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House approves compromise Public Safety and Judiciary Budget

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Yesterday, the Minnesota House passed the compromise Public Safety and Judiciary budget bill and amended it to include sign and release warrants. In addition to funding the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Corrections, the Department of Human Rights, and the judicial branch, the bill includes several criminal justice and police accountability reforms which House DFLers have been advocating for all session. However, Senate Republicans rejected many other meaningful changes Minnesotans have been calling for to ensure communities can receive justice.

“Our budget agreement advances several important solutions to help Minnesotans experience public safety in their communities, but it’s incredibly disappointing Senate Republicans refused to accept some of the most meaningful reforms we put forward, including those with bipartisan support,” said Rep. Carlos Mariani (DFL – Saint Paul), chair of the House Public Safety & Criminal Justice Reform Committee. “One conviction and one prison sentence of one police officer doesn’t heal the trauma with which our communities continue to live. It’s not acceptable for a system that has failed too many Minnesotans to allow peace officers – with the solemn duty to protect and serve – to largely continue operating with impunity and a reckless disregard for human rights. As a result of the shortcomings within the budget compromise, we commit to continue this important work until we ensure all of those who betray the public’s trust can be held accountable, and Black, Indigenous, and Minnesotans of color can be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. We welcome the Governor’s executive actions, which are necessary due to the Republican Senate’s failure to respond to Minnesotans’ calls for greater accountability for law enforcement.”

Former Trump Organization executive agrees Trump probably deserves to go to jail after ‘what I’ve observed over 20 years’

Speaking to CNN host Jim Acosta on Sunday, former Trump Organization executive Barbara Res agreed that former President Donald Trump probably deserves to go to jail, from her observation.

The two discussed the deepening seriousness of the Manhattan District Attorney’s case against the Trump Organization.

“I hear them talk about going after the Trump Organization, but the Trump Organization is not General Motors,” Res explained. “It was just a kind of loose thing that we called ourselves. I think it was incorporated, but later, after I started there. I’m sure that everything, every operation that he has, is held in a holding company or an LLC. So I’m not exactly sure what entities or where they’re going with this. Now, as far as Trump was concerned, if they were to get evidence against Trump, it would be to the extent that really nothing major has ever happened, to my knowledge. And this is confirmed by other people that worked for him much later, that he didn’t know about, nothing major. So, he is in with both legs.” Continue reading.

POCI Caucus Statement on Public Safety and Judiciary Budget Bill

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — On Tuesday, June 29, the Minnesota House passed a Public Safety and Judiciary state budget. DFL POCI members negotiated until the very end with the Senate Republicans to add more police accountability measures to the bill. The negotiations led to the following outcome that makes progress to prevent more Minnesotans from dying at the hands of police.

The bill includes:

No Knock Warrant Regulations: Prevents an officer from seeking a “no-knock” warrant without an application. Prevents these warrants in drug possession-only offenses.
Sign & Release Warrants: In certain situations, police officers who pull over someone with a summons for court must inform them of the court date, have them sign a statement of acknowledgement, and release them without arrest.
Police Officer Misconduct Database: Expands information in the database to include private information about police officer misconduct.
Removes funding for body camera grant program without accountability policies attached.

The POCI Caucus is pleased that Governor Walz has committed to taking action on further police accountability measures. The Governor has promised the following:

$15 million from American Rescue Plan funds to support community violence prevention grants.
Increased transparency and accountability at the POST Board.
Body camera footage available within five days for families whose members have been killed by law enforcement. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigates deadly use of force by police officers, meaning families will not be stymied in receiving that critical information.

Many of these measures would not have been included if not for the dedicated work of POCI members Chair Carlos Mariani, Chair Jamie Becker-Finn, and Rep. Cedrick Frazier who stood up for our communities against a Republican Senate who would have preferred the status quo.

We realize there is much more work to do. The POCI Caucus is committed to more police accountability measures next year. The fight for true justice for Minnesotans, especially our BIPOC communities, is long, but we are making progress.

The House People of Color & Indigenous (POCI) Caucus includes Reps. Esther Agbaje (59B), Jamie Becker-Finn (42B), Cedrick Frazier (45A), Aisha Gomez (62B), Hodan Hassan (Vice- Chair 62A), Kaohly Her (64A), Athena Hollins (66B), Fue Lee (59A), Carlos Mariani (65B), Rena Moran (65A), Mohamud Noor (60B), Ruth Richardson (52B), John Thompson (67A), Samantha Vang (Chair, 40B), Jay Xiong (67B), and Tou Xiong (53B).

