A federal judge in Las Vegas has dismissed President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against Nevada’s expanded mail-in voting
and other election changes approved by the Legislature this summer,
The judge ruled that the campaign has no standing to challenge them and did not show how it would suffer actual harm.
U.S. District Judge James Mahan said the Trump campaign’s issues with the changes amount to just policy disagreements.
“Although they purport to allege constitutional harms that go beyond these policy disagreements, at this juncture, plaintiffs’ allegations remain just that,” he wrote in a ruling dated Friday.
DOJ IDENTIFIES NYC, OTHER CITIES AS PERMITTING ANARCHY,VIOLENCE, AND DESTRUCTION POSSIBLE FEDERAL MONIES AFFECTED
The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday identified New York City, Portland and Seattle as “local governments that are permitting anarchy, violence, and destruction in American cities,”
a move that comes as the federal government continues to take a tough stance against localized rioting in some areas of the country.
President Trump earlier this month targeted those three cities in a memo to Attorney General William Barr,
And the Office of Management and Budget asking for a review of federal funding to “anarchist” jurisdictions.
The DOJ memo Monday essentially serves as notice that New York City, Portland and Seattle meet the criteria Trump set out for potential defunding.
It’s unclear whether and how much funding may eventually be withdrawn from the cities and if such a move would be legal, as it would likely be challenged in the courts.
Department of Justice Identifies New York City, Portland and Seattle as Jurisdictions Permitting Violence and Destruction of Property https://t.co/CvqKwNIQTw
“When state and local leaders impede their own law enforcement officers and agencies from doing their jobs,
It endangers innocent citizens who deserve to be protected, including those who are trying to peacefully assemble and protest,” Barr said in a statement.
“We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance.
It is my hope that the cities identified by the Department of Justice today will reverse course,
And become serious about performing the basic function of government and start protecting their own citizens.”
I’m confirming today that Portland Police abided by my order banning the use of tear gas for crowd control during a protest Friday night in the South Waterfront neighborhood.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has Repeatedlycalledontheviolence in his city to end all the way back to May, but to little effect.
He’s also limited the tactics Portland police officers can take to control violent crowds, including banning the use of tear gas.
The DOJ noted that Portland has now surpassed 100 consecutive nights of unrest.
New York City has had some of the same politically motivated unrest as D.C. and Portland,
But the attorney general’s memo largely cites shootings and other crime, while the New York Police Department’s budget has been cut, as the reason for its inclusion on the list.
Barr’s memo cited whether “a jurisdiction forbids the police force from intervening to restore order amid widespread or sustained violence or destruction,”
Whether ” jurisdiction has withdrawn law enforcement protection from a geographical area or structure,”
Whether police departments are being defunded and refusal of federal law enforcement help as the evaluating criteria for the list.
DAWG SAYS: THE LACK OF LEADERSHIP IN THESE AREAS HAS CAUSED THE PROBLEMS.
TED WHEELER PROVED HE WAS WEAK AND PRESATORS ALWAYS CAN SMELL WEAKNESS. AND HE WREAKS OF IT.
SAME CAN BE SAID FOR ALL THE OTHER AREAS AFFECTED.
Dirty money pours into the world’s most powerful banks.And the government doesn’t stop the banks.
A huge trove of secret government documents reveals for the first time how the giants of Western banking move trillions of dollars in suspicious transactions,
Enriching themselves and their shareholders while facilitating the work of terrorists, kleptocrats, and drug kingpins.
And the US government, despite its vast powers, fails to stop it.
Today, the FinCEN Files — thousands of “suspicious activity reports” and other US government documents
Offer an unprecedented view of global financial corruption, the banks enabling it, and the government agencies that watch as it flourishes.
BuzzFeed News has shared these reports with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and more than 100 news organizations in 88 countries.
These documents, compiled by banks, shared with the government, but kept from public view,
Expose the hollowness of banking safeguards, and the ease with which criminals have exploited them.
Profits from deadly drug wars, fortunes embezzled from developing countries,
And hard-earned savings stolen in a Ponzi scheme were all allowed to flow into and out of these financial institutions,
Despite warnings from the banks’ own employees.
MONEY LAUNDERING EFFECT SNOWBALLS
Money laundering is a crime that makes other crimes possible.
It can accelerate economic inequality, drain public funds, undermine democracy, and destabilize nations and the banks play a key role.
“Some of these people in those crisp white shirts in their sharp suits are feeding off the tragedy of people dying all over the world,”
Said Martin Woods, a former suspicious transactions investigator for Wachovia.
Laws that were meant to stop financial crime have instead allowed it to flourish.
So long as a bank files a notice that it may be facilitating criminal activity,
It all but immunizes itself and its executives from criminal prosecution.
The suspicious activity alert effectively gives them a free pass to keep moving the money and collecting the fees.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, is the agency within the Treasury Department charged with combating money laundering,
terrorist financing, and other financial crimes.
It collects millions of these suspicious activity reports, known as SARs.
