of the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. He is running for current-AG Mark Brnovich’s position, who is now running for U.S. Senate.
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The Attorney General Alliance annual meetings are taking place in Sun Valley, Idaho, starting Monday and ending Thursday.
According to its website, “The Attorney General Alliance (AGA) began as the Conference of Western Attorneys General (CWAG), a 501c3 nonprofit organization and bipartisan group of 15 western states and three territories. Built on a foundation of fostering collaboration between western AG offices, CWAG has long maintained a focus on issues in the fields of Native American, natural resources, public lands, minerals, and energy law.”
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U.S. District Judge Tilman E. “Tripp” Self III has ordered Middle George Family Rehab (MGFR) healthcare clinic in Macon, Georgia to pay $9,617,679.22 in damages after the District Court for the Middle District of Georgia found the business to be involved in fraudulent TRICARE and Medicaid claims on Thursday.
“The ‘reckless disregard’ displayed by Middle Georgia Family Rehab (MGFR) in its billing should serve as a warning to other health facilities across Georgia—and the nation—that filing improper and false claims will come with hefty consequences,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary.
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Democrats’ gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams announced Thursday on Twitter that her candidate of choice to be Georgia’s next Lieutenant Governor is Charlie Bailey.
“I am proud to endorse my friends Bee Nguyen for Secretary of State, Charlie Bailey for Lieutenant Governor and William K. Boddie Jr. for Labor Commissioner. They are proven leaders we need in office to ensure Georgia becomes a state where everyone has the opportunity to thrive,” Abrams wrote.
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The Tennessee Supreme Court, which appoints the state attorney general, is likely to appoint a new one this year via a public application and hearing process in a similar manner to the one it used in 2014 to appoint Attorney General Herbert Slatery.
Slatery, who has been Tennessee’s attorney general since 2014, is not seeking an additional eight-year term.
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State attorney general candidate John Gordon criticized incumbent Attorney General Chris Carr for what he characterized as a “do nothing” term at an event Monday.
“I’ve worked hard and now I’ll work hard for each of you and for the people of Georgia, which is, unfortunately, more than I can say about my opponent, Chris ‘Do Nothing’ Carr,” stated Gordon. “I have worked hard for election integrity. I didn’t hear one word about election integrity [from Carr].”
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Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has slipped from his first place position in the state’s GOP Senate primary.
Since last year, Brnovich has held a consistent lead in the primary to go up against Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly as the GOP attempts to reclaim majority control of the Senate.
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The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA) announced the top ten complaint categories for 2021 in a press release this week. The DCA received a total of 5,561 complaints in 2021 and recovered both services and funds for Tennessee by working with consumers and businesses.
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Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced Tuesday that the office’s Medicaid Fraud Division obtained civil recoveries totaling more than $68 million since November 2016.
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Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced Wednesday a proposed consent judgment that will require CashCall, Inc., its owner J. Paul Reddam, and a wholly-owned subsidiary, WS Funding LLC, to pay $4.8 million in restitution to Arizona consumers who took out personal loans with interest rates as high as 169 percent, greatly exceeding that allowed under Arizona law, according to a press release by Brnovich’s office.
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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost wants to hear from Ohioans impacted by GoFundMe’s initial decision to refund or redirect donations given to demonstrators protesting COVID-19 restrictions in Canada, according to a press release by Yosts’s office.
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A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general launched a probe into Instagram on Thursday to examine whether the company violated state-level consumer protection laws.
The states are investigating whether Meta (formerly known as Facebook), which owns Instagram, promoted the image-sharing platform “to children and young adults” despite being aware of its negative effects, according to statements from the attorneys general. The probe cites internal Facebook communications and research leaked by former Facebook employee Frances Haugen and published by The Wall Street Journal showing Meta was aware that use of Instagram could contribute to body image and mental health issues among teens.
“When social media platforms treat our children as mere commodities to manipulate for longer screen time engagement and data extraction, it becomes imperative for state attorneys general to engage our investigative authority under our consumer protection laws,” Republican Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson said in a statement.
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On Thursday, over 60 GOP members of Congress, including Tennessee Representative Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-04), sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) demanding answers as to why the Department is targeting parents who oppose Critical Race Theory (CRT) and mask mandates in schools.
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