Supreme Court won’t hear school’s appeal in transgender bathroom access fight

The Supreme Court on Monday declined an appeal from a Virginia school board in a long-running battle over bathroom access, effectively handing a victory to transgender student Gavin Grimm.

The move came in an unsigned order, with two of the court’s more conservative justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, indicating they would have taken up the appeal.

The development leaves in place a federal appeals court ruling in favor of Grimm, a transgender student who first sued his school district in Gloucester County, Va., in 2015 for access to the boys’ bathroom. Continue reading.

Republican Congressman can’t understand why Trump supporters went to ‘worship a loser’ at Ohio rally

Former President Donald Trump’s Ohio rally is being mocked by many for being a celebration of a “loser.” Now Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) is joining in on the mockery.

Speaking to CNN Sunday, Kinzinger called the rally, eight months after the election, “a rally for a loser.”

“There are a lot of people that I’ve talked to that are mad at me for just telling the truth, which used to be a pretty basic low bar,” he told CNN host Pamela Brown. “That really truly believes that Donald Trump was elected president again. What you saw yesterday was a recycling of all his old talking points. It was a rally of a loser president. He’s the first president to lose re-election in decades. And I don’t know why these folks would go there and just short of worship a loser. They did. The interesting thing is he didn’t talk much about the candidate running against Anthony Gonzalez, who is a fantastic person, Anthony is. The guy running against him, at one point, Trump made it sound like he negotiated world peace in North Korea. The guy worked advance, which is really an entry-level position, not to put it down, but not negotiating with world leaders. And then he went into old recycled talking points. The problem is people believe this. They really do. And there are enough people that, frighteningly, believe he’ll be president again in August.” Continue reading.

This US Marine bragged about planning white supremacist terror attacks: FBI

Involvement in white supremacist and white nationalist terrorist groups is especially dangerous when someone has been enlisted in the U.S. military, as that person has been trained in the use of weapons. An article by reporter Chris Joyner, published by the Atlanta Journal Constitution on June 26, takes a look at a former U.S. Marine and sheriff’s deputy from Wilkinson County, Georgia who was, according to the FBI, plotting racist terrorist attacks.

“When FBI agents in San Diego seized the cell phone of a suspected white supremacist last year,” Joyner reports, “they discovered text messages with a Georgia sheriff’s deputy boasting of racial violence and preparations for a civil war. The text message chain, called ‘Shadow Moses, between San Diego plumber Grey Zamudio, 33, and 28-year-old Cody Griggers, a former Marine and sheriff’s deputy in Wilkinson County, revealed plans to steal explosives, dry runs with illegal silencers and boasts of racial violence. In one text, Griggers said he hoped law enforcement and the military would join their side in the coming conflict.”

Griggers and Zamudio, Joyner notes, have both pled guilty to federal weapons charges. Both of them are due to be sentenced this summer — first Zamudio in July, then Griggers in August. Continue reading.

Gov. Walz signs bipartisan Housing budget

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, Governor Tim Walz signed the compromise Housing Finance and Policy bill into law. The measure funds a variety of programs aimed at helping create more affordable housing, and provisions to ensure Minnesotans are safely and stably housed.

“This measure will immediately begin making an impact across the state,” said Rep. Alice Hausman (DFL-Saint Paul), chair of the Minnesota House Housing Finance and Policy Committee. “Investments in closing home ownership racial disparity, among other provisions, will result in greater stability for more Minnesotans. We still have work to do, but this is a good start to help those affected by COVID-19 emerge stronger and safer.”

A notable inclusion in the budget bill is the orderly off-ramp to the current eviction moratorium. Championed by DFLers, the bill provides renters and landlords with the time to take advantage of federal housing assistance funds, with the off-ramp concluding 105 days after enactment. Landlords will be required to send a notice to renters with outstanding rent 15 days prior to eviction. In addition, renters with an outstanding rental assistance claim cannot be evicted and will have that protection until June 1, 2022.

“Governor Walz’s eviction moratorium has saved lives, and now this new law will as well by ensuring an eviction crisis doesn’t replace our health crisis.” said Rep. Michael Howard (DFL – Richfield) vice chair of the House Housing Finance and Policy Committee. “As we bounce back from the pandemic, the bipartisan consensus we reached on housing will deliver access to a safe and secure place to call home for more Minnesotans and lays the foundation for our future work in addressing our state’s housing crisis.”