It makes them available to US law enforcement agencies and other nations’ financial intelligence operations.
It even compiles a report called “Kleptocracy Weekly” that summarizes the dealings of foreign leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin.
What it does not do is force the banks to shut the money laundering down.
In the rare instances when the US government does crack down on banks,
It often relies on sweetheart deals called deferred prosecution agreements, which include fines but no high-level arrests.
The Trump administration has made it even harder to hold executives personally accountable,
Under guidance by former deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein that warned government agencies against “piling on.”
But the FinCEN Files investigation shows that even after they were prosecuted or fined for financial misconduct,
Massive ‘F–k Cuomo and de Blasio’ mural painted on Brooklyn street
For less than 24 hours this weekend, an all-caps, block-length message painted on a Brooklyn street in yellow contained the rage of New York City: “F–k Cuomo and de Blasio.”
Allegiant Stadium as seen from the southeast, across I-15
NDOT: Don’t stop in front of the Raiders Stadium during Tonight’s home opener No fans will be allowed inside Allegiant Stadium when the Raiders play on September 21.
It’s fully enclosed, so Nobody will be able to see the game from outside.
In short, there should be absolutely no reason for anyone to stop or slow down near the stadium during the Raiders’ home opener.
The Nevada Department of Transportation thinks people are going to stop anyway.
Both the I-15 and Dean Martin Drive have a close view of the stadium,
And NDOT’s concern is that, despite a complete lack of road closures,
Drivers will slow down or stop on these busy roads to look at the stadium as Las Vegas’ new football team plays a game in the $2 billion sports structure.
NEVADA DOT: DON’T STOP AT ALLEGIANT DURING GAME
The I-15 and Dean Martin both pass nearby the stadium (NDOT)
Their advice: don’t. Someone, they say, could get hurt.
“While we understand the genuine excitement surrounding Southern Nevada’s first NFL game,
WE caution motorists not to stop on the freeway or local roads to catch a glimpse,” said NDOT public information officer Tony Illia.
“One vehicle stopping, followed by another and then another can cause a serious chain reaction with damaging effects.”
An influx of fans on nearby roads is nearly inevitable.
They’ll be there at an unfortunate time, since the game takes place in the middle of rush hour.
What NDOT hopes is that these fans will avoid driving in a way that disrupts traffic and potentially endangers everyone on the road.
“Please be courteous to other drivers, and don’t do anything that could potentially harm you or others,” said Illia.
As for motorists who don’t want to crane their necks at the structure on game day,
It might be worthwhile to avoid the area if at all possible. High traffic means slow traffic, regardless of how well everyone else is driving.
“We are concerned by indications that Attorney General Barr might depart from longstandingDOJ principles,” they say.
House Dems call for an ’emergency’ DOJ watchdog review of Durham probe
Four House committee chairs are asking the Justice Department’s top watchdog to open an “emergency” review of Attorney General William Barr’s handling of an investigation into the origins of the FBI’s Trump-Russia probe,
questioning whether that probe — led by U.S. Attorney John Durham — is complying with DOJ rules intended to avoid influencing an imminent election.
“We are concerned by indications that Attorney General Barr might depart from longstanding DOJ principles,
And to take public action related to U.S. Attorney Durham’s investigation that could impact the presidential election,”
Wrote House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), House Oversight Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.),
House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and House Administration Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) in a six-page letter to Inspector General Michael Horowitz.
The four chairs say Barr’s public comments on the Durham probe may already be a violation of DOJ policies,
Prohibiting public comments on an ongoing investigation, and they say his conduct may also violate the IG’s own 2018 recommendations,
About avoiding taking politically sensitive steps less than two months before the Nov. 3 election.
President Donald Trump has sought more prosecutions related to Durham’s probe, and has called for FBI and intelligence officials he views as his political enemies to be punished.
The Democrats are asking Horowitz to expedite a review of various aspects of Barr’s comments and Durham’s review.
Among them: Whether Barr’s public commentary complies with DOJ policy and the 2018 inspector general report;
Whether DOJ has implemented Horowitz’s earlier recommendations on politically sensitive investigations;
If a Durham report issued before the election would comply with department policies;
Whether Durham has the legal authority to be conducting his probe, including a formal scope memo;
And whether Durham is permitted to issue a public report about anyone who hasn’t been charged with a crime.
Senate Democrats sought a similar probe in a letter to Horowitz on Thursday.
Barr has rejected the notion that any findings issued by Durham ahead of the election would inappropriately influence the campaign.
He has argued that DOJ practices prohibit such steps but only if they are aimed at candidates themselves or their very close associates.
Barr has publicly indicated that the Durham probe does not contemplate investigating former Vice President,
And Democratic nominee Joe Biden or former President Barack Obama.
He has at times publicly characterized potentially explosive findings in Durham’s investigation,
But has denied that there’s political pressure to move it quickly.
Last week, a top Durham aide and long-serving federal prosecutor, Nora Dannehy,
Resigned from the DOJ amid a push from the president to publish the results of the probe before the election.
