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Garland imposes moratorium on federal executions

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday announced a moratorium on federal executions, a shift from the Trump administration, which had resumed the use of the death penalty in federal cases.

Garland said in the memo that the Justice Department would also review its policies and procedures to make sure they “are consistent with the principles articulated in this memorandum.”

“The Department of Justice must ensure that everyone in the federal criminal justice system is not only afforded the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States, but is also treated fairly and humanely,” Garland said in a statement. “That obligation has special force in capital cases.” Continue reading.

Homeland Security Watchdog Delayed Inquiry, Complaint Says

The department’s inspector general delayed looking into a retaliation complaint by a former intelligence chief until after the 2020 election, according to officials and a whistle-blower.

The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general blocked an inquiry into whether senior agency officials demoted an employee who criticized the Trump administration, according to people familiar with the matter and a whistle-blower complaint obtained by The New York Times.

The inspector general, Joseph V. Cuffari, ignored recommendations from his investigators and delayed the inquiry until after the 2020 election, according to officials familiar with the matter and a whistle-blower complaint filed in April.

At issue was whether Brian Murphy, a former intelligence chief at the department, was demoted by its leadership last summer for warning his superiors and Mr. Cuffari’s office that the Trump administration had deliberately withheld reports about the rising threat of domestic extremism — a warning that proved prescient after the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 — and Russia’s attempts to influence the election. Continue reading.

Rep. Dean Phillips’ bipartisanship tested by congressional realities

His ambition faces fresh test with GOP challenges on infrastructure, voting rights.

WASHINGTON – Rep. Dean Phillips has his limits, a sense of where he draws the line.

Well into his second term holding a Minnesota congressional seat coveted by Republicans, the idea of bipartisanship in a polarized Washington is crucial for the Democrat. It is a lofty ambition with grim odds, and an ideology facing a fresh test with legislative challenges on infrastructure and voting rights. Shadowing it all are the emotional aftershocks of the violent Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection and former President Donald Trump’s strong influence over the Republican Party that continues to strain those reaching for middle ground.

“The members who I believe bear responsibility for January 6, I will not work with because I believe they are dangerous, plain and simple,” said Phillips, whose district includes large swaths of western Minneapolis suburbs. “And by the way, I don’t think they’d work with me. But that means there are 429 others with whom I’m happy to work with.” Continue reading.

Prosecutors allege a 15-year tax fraud scheme as the Trump Organization and CFO Allen Weisselberg are arraigned on multiple criminal charges

NEW YORK — Prosecutors charged former president Donald Trump’s business with a 15-year “scheme to defraud” the government and charged its chief financial officer with grand larceny and tax fraud in a Manhattan courtroom Thursday, describing what they said was a wide-ranging effort to hide income from tax authorities.

In charging papers, prosecutors alleged that the Trump Organization effectively kept two sets of books. In one — for internal use — it carefully tallied the value of benefits given to executives as part of their compensation: apartments, cars, furniture, tuition payments, even money for holiday gifts.

But in the documents that the Trump Organization sent to tax authorities, prosecutors said, those benefits were omitted. Prosecutors said the result was that the Trump Organization and its executives avoided taxes on their full compensation: CFO Allen Weisselberg, they said, avoided paying more than $900,000. Continue reading.

Commissioner Chris LaTondresse (Dist. 6) Update: July 2, 2021

July 2, 2021

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Due to the holiday weekend, my next Coffee with Chris, which is usually held on the first Saturday of each month, will be in person on Saturday, July 10. We will meet at the Edina Library Conference Room at 10:00 a.m. with coffee to share. To RSVP, click here. I hope to see you there!

Updates in this week’s newsletter:

⛵️ Wayzata Sailing Aquatic Invasive Species Sails: Wayzata Sailing brought together five remarkable artists that worked to highlight this issue through five unique sail designs, funded via Hennepin County AIS grants.

Trump Organization Is Charged With Running 15-Year Employee Tax Scheme

The company was accused of helping its executives evade taxes on compensation by hiding luxury perks and bonuses.

The Trump Organization, the real estate business that catapulted Donald J. Trump to tabloid fame, television riches and ultimately the White House, was charged Thursday with running a 15-year scheme to help its executives evade taxes by compensating them with fringe benefits that were hidden from the authorities.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which has been conducting the investigation alongside the New York attorney general, also accused a top executive, Allen H. Weisselberg, of avoiding taxes on $1.7 million in perks that should have been reported as income. Mr. Weisselberg, Mr. Trump’s long-serving and trusted chief financial officer, faced grand larceny, tax fraud and other charges.

“To put it bluntly, this was a sweeping and audacious illegal payments scheme,” Carey Dunne, general counsel for the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., said during an arraignment in State Supreme Court in Manhattan. Continue reading.

Rep. Patty Acomb (HD44B) Update: July 2, 2021

Dear Neighbors,

We finished passing a state budget on Wednesday! The two-year budget includes a historic increase in funding for public schools, significant investments in public health, tax cuts for workers and small businesses impacted by COVID-19, measures to improve police accountability, funding for roads and public transit, rental assistance, and more.

If you’d like to read more about a particular area of the budget, you can click on the following links to view a nonpartisan summary provided by House Public Information Services: Legacy; Agriculture and Broadband; Higher Education; Commerce, Climate, and Energy; Transportation; Housing; Environment and Natural Resources; Jobs and Labor; E-12 Education; Health and Human Services; Public Safety and Judiciary; State Government, Elections, and Veterans; and Taxes.

Trump exec Weisselberg pleads not guilty to fraud, conspiracy charges

New York City prosecutors on Thursday charged the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, with various fraud and conspiracy charges.

Weisselberg, who turned himself in earlier Thursday morning, pleaded not guilty to all 15 charges, which include tax fraud, conspiracy, grand larceny and falsifying business records. He and the Trump Organization have denied wrongdoing.

In an indictment that was unsealed Thursday afternoon, prosecutors alleged that Weisselberg helped orchestrate a scheme to compensate himself and “other Trump Organization executives” with unreported income. Continue reading.

Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart Update: July 2, 2021

A message from your Senator

Constituents and friends,

On Tuesday, we finished passing all of the budget bills required to avoid a government shutdown, and I’m glad we satisfied the most basic requirement of our job as legislators by passing Minnesota’s budget on time. As the only divided legislature in the country, policy compromises were inevitable, but it would’ve been truly irresponsible to waste taxpayer funds and harm many people’s lives and livelihoods with a shutdown.

While there are good provisions in each budget bill that will directly and materially improve the lives of Minnesotans, thanks largely to the passionate advocacy of my Senate and House DFL colleagues, we could’ve aimed higher and done far more with our resources. We have a long way to go before we’ve secured a truly safe and sustainable future for our state, and I’m committed to continuing that work.

House approves select committee to investigate Jan. 6 Capitol riot

The House voted 222-190 on Wednesday to create a select committee to investigate the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Why it matters: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi moved forward with the creation of a committee controlled by Democrats after Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would have established a bipartisan 9/11-style commission to probe the Jan. 6 attack.

Only two House Republicans, Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) voted for the select committee, whereas 35 Republicans had previously voted for the bipartisan commission. Continue reading.

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A message from your Senator

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