The bill also provides Minnesota Housing with $10 million in one-time funds for FY22-23, along with $12 million in the tails to cover the debt service for $100 million in Housing Infrastructure Bonds (HIBs).

Other provisions of the bill:

Authorizes $100 million in Housing Infrastructure Bonds, contingent on there being no funding in an upcoming federal infrastructure bill for the same purposes.
Funds the Manufactured Home Park Infrastructure Grant Program to address the needs of manufactured home parks whose infrastructure has reached the end of its expected lifespan by providing funds for improvements in eligible permanent year-round parks.
Establishes a 24-member shelter provider task force consisting of members from state agencies and advocates to make recommendations to the legislature regarding how to strengthen the shelter system to provide safe and appropriate services.

Video of the House Floor session will be available on House Public Information Services’ YouTube channel.

Bombshell Barr interview reveals Trump had ‘criminal intent’ in election lies: ex-prosecutor

On his YouTube channel, where he generally explains legal things for the layperson, former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner walked through the recently posted interview with former Attorney General Bill Barr in The Atlantic.

The report revealed one thing that could ultimately work against Trump in the investigation over whether he committed voter fraud in Georgia. After the state was called for Joe Biden, Trump called the governor and secretary of state to urge them to “find” him votes to overthrow the election.

According to Kirschner, the interview with Barr proved that Trump was well aware that there was no voter fraud, no election problems and that he lost the 2020 election. Barr told him and Trump acknowledged it, speaking about himself in the third person saying, “you must hate Trump.” Continue reading.

House DFL Lawmakers urge resignation of Minn. Board of Animal Health President

SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Rep. Rob Ecklund (DFL – International Falls), Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL – South St. Paul), House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (DFL – Golden Valley), Rep. Sydney Jordan (DFL – Minneapolis), Rep. Patty Acomb (DFL – Minnetonka), Rep. Ami Wazlawik (DFL – White Bear Township), Rep. Kelly Morrison (DFL – Deephaven), Rep. Todd Lippert (DFL – Northfield), Rep. Ginny Klevorn (DFL – Plymouth), Rep. Jay Xiong (DFL – Saint Paul), Rep. Heather Keeler (DFL – Moorhead), Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn (DFL – Roseville), Rep. Samantha Vang (DFL – Brooklyn Center), Rep. Fue Lee (DFL – Minneapolis), Rep. Peter Fischer (DFL – Maplewood), Rep. Steve Sandell (DFL – Woodbury), Rep. Zack Stephenson (DFL – Coon Rapids), Rep. Liz Reyer (DFL – Eagan), Rep. Erin Koegel (DFL – Spring Lake Park), Rep. Jamie Long (DFL – Minneapolis), Rep. Michael Howard (DFL – Richfield), and Rep. Emma Greenman (DFL – Minneapolis) issued the following statement calling for the resignation of Minnesota Board of Animal Health (BAH) President Dean Compart:

“Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) poses a critical threat to Minnesota’s wild white-tail deer population, and the Board of Animal Health has the responsibility to hold cervid farms in our state accountable for their role in its spread. Unfortunately, by failing to act, the BAH and its leadership have continued to let down those who enjoy deer hunting. Worse, future generations potentially won’t be able to enjoy these cherished traditions if CWD is allowed to spread, and based on the frequency at which the disease is identified in new areas of the state, unless urgent action is taken, it almost certainly will.

“All Minnesotans deserve a healthy deer herd and comprehensive solutions to protect it. If the deer farms won’t be accountable to the BAH, and the BAH won’t be accountable to Minnesotans, it’s time for BAH President Dean Compart to do the honorable thing and resign.”

Wisconsin GOP leaders call Trump ‘misinformed’ after the he claims they’re hiding election corruption

Almost eight months after now-President Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in Wisconsin in the 2020 presidential election, the former president continues to falsely claim that he was the real winner in Wisconsin — and he is bashing the Wisconsin Republicans who refuse to join him in the Big Lie. In an article published by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on June 26, journalist Molly Beck takes a look at “divisions” among “Wisconsin Republicans over whether and how far to litigate the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.”

Those divisions, according to Beck, were evident during the Wisconsin GOP’s annual convention on June 26. A small group of delegates, Beck reports, want to oust Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican over the 2020 election. At the convention, Beck reports, Vos announced that he “was hiring, at taxpayer expense, a former conservative Supreme Court justice to oversee an investigation by retired police detectives into the election — the third such review Vos has called for.”

However, Trump has been railing against Vos for not doing more to promote the Big Lie. Continue reading.

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